http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=690270


1) Schoolbus GONE
2) Slickrock GONE
3) Lower 2 GONE
4) If Helicopter Pad bypass cannot be successfully bypassed... GONE
5) The Ledge at Peckerwood GONE



:cry:cry:cry:cry:cry

THAT SUCKS!!!!! I was actually looking forward to living near it in a year.....:cry

that really sucks. I never been there but none the less.

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here is the latest. please call/write/email . we need everyone to chime in and give support on keeping tellico open. i copied this info from another forum:

Here is an email I recieved from a buddy in the forest service here in Ga.


United States
Department of
Agriculture
Forest
Service
National Forests in North Carolina
Nantahala National Forest
Tusquitee Ranger District
123 Woodland Dr.
Murphy, NC 28906-3145
828-837-5152
Caring for the Land and Serving People Printed on Recycled Paper
FOREST SERVICE ANNOUNCES PROPOSED CHANGES FOR
UPPER TELLICO OHV TRAILS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 9, 2008
Steve Lohr, Tusquitee District Ranger, today announced proposed changes in the 39.5 mile
Upper Tellico OHV Trail System. The proposal calls for maintaining approximately 24 miles of
trails, upgrading five miles of Davis Creek Road for street-legal vehicle use, and closing and
restoring 11 miles of other trails. Lohr states, “Many of the trail segments that are popular for
high-challenge rock-crawler opportunities are heavily eroded, have high potential for
contributing sediment to nearby streams, and are therefore proposed for closure and
rehabilitation.”
The agency would construct about one mile of new OHV trail to preserve loop routes on existing
OHV trails and correct water quality problems. In addition, seasonal closure of the entire system
from January 1 to March 31 would be continued to prevent rutting and excessive sedimentation
during winter wet and freeze-thaw periods. Temporary closures would be implemented after
high rainfall events to prevent excessive erosion.
Lohr continues, “No decisions have been made at this point and the proposed action is just a
starting point for additional dialogue among all interested parties and a beginning of the formal
environmental analysis process.” For the next 30 days the Forest Service will be inviting public
comment on this proposal, which may be found on the following website:
http://www.cs.unca.edu/nfsnc/nepa/tusquitee/tellico.htm
Interested parties are also encouraged to attend a public open house scheduled for Saturday, June
28 from 1-4 PM at First Baptist Church in Murphy. Individuals may learn more about the
proposal and submit their own comments.
For more information, please contact:
Candace Wyman, Upper Tellico OHV Project Coordinator
Tusquitee Ranger District
123 Woodland Drive
Murphy NC 28906
(82 837-5152
or
Terry Seyden, Public Affairs Officer
National Forests in North Carolina
(82 257-4202






The only thing that will help is sending letters/emails with specific suggestions as alternatives to those listed in the proposal. That's all it is....a proposal. So they are receptive to new ideas at this point. We have until July 9 to submit.

Some suggestions to get the ball rolling:

1) Trail closures following rainstorms will not work. Too many people plan their trips to Tellico months in advance and travel from several hours and several states away.

Alternatively, trails that are "high risk for sedimentation" should be placed on a rotating closure schedule that would allow for stabilization and reasonable advanced planning for enthusiasts.

2) The full closure during the winter months was an experiment that should be considered the "control". In the coming winter months, a rotating schedule of closures should be implemented and studied in similar fashion. The trail system is simply not as busy in the winter months and should not necessitate a full closure.

3) Raise the user fees to assist in funding needed maintenance.

4) Continue to work with the off road community and volunteer groups toward the common goal of a sustainable trail system.

5) The heavily eroded trails should be repaired with rocks of varying sizes, not dirt. A period of one calendar year should be alotted to allow the off road community time to assist with procurement of appropriate stones that would significantly reduce runoff velocity and sedimentation while enhancing the off road experience at the same time.


