HikeArizona.COM

Per an email I recieved from the USFS Red Rock Ranger District..the ovenight camping / campfire ban is going to be permanent...please get the word out:

I think we are going with the "until recinded" and likely we will include this in our new forest plan direction so it will be permanent.

Jennifer Burns
Red Rock Ranger District
Recreation Staff Officer
8375 SR 179 Sedona, Arizona 86351
P.O. 20429 Sedona, Arizona 86341
Phone: 928-203-7529

Jim, what do you mean by re-assessing? We are continuing the closure into next year. we will be reevaluating/modifying the signage and increasing patrols next busy season.
If you have suggestions for how to educate people on the closure, I would like to hear them. The reason for the closure order has not gone away!
Thanks,
Jennifer


Jim wrote:
November is almost here. What is involved in re-assessing the camping / campfire ban at Beaver Creek? I still run into a few campers that can’t read.

Hello, have they never heard of a permit system, allowing a limited number of people per night?

Is the ban for the entire canyon or just the first 5 miles from the trailhead?

Here's a copy of the order. It is just for the first 5 miles.

BUT ... it expires on 1 November 2010, which is why the OP mentioned it in the first place.

While a new order has not yet been issued, it seems apparent from the reply that it will be extended and a new order will be issued that continues the existing ban.

Exactly. FYI..the place does look a lot cleaner. I find less garbage left from others that I pack out on my hike / fishing trips.

Another example of management by fence or ban.

The campground is being converted to day use to protect visitors from potential flooding-- which last happened 20 years ago. Perhaps they should use this same logic to limit fossil creek to day use only. And west clear creek. And oak creek. And sycamore. And the hassayampa. And aravaipa. And... :roll:

http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/coconino/ ... RDB5445676

They should ban outdoor activities altogether... Gawd knows how much danger we pose to ourselves each and every time we venture outside of the safe confines of our homes. Sleeping outside without the protective cover of a solid structure?? What in the world were we thinking??

This part really angers me:
"The campground is managed by Recreation Resource Management, Inc. under a special use permit issued by the Forest Service."

Sounds like they cut a lucrative contract with the gub'ment and they don't even have to worry about overniters.

Heard about the potential for this from an overzealous RRM person last summer who wouldn't let me pitch my tent where I have been pitching it for the last 20 years or so, because it was "too close to the creek, and unsafe" ... makes me sad - this is one of my very favorite little campgrounds.