File Code: 2720
Date: September 19, 2003
Mr. Garrick Beck
930 Baca Street, #10
Santa Fe, NM 87505
Dear Garrick:
This letter documents the cleanup and rehabilitation work the cleanup crew
completed under the special use authorization issued to to you for a
non-commercial group use event. The event occurred in the Little West Fork
Blacks Fork area of the Evanston Ranger District, Wasatch-Cache National
Forest, during June and July of 2003.
The special use permit, issued to you on June 17, included specific site
rehabilitation requirements as listed below. I have commented on each
requirement. Overall, resource damage was less than we expected and the land
authorized by the special use permit should return to is original condition
within a few years. The cleanup crew competed the site rehabilitation work
in an acceptable and timely manner.
1. All parking areas, roads, trails, and concentrated use areas will
be scarified and seeded with a native seed mix approved by the
Forest Service. The rehabilitation work coordinated bnetween Resource Advisor Bernard Asay
and you relied on a light on the land approach with natural processes
allowed to restore many of the impacted areas. Our inspections of these
concentrated use areas indicate that they are returning to their original
condition. The inspections also showed that water bars have been constructed
on trails as requested and that the areas where we were planning to seed are
recovering sufficiently as to the not require you to return to seed them.
2. All improvements, structures, vehicles, garbage, and personal
equipment will be removed. On our inspection visits we did not see any improvements, structures,
vehicles, garbage or personal equipment. Kitchens have been dismantled and
the area around them restored by scattering duff, rotten wood, twigs,
needles, and logs over the impacted areas.
3. Slit trenches will be filled and seeded and any surface waste
removed from the area. Slit trenches, gray water pits, and
fire pits have been filled in and covered with rotten wood,
needles, and branches. No surface waste is apparent.
4. No removal of cultural resources (artifacts) during
rehabilitation. To our knowledge, no cultural resources were removed during rehabilitation.
5. A join inspection between the Forest Service and Permit Holder
will be conducted prior to final departure from the site.
Resource Advisor Bernard Asay inspected the authorized area on July 25 along
with you and members of the cleanuip crew. In addition, Bernard visited the
area on subsequent days to perform more systematic inspections. These
inspections showed that you and the cleanup crew complied with the
objectives of the Rehabilitation Plan.
I appreciate the rehabilitation work conducted by the cleanup crew; the work
was well done and will accelerate recovery of the impacted sites. For future
events, I believe the workload of the cleanup crew could be reduced if event
participants would cooperate with the Forest Service earlier in the scouting
process, selection of the site, and during the event.
Sincerely,
(sg) Stephen M. Ryberg
Stephen M. Ryberg
District Ranger
CC:
Lynn Bidlack, Jeanne Evenden, Liz Close, Malcolm Jowers