These are just off the cuff. And I've never been to Tellico! Steal my ideas. Make your own. Yours will probably be better anyway. There needs to be a heavy volume of suggestions pouring in to make a change. This is realistically the LAST CHANCE to make your opinions count.
__________________

the trails are not closed yet. this is what the greenies are trying to do. if all off roaders would stick together and call and write in we could make an impact to keep tellico open. the damn greenies stick together better than we do. im not happy about this. if you have never been to tellico you dont know what you are missing. the extreme trails are the best around here. everytime you go it gets better and better. if you dont stand together and call or write now you may never get the right to wheel at tellico. call and try to sound professional . just tell them why you want tellico to remain open its that simple. it only takes a few minutes of your time. give them ideas on better ways to maintain the trail system. say anything positive.

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that # is 828-837-5152
candace wyman
upper tellico project coordinator.

828-257-4202
terry seyden
national forest public affairs officer

right now this thread has 39 views and only 5 post. why build your shit to wheel if your not gonna fight to keep legal places to wheel open. thats it just read and sit back and dont do shit about it. think about this when every place closes and you have $20,000.00 in an off road rig wtf are you gonna do with it ??????????? sell it ?????? no one will want it. why ????? because there will be no place to enjoy it at thats why.

Category: Press Releases
Date: May 22 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

UFWDA, SFWDA, and BRC will file suit over Upper Tellico Off-highway Vehicle Area.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT HEATHER SPIVY – (678) 463-7376

United Four Wheel Drive Associations (UFWDA), Southern Four Wheel Drive Association (SFWDA), and the BlueRibbon Coalition (BRC) will file suit against the U.S. Forest Service to restore access to improperly closed off-highway recreation trails
located in the Upper Tellico Off-highway Vehicle (OHV) Area in North Carolina.

On December 18, 2007, the agency issued a closure order which UFWDA, BRC, and Southern contend is based on outdated and incomplete science. The law suit will seek to declare unlawful and set aside the closure order.

“Our organizations value their relationship with the Forest Service, however management by closure does not address the issues we need to be surmounting through collaborative and creative efforts,” observed Jay Bird, of Southern Four Wheel Drive Associations. “There is no defensible scientific correlation between OHV use and water quality, erosion, and sedimentation issues in this area, and our organizations have long demonstrated their dedication to the environment and support of trout populations in the area through user education, route maintenance and improvement. Active and effective management of motorized recreation, not prohibition, is the only good answer for protecting water quality and species habitat at the Upper Tellico OHV area,” Bird concluded.

Further information about the plaintiff organizations, including information about developments in this action and others, can be found as indicated below.


# # #

United Four Wheel Drive Associations (UFWDA) is the leading representative for four wheel drive enthusiasts. UFWDA is a group of individuals, clubs, state, regional, provincial and national associations and businesses in the United States and around the world; our members span the globe from the U.S. and Canada, New Zealand, Australia, England, Japan, South Africa, and Iceland. If you would like more information on how you can be a part of this effort contact United Four Wheel Drive Associations today at 14525 SW Millikan Way #22622, Beaverton, OR 97005-2343, 1-800-448-3932 or visit www.ufwda.org.

The BlueRibbon Coalition is a national recreation group that champions responsible use of public and private lands, and encourages individual environmental stewardship. It represents over 10,000 individual members and 1,200 organization and business members, for a combined total of over 600,000 recreationists nationwide. 1-800-258-3742. www.sharetrails.org

Southern Four Wheel Drive Association (SFWDA) was founded in 1987 to promote responsible land use and to keep public lands accessible for motorized recreation. Since the formation of Southern Four Wheel Drive Association, the focus and mission is to promote responsible land use and to help keep public lands open for motorized recreation. For more information on the activities and accomplishments of Southern Four Wheel Drive Association, please visit www.sfwda.org or contact us at 1483 N. Mt. Juliet Road, PMB # 222, Mt. Juliet, TN 37122

Greg Mumm 208-244-2112
Carla Boucher 757-546-7969

Off-road riders may sue over trail access
Jon Ostendorff • JOstendorff@CITIZEN-TIMES.com • updated May 27, 2008 12:48 pm

Read Comments(5)Recommend Print this page E-mail this article
Comments on Topix forums (click to comment): Read all 32 comments »

UPPER TELLICO – Several off-road vehicle associations are threatening to sue the U.S. Forest Service over access to trails in Cherokee County.

