Sounding (the silent sports) Alarm [12.06]
Causes for concern & action
ATV'ERS PETITION FOR USE OF STATE TRAILS
The parks and development committee of the Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, board of supervisors expects to receive a petition calling for year-round ATV use of several state trails at its December 6 meeting.
The trails to which ATV'ers will likely seek access include the Wild Goose State Park Trail, the Eisenbahn State Park Trail, the Mascoutin Valley
State Park Trail and the Northwestern Trail. The list may also include the Peebles and Prairie trails.
The petitioner, an Eden resident, believes that ATV riders are being discriminated against because the state and county currently prohibits ATV use on these trails, which were never intended or designed for motorized use.
Sam Tobias, county director of planning and parks, urged anyone who enjoys these trails for running, walking and bicycling to attend the committee meeting.
The
meeting is set for 6:15 p.m. in Room G of the City/County Shared Government Center located at 160 South Macy Street, Fond du Lac.
MINN. LAND MANAGERS SAY OHV LAWS INADEQUATE
Natural resource managers should be able to turn down proposals for new ATV trails "based on an inherent conflict with natural resource values," according to the Minnesota Fish and Wildlife Employees Association.
In a September 12 letter, association president Jeanine Vorland urged Minnesota DNR
Commissioner Gene Merriam to seek legislative authority to study the adverse environmental impact of off-highway vehicles and determine the true costs of OHV trail maintenance and law enforcement.
"Current Minnesota statutes regarding OHV policies are not protecting Minnesota natural resources," Vorland wrote, because few limits are placed on ATV riding in the northern part of the state.
Vorland said her organization is particularly concerned with the state's "managed" category of OHV
travel in state forests. This category allows OHV access to thousands of acres of public land unless specifically posted closed. This approach, Vorland wrote, "is difficult and costly to manage and largely unenforceable." She advocated greater use of the "limited" use category which would permit OHV travel on posted trails only.
The DNR should "do the public relations necessary" to bolster agency decisions not to permit OHV trails through environmentally sensitive areas and where other
recreationalists would be disturbed, she said.
Vorland cited a proposal to allow OHV riding along a 12-mile stretch of the Red Lake River. The OHV trail would have followed "an important linear ecological feature and canoe route."
She wrote, "It should be clear that there are some proposals that will not be funded by the DNR, and this is a good example."
STUDY: MOUNTAIN BIKING HAS LITTLE TRAIL IMPACT
A study published in the summer 2006 Journal of Park and
Recreation Administration takes a close look at the environmental impacts of mountain biking. Researchers measured trail erosion and other impacts on 31 trails used for mountain biking in the southwestern U.S.
The study concludes that, "certain impacts to mountain bike trails, especially width, are comparable or less than hiking or multiple-use trails, and significantly less than impacts to equestrian or off-highway vehicle trails."
Recreational ecologists Dave White from Arizona State
University and Pam Foti from Northern Arizona University led the three-year research project. "Our study contributes to the growing consensus that mountain biking can be a sustainable activity on properly managed trails," researcher Dave White said.
The team published a 60-page guidebook titled "Planning and Managing Environmentally Friendly Mountain Bike Trails" that includes recommendations for trail management and tips for responsible mountain biking.
Don Applegate of the U.S.
Bureau of Land Management said, "These new trail monitoring techniques are defendable methods to sustain trail systems that respect the natural environment as well as the need for high quality recreational opportunities."
REC SITES IN NAT'L FORESTS MAY CLOSE OR PRIVATIZE
The USDA-Forest Service (USFS) is quietly planning to close or privatize thousands of recreation sites, according to the Norwood, Colorado-based Western Slope No-Fee Coalition.
The coalition released
a report in August accusing USFS of secretly implementing a policy initiative that threatens to impose a for-profit model on the management of America's National Forests.
USFS is anticipating that recreation sites most vulnerable to change will be small, remote facilities. Potential actions include closures of sites and facilities; charging or increasing fees; finding volunteers to run and maintain sites; or turning sites over to private concessionaires.
The coalition estimated anywhere
from 3,000 to 5,000 recreation sites will be closed, and another 4,000 will either be privatized or have user fees imposed. USFS Deputy Chief Joel Holtrop could not provide an agency estimate, but suggested increased public participation in a more open planning process may alter the outcome.
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