Natural Trails and Waters Coalition * American Hiking Society

September 1 , 2004

Washington, DC - With less than two weeks for the public to comment on draft USDA Forest Service rules governing all-terrain vehicle (ATV), dirt bike and other off-road vehicle use on America's National Forests, the former Deputy Chief of the Forest Service and leaders in the recreation and conservation communities today challenged the agency to significantly strengthen those rules or risk failure. The challenge was issued at a National Press Club Newsmaker News Conference.

"I have seen pervasive and conflicted off-road vehicle issues in all parts of the country," said Jim Furnish, who retired from the Forest Service after 34 years. "Much of the responsibility for letting the conflict grow to such magnitude lies with the Forest Service's failure to act. Dramatic and decisive steps are urgently needed; half-measures will not suffice."

"Unchecked off-road vehicle use degrades the recreational experience of others, particularly hikers, and forces us off of trails that we would otherwise have enjoyed, and may have even built and maintained," said Mary Margaret Sloan, President of the American Hiking Society. "Just because all-terrain vehicles and dirt bikes can go almost anywhere, does not mean that they should. The steps the Forest Service is taking are generally headed in the right direction, but they don't go nearly far enough to have a real impact on the problem."

Although some of the proposed changes are positive, they alone will not solve this growing problem. To ensure necessary and common-sense protections for public land, wildlife and other recreational users, the Forest Service must include additional measures in any final rule. The most important of these include:

* Within two years, designating roads and routes that are appropriate for off-road vehicle travel. At the end of this period, such use could only occur on designated roads and routes;

* Designating roads and routes based on a full and public analysis of the site-specific environmental impacts and user-conflicts;

* Immediately barring use of all unauthorized, renegade routes; and

* Authorizing off-road vehicle use only to the extent that effective monitoring and enforcement are annually funded and implemented.

"Without a timeframe for getting work done and a commitment of resources to enforce new rules, this proposal is a paper tiger," said Scott Kovarovics, Director of the Natural Trails and Waters Coalition. "Chief Bosworth approved a similarly toothless plan for Montana back in January 2001. Nearly four years later, not a single forest there has completed route designations and some have even cut their budgets for off-road vehicle planning."

Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth has repeatedly identified unmanaged off-road vehicle use as one of the greatest threats to America's National Forests. He has also issued an urgent call to action saying: "This is not an easy issue to tackle, but if we wait a day, a week, or even a year, the impact on the land and the issues surrounding the problem will become even harder to deal with. We need to address this issue now."

The Forest Service is proposing several policy changes that would be beneficial if effectively implemented on the ground. These include:

* Prohibiting cross-country travel by motor vehicles except under limited circumstances;

* Authorizing ATV and dirt bike use only on roads and off-road vehicle routes specifically designated as open for such use; and

* Not requiring unnecessary and wasteful efforts to inventory and map every unauthorized, renegade ATV or dirt bike route before the agency can begin to designate official routes for off-road vehicles.

Comments can be submitted to the Forest Service through September 13 via the following:

U.S. Mail:
Proposed Rule for Designated Routes and Areas for Motor Vehicle Use
c/o Content Analysis Team
P.O. Box 221150
Salt Lake City, Utah 84122-1150

Email:
trvman@fs.fed.us

Fax:
801-517-1014

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