The BlueRibbon Coalition, United Four Wheel Drive Associations and Southern Four Wheel Drive Association said they want “improperly closed off-highway recreation trails” opened in the Upper Tellico Off-highway Vehicle Area.


The Upper Tellico is about two hours west of Asheville and 11 miles from Murphy.

The 38 miles of trails in the Nantahala National Forest attract off-road enthusiasts from across the nation and the world.

It is one of few places in the Southeast where people driving jeeps, trucks and specially designed all-terrain vehicles can find challenging driving in a wilderness setting.

The Forest Service closed the entire area for the winter and will temporarily close 4.4 miles of some of the areas’ most widely used trails for about a year.

The agency made the decision after the Southern Environmental Law Center threatened to sue, saying runoff from the trails was choking brook trout.

The off-road group said the decision was based on “outdated and incomplete science.”

“Our organizations value their relationship with the Forest Service, however management by closure does not address the issues we need to be surmounting through collaborative and creative efforts,” Jay Bird, of Southern Four Wheel Drive Associations, said in a written statement.

The Forest Service can’t prove that off-road vehicles are causing water quality problems in the Upper Tellico, he said.

Bird said the groups have long worked to protect the water quality and trout through education, trail maintenance and improvements to the area.

He called for “active and effective management of motorized recreation, not prohibition.”

The Forest Service extensively studied the area before closing it, said DJ Gerken, of the Southern Environmental Law Center office in Asheville.

The study found more than half of the sediment control structures on the trail system had failed, Gerken said.

The Upper Tellico was the only off-road area in the state’s National Forests that did not close during the winter. And, he said, the impact of off-road vehicles on the streams was evident as soon as the Upper Tellico reopened this year.

“Water quality met state standards throughout the winter closure but sediment in the Upper Tellico River was recorded at more than twice the state standard on the day the trail opened for spring,” he said.

The only thing that will help is sending letters/emails with specific suggestions as alternatives to those listed in the proposal. That's all it is....a proposal. So they are receptive to new ideas at this point. We have until July 9 to submit.

3) Raise the user fees to assist in funding needed maintenance.

This is one that I've been advocating for years. The price to access these trails is ridiculously low. Tellico is $10/day, Uwharrie is even worse at $5/day. The problem is that it costs real money to maintain these trails, and we will always be behind the eight ball money wise at those rates. Ever see those Forrest Service deuce and a halfs? $10 puts two gallons of fuel in one of those rigs, which won't even get you from Murphy to the trail head.

The other thing that the artificially low price does is create unfair competition to anyone who is interested in opening a private OHV park. There is no way they can charge enough to make a profit when their competition is charging $5-$10. I would like to see the existing rates at least doubled, with more emphasis placed on buying yearly passes instead of day passes. I always buy yearly passes even if I'm not going to go enough times to justify it, just because I know that puts more money into maintaining the trail systems.

...just read and sit back and dont do shit about it.Antagonizing the people you're asking for help isn't really a good way to accomplish your goal. :shrug

well, he sounds like he's pissed, i would be too if i lived near it.

Antagonizing the people you're asking for help isn't really a good way to accomplish your goal. :shrug

thats not the point. its a statement of facts, its a reality check,its a motivator, its a number of things but not that. :beer

well, he sounds like he's pissed, i would be too if i lived near it.

not really pissed. just having a hard time understanding why more off roaders dont call or write in. i read somewhere that only a couple hundreed letters were wrote in to help keep tellico open and more than double that were sent in by the trout fishermen that are trying to close it. we out number them. so i dont get it.

The same thing is going on over here on the west coast. Greenies are trying to close down (or have successfully, Im lost in the story now) the bypasses on the Rubicon. It makes no sense at all, and you can bet for damn sure that theirs a ton of wheelers over here trying to fight for it. It just seems like were not getting anywhere with it though. Its a tough battle. I didnt read all of your post Broncomania, but Ill come back to them tomorrow when the suns up. One of my goals in the near future is to make a US road trip and wheel at various spots along the way. Moab, Badlands, Tellico, whatever the top trails/parks are... but with stupid gas prices and the closure of a lot of these GOOD trails, this goal is becoming less possible.

