As ATV Riders you may want to get involved in this specific issue of 2 roads being closed on the Tonto National Forest. It is well described below by AZ Sportsment of Wildlife Conservation. The issue really is something that the Forest Service can’t really fix. I know because I am retired from the Forest Service. Only Congress designates Wilderness areas and the Forest Service is powerless to change any of the boundary and they cannot move the road so the only recourse they have is to close it. Which, in this instance will be very unfortunate and is something I, personally, don’t want to happen.
Keith Menasco
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| Have you ever recreated in Arizona’s Game Management Unit 23 South in the Tonto National Forest? https://www.azgfd.com/hunting/units/mesa/23/ Have you ever wanted to watch the sunset from Aztec Peak? |
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| Or checked out the fire tower on the top of Aztec Peak? |
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| Last fall the Tonto NF released their Travel Management Plan with a decision to decommission two roads adjacent to the 20,850 acre Sierra Ancha Wilderness (SAW); Workman Creek (Aztec Peak) Road #487, and the Cherry Creek Road #203. These two roads are the only motorized access to the top of the Aztec Peak area in the central portion of the SAW (487) and across the east side of the SAW (203). The 203 Road also provides motorized access to a large portion of Game Management Unit 23, east of the SAW. Closing these two roads will effectively eliminate access to thousands of acres of forest land in and around the SAW, unless you’re capable of hiking a long way at high elevations. Aztec Peak is 7,684’ in elevation. |
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| Both of these roads have been used since the mid-20th century. They were in existence and utilized by recreationists, miners, loggers, ranchers, hunters, and hikers before the Wilderness Act of 1964. For some additional perspective, you can read the November 2017 Arizona Cattlelog article “Boundaries, Rims, and Roads” by clicking here. The problem: those who mapped the SAW area in 1964 and tendered the map to Congress, overlapped the SAW boundary intermittently across these two existing roads and also neglected to display the full length of the existing 203 Road. Instead of simply correcting the mistake, or updating the boundary, or moving the road, the Tonto NF plans to decommission a significant portion of these two roads because of the overlapping wilderness boundary. Here the 203 Road meanders across the eastern face of the SAW along Cherry Creek. (lower left) |
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| Here is a section of the 487 Road that overlaps the “wilderness” boundary. This road has been around for decades. |
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| AZSFWC continues to work on a remedy to keep these roads open. We are collaborating with the Arizona Attorney General’s office, the Arizona Game and Fish Commission, and the Gila County Attorney’s office exploring our options. We have 41 organizations and businesses that want to keep the roads open (list attached) and are compiling a list of individuals that have been or will be “harmed” by the road closures too. We will share the list with the Attorney General’s office as they assess various options to keep the roads open. |
| If you have been harmed, or might be because of these road closures, please click on the following link and add your name to our list. https://azsfwc.org/tonto-national-forest-road-closures/ |
| Please enjoy some photos taken from the 487 and 203 Roads; landscapes, views, and country that without access on these Roads will be lost to many. Click here. (photos courtesy of Carolyn & Larry Eppler and Jim Unmacht) |
| Coalition Supporting Tonto NF SAW Access Roads Resolution AZ Sportsmen for Wildlife Conservation Anglers United AZ Antelope Foundation AZ Bass Nation AZ Big Game Super Raffle AZ Bowhunters Association AZ Chapter of Back Country Hunters & Anglers AZ Chapter of National Wild Turkey Federation AZ Chapter of Safari Club International AZ Deer Association AZ Desert Bighorn Sheep Society AZ Elk Society AZ Flycasters Club AZ Houndsmen AZ Outdoor Adventures AZ Outdoor Sports AZ Predator Callers AZ State Council of Trout Unlimited AZ Taxidermy Association Ben Avery Clay Busters Christian Hunters of America Conserve and Protect AZ FirstStrategic, LLC Gila County Cattlegrowers Association Kahuna’s Kids Mogollon Sporting Association Mohave Sportsman Club Mule Deer Foundation Outdoor Experience 4 All Rim Country Custom Rods SolidMen Hunt Club Southern AZ Quail Forever Southwest Wildlife Foundation Sportsmen’s Business Alliance SRT Outdoors The BASS Federation AZ Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership Valley of the Sun Quail Forever Wounded Warrior Outdoors Yuma Valley Rod and Gun Club 1.2.3.Go… |