Foundation agrees with EDC to support Rubicon Trail easement

El Dorado County (EDC) recently submitted an application for easement to the Forest Service (USFS) for the Rubicon Trail in El Dorado County, after lengthy negotiations, EDC, Rubicon Trail Foundation (RTF), California Off Road Vehicle Association (CORVA), and other appellants withdrew their appeals of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS), clearing the way for a landmark agreement re-opening spur roads near Buck Island, formalizing access in the area of Little Sluice, and installing additional bathrooms along the Rubicon Trail. This agreement will formalize an easement over USFS-managed lands, which culminates the process set in motion by El Dorado County’s Board of Supervisors vote in 2010 to reaffirm an 1887 resolution for the Rubicon Trail and its variants. Withdrawing appeal keeps this FEIS out of Federal Court, minimizing the likelihood of the kind of calendar-based closures that prevent months of access to most every other Forest OHV route in CA.

The agreement spells out limited monitoring of the trail improvements described in the County Department of Transportation (DOT) Saturated Soil Water Quality Protection Plan (SSWQPP), many of which are already implemented. The agreement combines with the FEIS to further define the trail and its variants, management responsibilities, remote and field monitoring plans, explicitly identifying all the elements that would have to happen simultaneously to consider closure, and where they would have to happen — all in response to the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Board (CVRWQB), Cleanup and Abatement Order (CAO 2009).

Combined county and volunteer efforts have resulted in both visible and documented improvements in water quality, and the SSWQPP plan and improvements will help minimize trail erosion and vehicle-caused sedimentation. RTF commissioned an array of studies and testing to define the improvements and head off accusations of OHV-induced impacts to erosion and water quality, above and beyond what Mother Nature creates each year.

Scott Johnston, two-term RTF president, said, “This was not an easy decision. Intense negotiation/discussions melded multiple viewpoints, with individuals and organizations vying for position. Ultimately, OHV representatives and counsel prevailed, eliminating proposed seasonal closures, excessive monitoring, and overly broad language.”

He added, “There’s still much work to be done, but this agreement sets the stage for continued cooperation between DOT, Friends of the Rubicon (FOTR), and RTF.”

This decision occurs in context of more than a million dollars of OHV-funded maintenance, creating local jobs and protecting one of El Dorado County’s key tourist attractions. RTF and the FOTR have worked with individuals and organizations to cooperate with the County, Forest, and other agencies, with the goal of sustaining responsible recreation on the Rubicon Trail, the world’s best-known OHV trail.

Rubicon Trail Foundation appreciated the efforts of EDC and the USFS to bring the matter to a successful conclusion. Bringing these people together and actually getting them to agree was a monumental task headed up by County Supervisor Jack Sweeney.