I've been there. It is some of the best wheeling if not the best , on the East coast. We have got to stick together on this. Letter sent.

i am working on a letter to send as well:thumbup

here is a link to contact NC senator

http://burr.senate.gov/public/index....n=Contact.Home

The same thing is going on over here on the west coast. Greenies are trying to close down (or have successfully, Im lost in the story now) the bypasses on the Rubicon. It makes no sense at all, and you can bet for damn sure that theirs a ton of wheelers over here trying to fight for it. It just seems like were not getting anywhere with it though. Its a tough battle. I didnt read all of your post Broncomania, but Ill come back to them tomorrow when the suns up. One of my goals in the near future is to make a US road trip and wheel at various spots along the way. Moab, Badlands, Tellico, whatever the top trails/parks are... but with stupid gas prices and the closure of a lot of these GOOD trails, this goal is becoming less possible.i tried to help out with the hammers over on the west coast. i wish you guys all the best in keeping your wheeling places open. i will be glad to write and email with you guys if you can get me the info. i would like to make that wheeling trip with you. :beer

I've been there. It is some of the best wheeling if not the best , on the East coast. We have got to stick together on this. Letter sent.true true true. a big thanks for your help.:rockon

i am working on a letter to send as well:thumbup
you are the man. :rockon


tellico is a blast. its well worth the trip. hopefully it will stay open. the only other hardcore place near me ( 6 hours away ) is harlan . ive never been there but i hear its just as good as tellico.

not really pissed. just having a hard time understanding why more off roaders dont call or write in. i read somewhere that only a couple hundreed letters were wrote in to help keep tellico open and more than double that were sent in by the trout fishermen that are trying to close it. we out number them. so i dont get it.

Just put the stamp on my letter. Will be dropped in the mail tommorow on it's way to Dick Burr (I called him Mr. burr in the letter). Will be sending another to Mrs. Dole tommorow (Ran outta my 2002 foever stamps).

well, he sounds like he's pissed, i would be too if i lived near it.

You know, thats part of the problem. It dosen't matter if you live near the trails being closed or not. Once they close trails in one area the greenies will move on to another, they want ALL of them closed, EVERYWHERE. It will take wheelers form all over the country, not just the local area to save our wheeling areas.

Just put the stamp on my letter. Will be dropped in the mail tommorow on it's way to Dick Burr (I called him Mr. burr in the letter). Will be sending another to Mrs. Dole tommorow (Ran outta my 2002 foever stamps).thanks. :beer

You know, thats part of the problem. It dosen't matter if you live near the trails being closed or not. Once they close trails in one area the ( ANTI FUN PEOPLE) will move on to another, they want ALL of them closed, EVERYWHERE. It will take wheelers form all over the country, not just the local area to save our wheeling areas.

you are exactly right.

check it out.
http://www.sharetrails.org/letters/letter.php?id=14

check it out.
http://www.sharetrails.org/letters/letter.php?id=14

Letter sent!! I will also be posting the link up on my local club's forums.

He should be angry and anyone who uses an offroad park, but expects other enthusiasts to do the work to keep them open should be ashamed. Every park we let go is one park closer to no wheeling at all. I never hope to know that day.

If you value the utilization of public lands for off road recreational uses consider doing your part. A few minutes for a letter or email makes a huge difference.

I agree 100% with Broncomania. I have lived through these closings many times since 1976 in NE. If anything hes being too nice. Yes it affects everyone as they use each one as a legal example for the next.
From reading all of the legal notices regarding the NC outbanks, when it comes down to the hearing they present the totals of how many people bother to write in from both points of view. BUT beware ...reading through it i found they count emails of "form letters" differenlty from actual orginal letters. and here is where the others win. If i remember correctly, there were alot of pro off road access form letters but only 10% the number of original letters compared to the pro closure folks number of letters. So yes they are far more willing to take the time to write down their feelings on the subject. So YES BM stir up the troops and get them writing. I also wrote my local House of Rep Ander Crenshaw (jacksonville) regarding some local to Fl issues, he was quick to respond and very receptive to my view and pledged to seek balance when issues of off road access came along.

