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Sounding (the silent sports) Alarm [10.07] COMMENTS ON ATV TRAIL PLAN FOR NH-AL DUE NOV. 1 Time is running out to register opposition to the construction of 60 miles of ATV trails in Wisconsin's Northern Highland-American Legion (NH-AL) State Forest. NH-AL State Forest Superintendent Steve Petersen is asking people to read a description of the proposed trails and then fill out and return the attached questionaire by November 1. The "NH-AL State Forest ATV Trails Alternatives Public Input Booklet," was approved by a DNR-sponsored, pro-ATV stakeholders advisory group. The booklet is available as a downloadable PDF at http://dnr.wi.gov/forestry/input/. Comments can also be submitted online from that website. "I encourage you to not simply vote yes or no. I want to read your reasons for your position," Petersen advised those who fill out the booklet. Because the Natural Resources Board will ultimately decide whether to allow ATV trails in the state forest, the most effective arguments should address whether the trail plan meets the state's guidelines and criteria for citing ATV trails. The state guidelines can be found here: http://dnr.wi.gov/master_plan ning/NHAL/pdfs/NHAL-ATV-use.pdf. Written comments may also be mailed to Petersen at the NH-AL State Forest, 8770 Highway J, Woodruff, WI 54568 or e-mailed to Steven.Petersen@Wisconsin.gov WIS. DNR NOT REQUIRED TO BUILD ATV TRAILS In late August, the Wisconsin Natural Resources Board (NRB) declared its neutrality on the subject of ATVs in the NH-AL State Forest until presentations are made some time this fall. "Apparently, some people feel that the board (NRB) expressed a desire that there be ATV trail development in the (NH-AL) forest and instructed the department (DNR) to report back with plans for one or more routes," wrote NRB Secretary John Welter in a August 22 letter to the Sustainable ATV Trail Stakeholders Group for the NH-AL State Forest. "In fact no desire or instruction on ATV use was expressed," Welter wrote. The letter was soon followed by a legal opinion from a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources lawyer saying that the agency is under no obligation to build ATV trails. While state law does direct the DNR to "encourage and supervise a system of all-terrain vehicle routes and trails," DNR officials have interpreted that to mean they must facilitate the creation of ATV trails by local government. "But no more," wrote DNR attorney Michael Lutz. "Encourage and supervise," he concluded, "does not necessarily mean carrying on or being a party to carrying on work" building trails for ATV riders. "In fact," Lutz said in an interview with Silent Sports, "the DNR doesn't have to provide trails for any user group." Lutz was asked to provide legal guidance on this issue by DNR Division of Land Administrator Laurie Osterndorf. Although Lutz complied in early July, his opinion did not become a public document until it was forwarded in early September to the Natural Resources Board. In coming to his conclusions, Lutz examined state statutes and relevant case law. He found that the DNR's authority would allow but not require motorized activities such as ATVs. By establishing ATV regulations, issuing accident reports and doling out trail maintenance funds, Lutz said the DNR has done exactly what it was directed to do by the Legislature. It has encouraged and supervised ATV use in the state. The agency has, he wrote, "a great deal of discretion in determining the appropriate activities for its properties. There is neither a mandate nor prohibition on motorized uses." on display: ROAD PLANS for Cheq-Nicolet FORESTS U.S. Forest Service personnel are also busy determining which roads and trails in national parks should be open and closed to motorized users. In Wisconsin, the Travel Management Rule process mostly affects the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forests. There are 9,000 miles of roads in the 1.5 million-acre Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. The Chequamegon side already includes 284 miles of developed ATV trails. No such trails yet exist on the Nicolet side but are on the drawing board. The Travel Management Rule prohibits off-highway vehicles (OHV) from traveling cross-country through the national parks but designates roads and trails for their use. "In the right places and managed carefully, OHV recreation is an appropriate use of the national