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| ARRA Applauds Forest Service Rule - ATV | OHV News - Rides | ATV News and Events - Can-Am Headquarters ...Aurora Wheelers ATV Forum | ||||||||||||||||
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outlandish AWF Admin 
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WASHINGTON, Nov. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Americans for Responsible Recreational Access today commended the U.S. Forest Service for its final rule regulating off-highway vehicle use on public lands. "The important thing is that the new rule recognizes the rightful role of motorized recreation on public lands," said ARRA Executive Director Larry E. Smith. "While the rule might not be perfect for everyone, we are pleased that it sustains the Forest Service's view that public lands belong to all Americans, not just an elite few." Mr. Smith said the new rule will challenge local riders and rider groups to help with the job of mapping designated OHV roads and trails in the nation's forests. "This will be a huge job," Mr. Smith said, "but who knows the trails of our forests better than the riders themselves? I would urge all interested individuals and groups to work with local forest officials to help locate and map roads and trails." "Our objective at ARRA is to keep public lands open to a wide variety of recreational pursuits," Mr. Smith said. "This rule recognizes the tremendous growth in OHV ridership and the need to assure that riders have access to our nation's forests. When the mapping job is completed, riders will know where they can go and where they can't. In our view, that's just a better way to manage our national forests." Mr. Smith said the rule, if implemented successfully, could serve to lessen the issue of rider conflict in the national forests. "Assuming an adequate number of trails and good communications with riders, we believe the rule strikes a good balance between protecting public lands and managing the growing popularity of OHV use." Mr. Smith commended Forest Service Chief Dale N. Bosworth and his staff for listening to OHV rider groups in developing the rule. "We are particularly pleased that the Forest Service took the time to listen to all interests in shaping this policy. We believe one of the true strengths of the rule is that it moves authority for designating trails to the local level." ARRA -- one of the fastest growing recreation groups in the country -- represents the interests of millions of families and individuals who enjoy outdoor recreation and who believe that federal lands should remain open to recreational pursuits. Check out our website at http://www.arra-access.com.
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outlandish AWF Admin
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ENVIROS say OHV plan makes bad thing worse Tribune Staff and Wire Salt Lake Tribune WASHINGTON - Environmentalists and recreation groups decried a Forest Service plan to restrict off-road vehicles, saying the new policy could legitimize hundreds of illegal trails carved out by off-road enthusiasts. The Forest Service announced Wednesday that it intends to halt the roughhewn roads and trails that proliferate in public forests due to increased traffic by dirt bikes and other off-road vehicles. The new policy would require all 155 national forests and 20 grasslands to designate roads and trails that are open to motor-vehicle use. But for the first time, heavily traveled ''renegade routes'' created illegally by off-road drivers could be designated for legal use. Utah Environmental Congress Executive Director Kevin Mueller said the new policy falls short of meeting the law enforcement needs of field officers and fails to provide adequate road analysis and environmental protection. “That's a step in the wrong direction,” he said. Registration in Utah for ATVs, dirt bikes and other off-road vehicles has soared in the past seven years and is nearing the 200,000 mark. Rainer Huck, an off highway vehicle proponent and president of USA-All, said the environmental impact of OHVs is minimal. “The concept of all this damage that OHVs are causing is simply overblown,” he said. “The tracks go away.” Huck also said designated routes equal a vast reduction in routes because the Forest Service rarely makes new trails and roads available. “To them [environmentalists] an illegal trail is any one not constructed by the Forest Service,” Huck said. “They're the people's choice trails. They're the trail where people want to go.” ''Instead of a bold stride, we got a baby step,'' said Jason Kiely, director of the Montana-based Natural Trails and Water Coalition. ''The practical effect is that you are going to have to take out rogue routes created by off-roaders one at a time.'' The agency said it will take up to four years to designate roads and trails on all 193 million acres of public lands. Each forest or grassland will publish a map of approved routes that riders can use, with penalties specified for riding on unmarked trails. Environmentalists and other critics said the plan did not go far enough to ensure effective enforcement. In the past three decades, the number of off-road vehicle users has increased sevenfold to about 36 million, causing conflicts with other users such as hikers, horseback riders and the growing number of homeowners who live near national forests. ''This is like throwing a bucket of water on a raging inferno. It's the right medicine - it's just not nearly enough of it,'' said Jim Furnish, a former deputy Forest Service chief who has been critical of the agency under the Bush administration. ''It's almost an oxymoron that there is a good illegal route,'' he added. Forest Service officials defended the plan, saying some of the illegal routes have been used for so long they no longer pose a threat. ''Some of the routes have evolved over the years to the point where they are enjoyed by the public,'' said Jack Troyer, a regional forester who led the Forest Service team that developed the policy. Routes that cause erosion and other problems will be removed, he said. Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth said the new policy encourages off-road enthusiasts to use the forests in an environmentally friendly way. ''It's my belief that most users want to do the right thing,'' Bosworth said. Don Amador of the Blue Ribbon Coalition, an Idaho-based group that advocates motorized recreation, called the new policy a good start and said he would encourage group members to participate as the Forest Service designates trails.
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outlandish AWF Admin
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Listen to the conference call with questions and answers about the forest service rule HERE 1 hour long, MP3 format
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