i've witnessed the closure of state trails in upstate NY this year as well as Paragon in PA last year. we have to unite as a wheeling community or there will indeed be no place left to go.

my letter was just signed and stamped.

check it out.
http://www.sharetrails.org/letters/letter.php?id=14

Sent today.

thanks for supporting this .
i have wrote in , called in, emailed in on several occasions. and posted several times in the tellico virtual online rally on pirate4x4.com ,and ive posted in several tellico threads on pirate4x4.com which are read through by the forest service and other important people that are making the closing decisions. i have 6 more surveys printed out that im gonna hand out to some local friends to send in.

forgot to add i sent in mine also. Plus i have a good freind who is a fellow wheeler and lives in Ashville, who is also active in saving access.


Your document was received by the
comments-southern-north-carolina-nantahala-tusquitee mailbox.
This is an automated message, please do not reply. If a response is required by the Forest Service, it will be forthcoming.

check it out.
http://www.sharetrails.org/letters/letter.php?id=14

bump

Would anyone post a good example letter? I pretty well know the things to say, but I want to try to be sure I'm in sync with what the majority of us is saying. I also plan to print it and take it to the 'wheelers around here, persuade them to do pitch in. I'll go ahead and be typing one up and if I'm way off from others I'll change it. Most of the folks around here are the ones who don't give a shit but will bitch and moan when it's gone. I damn sure don't want to fall into that category. I haven't been to Tellico but I day-dream about it just from the pics and videos I've seen.

We just lost Aetna Mtn. due to irresponsible drunks damaging property at the entrance and just a common dislike of off-roaders by the locals. I've got too much time and money invested, and enjoy it way too damn much to sit back. Like broncomania said, it would suck to have 20 grand invested in a rig you can't use.

mine went off.

check it out.
http://www.sharetrails.org/letters/letter.php?id=14

Letter sent. Will definetely share this one with locals

mine went off.

Letter sent. Will definetely share this one with locals

thanks guys. anything positive is a good thing. ive done the email a few times, the hand written letter a few times and the survey once myself and 6 done by friends that wheel .

Would anyone post a good example letter? I pretty well know the things to say, but I want to try to be sure I'm in sync with what the majority of us is saying.

Im being pretty lazy, I'll just quote what I posted in the other tellico thread:

I chose not to use their canned comments. I feel I have a better chance of being given weight or consideration based upon my individual pleas.

My letter:

SUBJECT: COMMENTS ON UPPER TELLICO OHV SYSTEM

Dear Ranger Lohr,

I am writing to provide comments on the scoping letter for changes at the Upper Tellico ORV Area in the Nantahala National Forest.

First I would like to provide a personal background to my opinions.

1. I am a boy scout leader committed to the lands God gave us.
2. I am a registered merit badge counselor for Oceanography, Nature, Weather, Camping, Forestry, Personal Financial Management, and Automotive.
3. I hold a master's degree and practice accounting for Fiat.
4. I camp and off-road in the Upper Tellico ORV Area on average once every month and a half.
5. I spend on average $500-$1000 each trip between trail-use fees, lodging or camp fees, truck diesel, grocery purchases, off-road vehicle fuel, etc.

I am disappointed in the decisions recently made regarding trail closures at Tellico. I was taught in my university studies to never judge a decision by emotion. Therefore I had hoped to find extensive sediment erosion studies with causals to support the conclusion that off-road trail use has eroded parts of Tellico beyond maintainability. Instead I am disappointed to learn that the basis for this knee-jerk reaction is the threat of lawsuits from an environmentalist group. The closures of multiple trails has much farther impacts than the placation of a lawsuit. Out of state visitors such as myself will no longer make Tellico a destination for our downtime activities. The loss in revenue for the local county is substantial and the closure of the trails still does not solve the sedimentation problems. If all of the causes for sedimentary deposits could be identified then appropriate measures could be taken to fix the problems. I do not believe simply closing some off-road trails will stop the sedimentary deposits in the watershed. Other local activities such as logging are major contributors to the problem. I also strongly believe that the public who uses the land for OHV purposes should be given the opportunity to pay higher land use fees to contribute to the maintenance of trails and end goal reduction of sedimentary deposits.

