The Southern Four Wheel Drive Association and a handful of other off road vehicle groups have filed notice with the U.S. Forest Service of their intent to sue the agency over the forest service’s decision to temporarily close the Upper Tellico OHV Area for the next two years with the option to make the closure permanent in the future. The forest service issued this closure on March 31, 2009 based on the massive amounts of sediment that were entering the Tellico River and nearby trout streams from the OHV area, which had more than double the amount of trails allowed by law.
The Southern Four Wheel Drive Association is suing on the basis that the water degradation is being overstated by the forest service and interested environmental groups.