forest," Chequamegon-Nicolet Forest Supervisor Jeanne Higgins said. The Chequamegon Area Mountain Biking Association (CAMBA) is rightly concerned about ATV trails that already cross or dead-end at mountain bike trails, increasing the liklihood of ATV abuse of carefully constructed singletrack. CAMBA oversees a regional mountain bike trail system of over 300 miles around the towns of Cable, Delta, Drummond, Hayward, Namakagon and Seeley, in national and county forests and on some private land. The Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest will be hosting five open houses October 4-16. Drafts of the road and trail maps for the forests (based on previous meeting input) will be on display and park service employees will answer questions. Comments and suggestions regarding designations for motorized vehicle will be welcome. The open houses are as follows: • Thurs., Oct. 4: Best Western Crandon Inn, Crandon. • Wed., Oct. 10: Phillips High School, Phillips. • Thurs., Oct. 11: Lincoln Town Hall, Eagle River. • Mon., Oct. 15: Lakewoods Resort, Cable. • Tues., Oct. 16: Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center, Ashland. The open houses will start with formal presentations at 6 p.m. and from 6:45 p.m. to 8 p.m. the public can view the maps and talk to park officials. The maps will be available at district offices and posted on the Forest Service website, www.fs.fed.us/r9/cnnf. For additional information on the open houses, call Joan Marburger at 715/762-5178. ATV'ERS STILL SEEK ACCESS TO EISENBAHN STATE TRAIL Less than nine months after the Fond du Lac County (Wisconsin) Board voted 26-9 against allowing winter ATV'ing on the 10-mile Eisenbahn State Trail, a local ATV club is back with the same demand. On September 5, Eden Area Trailrunners ATV Club President Don Blatz told the county parks and development committee it would again seek winter access to the rail-trail. Last December, the committee approved but the full county board voted down a proposal to allow, on a one-year trial basis, winter ATVing on the trail. Blatz said the club would return to the committee on October 3 with a formal request for ongoing ATV access – no trial period – from December 10 to March 15 so long as the frost on the trail is six inches deep. The committee will meet October 3 at 6:15 p.m. at the Fond du Lac County Government Center, Room H, 160 S. Macy Street, Fond du Lac. If a majority of the five-person committee approve ATV use on the trail, a resolution will be forwarded to the full county board, which meets the third Tuesday of the month. For more information, county parks director Sam Tobias (who opposed ATVs on the trail) can be reached at sam.tobias@fdlco.wi.gov or 920/929-3135. MORE STEWARDHIP MONEY BACKED BY BUSINESS MAG Wisconsin state lawmakers, still deadlocked over the state budget, should agree to increase spending on the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Fund, according to a September 14 staff editorial in the Milwaukee Business Journal. The editorial urged support for Gov. Jim Doyle's proposal to increase funding for the stewardship fund from $60 million a year to $105 million annually, starting in 2011. The editorial pointed out that the fund has, since it was set up in 1990, helped purchase and protect more than 477,000 acres. "Preserving land is important to the state's economy, most notably Wisconsin's $11 billion annual tourism industry," the newspaper said. In the same issue of the journal, John Torinus Jr., chairman of Serigraph Inc. of West Bend, also expressed support for increasing the stewardship fund. "Extension of the fund is critical to the health of the state's economy," he wrote. "Tourists don't go 'up north' to see subdivisions. They go to see the beauty of our undivided forests and undeveloped lakes." TUBERS ON NAMAKAGON IRK ANGLERS, PADDLERS Over the Fourth of July weekend, a record 4,000 people drifted on inner tubes down the Namakagon River in northwestern Wisconsin. The "tuber" traffic, concentrated on the five-mile stretch between Hayward and Trego, has drawn the ire of anglers and paddlers, according to September 30 edition of Wisconsin Outdoor News. Tubers are blamed for an increase in alcohol-related incidents, littering and habitat disruption on the river – the northern tributary of the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway. Conflicts between user group are also on the rise.
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