If the local park service wished to be fair to your community, fair to your land duties, and fair to the environmentalists who propose the trail closures, then you would consider a more thorough study to analize the cause of the river sedimentation. You would also give the OHV users the opportunity to contribute to the healing of Tellico via monetary land-use fees and volunteer maintenance crews, instead of punishing them by denying them access to public lands.

Sincerely,

Audra Deiber,
(address removed for privacy :p)

Thanks Audra.

Joined up and donoted a little xtra $ to BRC last night and will be sending off to SFWDA in the morning, as well getting some letters sent out.

I did find some bright news last night though. Not about Tellico, but a new OHV park under construction and set to open in Cullman County, Alabama Stony Lonesome OHV Park (http://http://www.co.cullman.al.us/orv_info.html)

bump to the top for more help.

--- ADMIN EDIT ---

We do not allow post padding.

Does Tellico still use the "Honor Pay" system? Uwharrie hasn't for a few year b/c unfortunately ppl. aren't very honorable. 30 for a season pass and 5 for a day pass is cheap I'd gladly pay more. i don't see why they just don't put up silt fences where needed and and bulldoze the trails more than once a year.

And not to start anything but the largest problem i see at uwharrie is littering and trail blazing by 4 wheelers.

Does Tellico still use the "Honor Pay" system? Uwharrie hasn't for a few year b/c unfortunately ppl. aren't very honorable. 30 for a season pass and 5 for a day pass is cheap I'd gladly pay more. i don't see why they just don't put up silt fences where needed and and bulldoze the trails more than once a year.

And not to start anything but the largest problem i see at uwharrie is littering and trail blazing by 4 wheelers.

yes tellico uses the honor pay system. however the rangers have nothing capable of riding on the trail system to check people for it. tellico's easiest trail is harder than uwharrie hardest trail. and bulldozing at tellico would be a little difficult .

well at this point its already gone, which sucks as I have yet top go there and was looking forward to the day. I was just asking about the honor pay system as when I read the PDF report all I saw was very expensive to maintain in almost all the listings. As I said it's to late now but an effective and very expensive pay to play system is needed. like Uwharries setup but 4-5 times as much. ( like 20 a day 120 a year or more)

the greenies will have to just realize that once they take away all the places we can 4x4 legally, people will just go wheel in the illegal places like national forests etc. around here most of the trails are already closed (4 hours drive for anything difficult) and i already see that happening... i don't partake in it, i just save my money so i can afford to buy tons of gasoline to get my truck 4 hours away to wheel it, and then drive it 4 hours back. pretty green, eh? but i do know a lot of people who use the river bottom, creeks, anywhere they find.... this is what happens when the legal places get closed.

well at this point its already gone, which sucks as I have yet top go there and was looking forward to the day. I was just asking about the honor pay system as when I read the PDF report all I saw was very expensive to maintain in almost all the listings. As I said it's to late now but an effective and very expensive pay to play system is needed. like Uwharries setup but 4-5 times as much. ( like 20 a day 120 a year or more)you missed out on a beautiful place.

the greenies will have to just realize that once they take away all the places we can 4x4 legally, people will just go wheel in the illegal places like national forests etc. around here most of the trails are already closed (4 hours drive for anything difficult) and i already see that happening... i don't partake in it, i just save my money so i can afford to buy tons of gasoline to get my truck 4 hours away to wheel it, and then drive it 4 hours back. pretty green, eh? but i do know a lot of people who use the river bottom, creeks, anywhere they find.... this is what happens when the legal places get closed.

you are so correct. way to go greenies !!!! soon all the 4x4ers that dont care about legal spots will be ripping through your back yards.:doh0715:

you missed out on a beautiful place.

