Groups meeting on Pine Nut closures

A list of designated routes through a portion of the Pine Nut Mountains near Ruhenstroth may be unveiled Monday at a meeting of the Pine Nut Preservation League.

President John Dicks said he hopes a representative of the Bureau of Land Management will release the information at a 5:30 p.m. meeting at the Fish Springs Fire Station.

"It is not promised, but we are hoping it will happen," he said. "It is an important piece of information."

The federal land management agency announced April 27 the emergency closure of 2,340 acres to vehicle traffic just south of Fish Springs Road to protect mastodon fossils found in 2000.

Dicks does not believe the closure will be in place for long.

"My experience is that emergency closures are not permanent," he said. "After it's closed, then it gets run through the process. Then the BLM takes more permanent action taken after the public has an opportunity to comment."

Dicks invited anyone interested in the issue to attend Monday's session.

"We try to meld all users, whether they reside next to BLM land or are horse or motorcycle people," he said. "We realize there are conflicts that need to be worked out and we've tried to provide a forum for that process."

The Preservation League is not the only group meeting next week regarding the closure.

According to Nate Littrell of the Pine Nut Mountain Trails Association, his group plans Tuesday to discuss the closure and the upcoming release of the management plan.

Littrell said he is more concerned about the management plan than the closure, because there are many trails not reflected on the plan map.

"There are far less than 10 percent of the existing trails on the map," he said. "Once it is in place, you could be on a trail and it could be an old trail and you would be breaking the law. This is more important than the Ruhenstroth closure."

The association is meeting from 7-8 p.m. at Pau-Wa-Lu Middle School.

"We need to tell the public how to comment, provide names and samples of letters, and really bring to light what is going on," he said.

In addition to the emergency closure to protect mastodon fossils, opponents fear the Bureau of Land Management plans to close off several trails to riders.