Red State Rebels

Jeffery St. Claire, author of Red State Rebels, has a great post today on his blog of the same name. His article, Wasting the Wayne, Ohio’s Only National Forest, covers a report by the regional forest protection organization Heartwood. The report concludes that "the Forest Service’s 15-year management plan for southern Ohio’s Wayne National Forest (WNF) ––Ohio’s only national forest––does not maximize net public benefits as required by law."

St. Claire also focuses on what the report says about the Forest Service's off-road vehicle management plans. Good stuff:

Air pollution in the region, including particulates, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and nitrous oxides (NOx), will also be increased by the Plan’s proposed expansion of Off-road Vehicle (ORV) trails by up to 125 miles. The Forest Service plans to expand the ORV trail system in an attempt to decrease unmanaged ORV activity, identified as a major threat to National Forests by USDA’s 2004 National Strategic Plan.

“The Forest Service expects to spend over $3 million on new ORV trails. Many of these new ORV miles could be converted from illegal trails. So the Forest Service will reward illegal activity at great public expense and with no clear public benefit,” Mark Donham, Heartwood Program Director, noted. “The Forest Service admits that it can’t even adequately monitor existing trails. It also provides no data to show that converting illegal to legal trails actually decreases illegal activity,” he added.

ORVs are banned from the Monongahela (WV), Hoosier (IN) and Shawnee (IL) National Forests. The study provides extensive data on the higher popularity and greater economic value of other recreational activities in the Wayne, including nature viewing, hiking, sightseeing, and picnicking. Since these activities are largely incompatible with ORV use, the Plan harms rather than benefits the region economically by favoring ORVs over these more environmentally benign and more popular activities.