DNR drafts policy on ATV use of state lands, state trails
by Joel Patenaude Wisconsin A draft policy for where and when all-terrain vehicle use would be allowed on state-owned land received its first public vetting on August 14.
The
preliminary guidelines, which a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources task force spent a year writing, was debated by representatives of a wide range of groups those in favor of expanding ATV access to existing and new state trails as well as organizations concerned with the environmental damage that would cause on public lands.
According to the DNR, ATV registrations have skyrocketed from about 25,000 in 1986 to more than 100,000 in 2000 and more than 200,000 in 2003. The state agency
is looking for ways to accommodate this growing constituency while minimizing the impact on public lands and natural resources and lessening the conflict with people enjoying other recreational activities.
Most of the more than one dozen invited "stakeholders" who met for the day at a hotel in Wausau indicated, by a raise of hands, that the draft policy balanced recreational demands and natural resource protection "pretty well."
Yet individuals on both sides said the
criteria in the draft policy still lacks specifics and definitions that must be hammered out before the policy goes before the Natural Resources Board and on to the state Legislature for approval.
For now, the criteria in the draft policy suggests "state natural areas, state parks, wild rivers properties and state Ice Age Trail areas will generally not be suitable for ATV use. On these properties, ATV use will only be considered as an exception . Requests for trails on other property
types will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis."
The DNR completed the draft ATV policy last month as requested by DNR Secretary Scott Hassett in July 2003, according to DNR recreational specialist and ATV task force leader Tim Miller. He said a set of criteria is needed for establishing sustainable ATV trails as well as to guide local state land managers and citizen groups in the use of the best trail design and management practices.
The draft policy includes seven criteria that
would have to be addressed by the DNR when considering ATV use on specific state-owned property. The criteria would require all ATV trails to be compatible with existing property designations and funding requirements, not have a significant adverse impact on natural resources, not pose a safety hazard to other trail users or hamper other recreational uses, enhance the local economy and generate local, cooperative efforts to develop and maintain the trail.
Stakeholder Alan Drum asked if the
DNR would allow ATV use of state trails where there is considerable opposition to idea. He and his wife, Sue, represented Northwoods Citizens for Responsible Stewardship, a group that successfully organized opposition to ATV use of Vilas County trails by referendum a year ago. (See "How and Why a Northwoods community blocked its paths to ATVs" in the July issue of Silent Sports.)
"Now the department knows that in Vilas County over 60 percent of taxpayers don't appreciate ATV
traffic," Drum said.
Bill Korrer of the Wisconsin Counties Association said public opinion ought to be considered well beyond the area of a specific trail the DNR may consider opening up to ATVs. "Locals don't carry as much weight as the wishes of the whole since we're talking about state land," he said.
The stakeholders started the meeting by debating the general guidelines proposed by the DNR to ensure that state trails are physically, ecologically and economically
sustainable.
Environmentalists said ATVs cause rutting, erosion and contribute to the spread of invasive plants well beyond designated trail bed, especially when they are driven off trail.
ATV proponents said trails can be sustained through routine maintenance. They argued that other users, including hikers and mountain bikers, contribute to the degradation of trails. A county forestry official suggested the cleats on hiking boots transport "weed seeds" like tire treads.
"ATV riding is qualitatively different. It is a ground disturbing activity," responded Wisconsin Stewardship Network board president John Schwarzmann of Minocqua.
Schwarzmann suggested local ATV clubs post a bond to pay for ATV damage, should it occur, by illegal riding on private property adjacent to the designated trails the clubs maintain. He held up as a model the bonding of logging companies to cover the cost of inadvertent property damage due to their activities.
"Someone needs to be held responsible when the standards are not met," Schwartzmann said.
But Randy Harden, president of the Wisconsin All-Terrain Vehicle Association, said, "It would be almost impossible for a non-profit organization to get a bond. A business like a logging company and a volunteer ATV club are two different animals."
On the other hand, he said funding for ATV-related law enforcement has increased dramatically and has "yet to be tapped
into." He said volunteer "trail ambassadors" work with local law enforcement like members of neighborhood watch groups.
"I, for one, don't want to go off the trails because the trails are a great place to be," Lee Van Zeeland of the Wisconsin Power Sports Dealers Association said. "Yes, 1 percent of ATV users go off the trails, but if we make good trails they'll want to stay on them too."
Critics of ATVs suggested they remain skeptical that only a
minority of "renegade riders" exist or that they can be caught and punished for destroying wetlands, forests and fields on state and private property.
Funds to pay for damage
Rob McConnell, vice-chairperson of the Wisconsin Off-Road Vehicle Council, said ATV registration and gas taxes have generated more than $2.5 million, much of which goes to local clubs and state parks. There is also money available to private landowners to repair ATV damage.
"All you have to do is ask for a chunk of that," McConnell said.
Every year, ATV clubs get $450 in maintenance funds per mile of summer trail and $100 per mile of winter trails for which they are responsible.
"We're getting gobs of requests to fund boardwalks," he said. "It's an acceptable way to allow ATV users to cross wetlands and it's an example of a new trail technology we weren't using at all five years ago."
That state money is not available to
local chapters of the Ice Age Trail, a federally designated, hiking-only trail that crosses Wisconsin. According to Don Erickson, co-coordinator of the Superior Lobe Chapter which looks after 48 miles of Ice Age Trail through Barron and Washburn counties, is illegally ridden and rutted by ATVs. A motorized grooming machine is ineffective in such places.
McConnell claimed ATV and snowmobile riders are the only recreational groups that pay directly for their trail usage. But state park users
pay entrance fees and bicyclists are expected to buy annual state trail passes.
Public involvement
In the works for a year, the draft ATV policy was intentionally unveiled by DNR officials to a select group of stakeholders some of whom had less than a week's notice of the August 14 meeting. This is not, however, an unusual way for the DNR to start promulgating an administrative rule, especially one which officials expect will attract much interest from the public at large.
"This was a less involving approach, but not uncommon," said Ken Wiesner, assistant administrator of the DNR's water division. "We needed advice on how to proceed. In every state, the ATV issue has become a furor. We want to know how to avoid that. How can we in Wisconsin minimize the turmoil that churns up and is unproductive and get consensus?"
He said the DNR will likely go through the administrative rule process, which will involve public hearings before the
National Resources Board and the state Legislature.
The draft policy and a comment form can be found at www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/caer/ce/news/ON/ATVcommentform.pdf
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