Forest Sevice proposes new nationwide trail closure rules

[bevann]

The U.S. Forest Service is proposing a national policy to restrict ATV and other off road vehicle use nationwide on Forest Service Land. The proposed rule is open for comment for 60 days (to approx. Sept 7, 2004) before a final decision will be made.

Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth said that there are four major threats to the national forest system, 1) fire and fuels 2) unwanted invasive species, 3) loss of open space, 4) and the impacts of unmanaged recreation, particularly off-highway vehicles.

In a 2001 Dale Bosworth, then head of the Northern Region, put strict limits on motor-vehicle use in the forests, ordering vehicles to stick to designated roads and trails. He also ordered forest supervisors in the region, covering Montana, North Dakota and parts of South Dakota, to review all of their existing trails and roads and determine which ones - on about 10 million acres in all - should be closed.

Now as head of the agency, he will close thousands of miles of routes and many more millions of acres. Even roads and trails hundreds of years old could be closed under the plan. The agency said it intends to prohibit cross-country travel, and make it easier for law enforcement officers to issue citations.

If the national rule is finalized, forest service staff would "œwork"� with the public to inventory all existing roads and trails to determine which are needed and which are ENVIRONMENTALLY damaging. The STAFF would then decide whether to continue to allow vehicular use, limit access to hikers, bicycles or horses, or close the trail completely. Here"™s some examples:

Frank Landis, a forest protection officer in Colorado found ruts in a stream and new routes up a steep, sandy bluff to get at illegal trails that Landis' staff had recently blocked. "That is just a complete lack of respect for public lands," said a frustrated Landis. "I mean, what do we have to do, fence the whole road?"

"We're seeing impacts now that we just can't live with," said Jack Troyer, the intermountain regional forester based in Utah. "

OFF-ROAD RULES

Here is the complete text of proposed Forest Service regulations for off-road vehicles. Contact information near the beginning of the document.

http://www.fs.fed.us/recreation/prog...hv/OHVrule.pdf

Write the Forest Service today.

Then copy this post (or write your own), and post it on as many forums for as many types of outdoor activities as you can think of. I have to sign up for forums, so it is very slow going. I need help getting the word out.

Write your congressional representatives too. http://www.house.gov/writerep/, your senator http://www.senate.gov/general/contac...nators_cfm.cfm, and the president if you are so inclined http://www.congress.org/congressorg/...&type=PR&lvl=F. Write your state and local elected officials. Notify your local newspapers.

And for nay Sayers"”the Forest Service says there are 35 million using ATV"™s. We can beat this, if we get the word out to ATV users.

bev

[Strut&Rut]

The most unfortunate aspect of this argument, is, only a few bad apples really do affect the outcomes of the entire crop...

[Tazman]

Strut said a mouth full, it is the bad apples that led to this, but I do not see where it states they are closing ALL trails, just ones where the enviroment is being damaged. As a huntner I have no real issue with this, there are alternatives to ATV's for hunting that are good for your health and enviromentaly friendly, walking and horse back. Folks who ride ATV's and feel they are seeing nature are fooling thereselves, if you want to see nature then hike back in 5 miles or ride a horse in for 20 miles. The folks that ride ATV's all the time will be shocked at how much wildlife they will see when they are not riding a noisy SUV!

I will sit here and wait to be slammed![8D]

[bevann]

I don't agree with either of you, at least not 100%.

It's not really just a few bad eggs. Sand Mountain (BLM) at Fallon NV is under attack by 4 environmentalist groups and a few BLM insiders, who claim a butterfly is endangered. Facts have been exaggerated and distorted beyond belief in hopes of ending the "open" status. I don't ride there, it's just a dune and doesn't interest me, but the bad science they used irritated me--and I wrote a 27 page rebuttal correcting the errors, which they wanted the agency to use to change the designation.

I agree with the second poster, but I hunt fossils. Game hunters and other outdoor people don't have as much trouble as I do in finding a partner. The change could mean I'd be hiking in 10, or 20 miles to get to a fossil site and then hiking out with rocks out on my back. I'm 62, in good condition, but who knows what can happen. If rattlesnake bit even 10 miles from my vehicle (and cell phones don't work from many of my sites) I would be too sick to keep moving before I got to my vehicle. I would have no help, if I had a heart attack, and either way I sure wouldn't make it the 100 miles or more for medical attention without help.

bev

[Tazman]

Not sure where you are at Bevann, but I wouldn't mind going fossil hunting myself, but some how I have a feeling you are out west which would be a bit of a trip! I would not be surprised if you could not find a hunter or group of hunters that would be more than happy to go back in with you and they would have no issue with you fossil hunting while they hunted game.

[soarkrebel]

Well as a property owner that borders the ouachita national forest and one who rides in it weekly i say this is BS!
I know the debate went on here about this and they backed off closing them. these rednecks i live around would burn the forest ! and living next to it scares me that it would probably happen.

People can enjoy OUR land on foot , horse back ,atv or whatever . most roads are closed off from road vehicles anyway around here but there are literally hundreds of atv trails behind closed gates. myself and neighbors have trails right from our yards into the national forest.

I will contact them and speak my mind on the issue.

And taz atv's are much cheaper than a horse!!! not everyone can have a horse!!

The folks that ride ATV's all the time will be shocked at how much wildlife they will see when they are not riding a noisy SUV!

And an atv and a suv are two different beasts.

[Tazman]

And taz atv's are much cheaper than a horse!!! not everyone can have a horse!!

You will get no argument from me on that one, I couldn't afford a horse, but can we afford having areas destroyed to where some folks can tear them up with ATV's and RV's?

Once a hill has washed out due to being torn up by ATV' & or RV's it is lost forever. I am not saying all trials should be cut off, just the ones where they cause substantial damage.

[Dave590]

Here in Virginia, the George Washington National forest is closed to ATV traffic.

In fact, most of the forestry service roads are closed to ANY vehicular traffic for most of the year.(The gates are opened just prior to hunting season, and closed again at the end of spring gobbler.)

I think that is a good policy.

I don't particularily mind walking into the woods, in fact I often go out for days at a time.

I think that ATV's and those pesky 'personal water craft" contraptions are a pimple on the butt of humanity. Granted, they are fun to ride on, but they tend to annoy the heck out of everyone else.

[Tazman]

I think that ATV's and those pesky 'personal water craft" contraptions are a pimple on the butt of humanity. Granted, they are fun to ride on, but they tend to annoy the heck out of everyone else.

Glad you showed up, I was scared I was the only one that felt that way!

[bevann]

The absolute best way to encourge fossil theft is to close an area OR keep it "secret." No one is there to tell people to get out or call the law.

In exactly the same way, closing massive areas leaves the door open to more damage to the evironment than if restrictions were understandable.

At Sand Mountain (mentioned in earlier post), if they butterfly were really endangered, they would need to limit riding in 2,000 acres--its habitat--and not one soul would complain. However, they want that plus 26,000 acres changed to limited access.

Three of the 4 mountain ranges in this county are wilderness study areas and they announced that a study is underway for the 4th. ORV users will be left with with the "playas" desert dry lakes, which will be closed when the dust gets too thick. It's hard to respect that sort of thinking.

Right now people in this county, who want to be legal, have to call the BLM to find out if they can go into an area--and find out what is allowed. It took me several years just to figure out the fossil laws, rules, and regulations. Now I'm retiring 3 years early. I want to get out there before the knot of regulations is impossible to understand.

Moderator, I'll be glad to take you collecting if you get to Fallon NV, of course it better be before I get fed up with the government.

bev