April  2007                   PANHANDLE SKI AND SNOWHSHOE CLUB

President’s Message

The snow has melted at the lower elevations in the mountains.  The melt has brought an end to skiing at the Fourth of July area and the facilities have been taken down for the season.  There remains a heavy pack high in the mountains, providing an opportunity for spring skiing likely through April.

The lengthening days of late winter and early spring turns the attention of our members to the spring and summer seasons of hiking, biking and canoeing. The club sponsors a series of hikes and other activities through the spring and summer about every two week.  Most of these are day trips, but a few overnight trips are typically sprinkled into the mix.  The members set the schedule at the April meeting.  If you have a hike, a bike or a canoe trip that you would like to propose, bring it along to stir into the mix.  If you would just like to help set the schedule, plan to attend the April 10^th meeting at the Fernan Ranger Station,   2502 E. Sherman Avenue in Coeur d’Alene.  The meeting will get started at 7 PM.  Once the schedule is set, it will be posted on the website and we’ll mail it out to the active membership.

After a winter’s wait, the Forest Service has published the results of its scoping of the Coeur d’Alene River District Forest Access Plan.  The plan will determine which areas will be open to motorized vehicular travel and which will be closed.  The plan addresses warm season travel (spring, summer and fall), but sets the guide for how areas will be managed year around.  The scoping document, just released for comment, states that over the past thirty years, the area south Interstate 90 has been managed primarily for non-motorized use, while the area north of the interstate is managed for motorized use. The USFS project team agreed that this is still a good strategy today.  This approach will document the generally non-motorized use of the area south of I90, except for some key travel corridors during the summer and the non-motorized winter use.  Although this idea is in the scoping and agreed to by the Forest Service team, you can bet that others want the area open to motorized use year around.  Four wheelers were using Forest Road 614 well into the winter season last year. 

The Fourth of July area needs your letters of support.  Write the Forest Service and let them know to:

Ø      maintain the area south of Interstate 90 as generally non-motorized with motorized on the main access corridors (FR 614, FR 438-439, and FR 539) only during the late spring, summer and fall and no motorized travel except for ski trail groomers during the winter;

Ø      point out that the area south of Interstate 90 provides an area for mountain biking, horseback riding and hiking undisturbed by cars trucks, four wheelers and motorcycles during the warm months;

Ø      point out the traditional non-motorized use of the area south of the Interstate as a ski area during the winter; and

Ø      the Panhandle Nordic Ski & Snowshoe Club’s wish to expand skiing and snowshoe opportunities in this area.

Send your comments to:             Travel Plan Team

                                                Couer d’Alene River Ranger District – Fernan Office

                                                2502 E. Sherman Avenue

                                                Coeur d’Alene ID 83814

or by e-mail at: cdatravelplan@...  There will also be public meetings from 6-8 PM on Tuesday, April 10^th at the Canyon Elementary, E. 27491 School House Loop, Cataldo Idaho and Thursday, April 12^th at the USFS IPNF Supervisor’s Office, 3815 Schreiber Way, Coeur d’Alene Idaho.  It is important that we all comment to protect the Fourth of July Area as an area of generally non-motorized use. Comments are due by May 21, 2007.