x2

I hate to see trails close. There's been a lot of them closing around me latley and most of it is due to the amount of trash left behind by inconsiderate @$$ holes. That and people go out shoot the $*** out of everything in site and just leave it when they are done. I like shooting crap just as mush as the next guy but when I am done I load up what i brought and usually a bag or two of everyone elses $*** and take it home with me.

on top of that most of the trails they have closed lately they have left open to the bicyclists which i have no problem with but tell me what's going to make it errode faster a 12 or 13" wide cut in the hill side or a 2" wide cut the is gererally deeper. I mean water naturally runs faster through the path of least resistence. That and all the little high school b******* that go out there and get drunk burn all kinds of crap and drive home get caught and then they say well there's a party out at so and so. It happened at one of the best mud holes near me called blacks creek that's why they shut it down trash and underage drinking.

It just pisses me off that anytime i go wheeling i usually come back with a bag of garbage that's not mine and you know why cause I like keeping my trails open and acessible so that when my children are old enough to remeber it i can take them up there and share the fun adn the sport with them. I mean it takes no more time to put the beer can in the bag in the bed of your truck then it does to throw it on the ground, same with shotgun shells and brass it only takes a few extra minutes to pick it up before you go, and the same goes for whatever you are shooting at. I mean you had the ambition to take it out there and set it up blast it full of holes you can take the ambition to walk out there and pick it up haul it back to the truck and take it home to dispose of it.

There's a public shooting range that is really nice to go shoot at but the last time i was out there there was som much trash I couldn't enjoy myself there was a car bumper a washing machine and boxes and plywood everywhere.

RANT OVER

Word up, I hate seeing anyone tell me that I can't do something. I live about 20 minutes from the tellico OHV trail system. I never cared too much about the OHV part of it, but I really liked the ride over the mountain and along the creek. There were plenty of forest service roads on the tn. side of it to keep a person busy for a week. I grew up here and seeing all these d@mn outsiders come in and stop something that's been going on for years and years just floors me.

Word up, I hate seeing anyone tell me that I can't do something. I live about 20 minutes from the tellico OHV trail system. I never cared too much about the OHV part of it, but I really liked the ride over the mountain and along the creek. There were plenty of forest service roads on the tn. side of it to keep a person busy for a week. I grew up here and seeing all these d@mn outsiders come in and stop something that's been going on for years and years just floors me.

dude you live in the back door of one of the baddest ass wheeling spots on the east coast. im pissed about the closing. ive been all through that place and its very challenging on the harder trails. slickrock, schoolbus, lower2, upper2, guard rail,helicopter pad. man i miss those trails:cry. every time you go the terrain has changed. you never know what you would get into on every trip there. the trail system around here is nice to have but the rigs ive had can do all the trails in 2wd. tellico trails required a fully built rig to get through along with some good driving skills and a good winch to.

Yeah, it's pretty nice there. I haven't been in a while, but I was told this evening that it isn't necessarily closed, just some of the trails are. I'm not familiar enough with it to know which ones. I haven't gotten to tellico as much as I would have liked to, there are lots of other spots around here to go that are free and less crowded, but they aren't like tellico. You can go do mild 4x4 stuff all over the place here, that's mostly what I do. I've never had anything more than stock trucks, but for the wimpy riding I do they've been fine. I've gotta say though nothing beats a bronco, a wrangler can get places a bronco is just too big to go, but when you're just riding around the comfort level is second to none. I'd love to find some folks with directions or even gps coordinates to some cool spots that I may not know about up there. anyone familiar with any? keep in mind that I'm in a stock truck that i've got to drive to work when i'm done ;-)

when i found out i sent a letter and tried to make calls . Heck all of the expert rated trails in had been on in AZ never tore up the bronco, But Tellico did the first trip on upper 2(rock garden) i believe was the trail, damaged both front axles-transfer case-dual battery's-severe body damage left rear and caught her on fire when the right axle blew up threw the battery's . It sure looked easy compared to my past trails that i had be on . That combo of dirt sand water and rocks now that was a challenge. Heck i am still putting my Bronco back together as a result of that trip and was looking forward to going back out there and kickin the shit out of that trail.