Local involvement is critical if Wildlands CPR and our allies expect to succeed. The future of natural quiet and healthy fish and wildlife habitat is being shaped through a series of “travel plans” that are being drafted by national forests everywhere. These plans will result in “motor vehicle use maps” that direct visitors where they can and cannot drive their 4X4, all-terrain vehicle or dirt bike.
Here in Montana, the Bitterroot Quiet Use Coalition [1] has begun to broaden the approach that the Bitterroot National Forest is taking. Previously, the forest was conducting “motorized recreation planning.” Thanks to the coalition’s efforts to elevate conservation and “quiet use” values, the forest responded by proposing a “travel management plan” with this more balanced objective: “to provide quality motorized and non-motorized recreation opportunities while protecting natural resources.”
“Everyone knows that it’s no fun to hike or horseback ride where off-road vehicles go,” said Adam Rissien, who represents Wildlands CPR in the coalition. “In essence, allowing off-road vehicles in a particular area largely precludes quiet uses and excellent fish and wildlife habitat. The Forest Service needs to deliberately and simultaneously plan for quality habitat, clean water, traditional access and activities, and motorized recreation.”
Currently, only about 14% of trails are protected from off-road vehicle use outside of official Wilderness lands on the Bitterroot National Forest (source: Forest Service INFRA Database, 2003). At the same time, motorized recreation represents less than 3% [2] of the use there. Even if all the trails on the Bitterroot were protected from noise and damage caused by ATVs and dirt bikes, there would still be over 2,250 miles of roads to ride (source: Forest Service INFRA Database, 2003).
The coalition’s emergence follows years of collaborative efforts among Wildlands CPR, hikers, horseback riders, hunters, homeowners and other conservationists to monitor trespass, damage, and illegal route-proliferation caused by irresponsible off-road vehicle use throughout the Bitterroot National Forest. As in many other forests, off-roaders have cut unlawful routes across the forest, damaging the land and ruining experiences in proposed wilderness and roadless areas as well as in the neighborhoods [3] where families had settled in search of peace and quiet.
The coalition is helping more area residents and visitors get involved in identifying problem areas and creating solutions. The coalition recently launched a website, www.quietusecoalition.org [4], where citizens can get information and sign-up for action alerts. The coalition has also distributed the inaugural edition of “Quiet Times,” a full-color tabloid. Both publications highlight popular demand for traditional recreation opportunities, a thriving environment and effective management of the off-road vehicles that could undermine popular “quiet” (i.e., motor-free) activities and values.
Wildlands CPR’s support of coalition members is paying off. For instance, at their convention this spring the Back Country Horsemen of Montana asserted their support for off-road vehicle reform by passing a resolu¬tion submitted by the Selway-Pintler Wilderness Chapter, a coalition member. Read more about this, related quiet use stories at www.quietusecoalition.org [5].
Related Information
Bitterroot Quiet Use Coalition website [6]
Press release [6] on release of proposed travel plan
Bitterroot National Forest website: proposed travel management plan & maps [7]
Bitterroot National Forest activity participation [8] (see Table 13 on page 15)