Issue 105 - June 20, 2006
1. WYOMING ROAD WILL NOT BE RE-ROUTED THROUGH PRIME HABITAT
2. UTAH FOREST PLAN DRAWS PROTESTS
3. RULING: FOREST SERVICE MUST HALT ROAD REPAIRS
4. CITIZENS AND OFFICIALS UNITE TO PREVENT COLORADO STATE PARK ROAD
5. NEW OFF-ROAD VEHICLE RULES IN CALIFORNIA NATIONAL FOREST
6. IDAHO FACES MUD-BOG DAMAGE
7. GREATER LAW ENFORCEMENT PLANNED FOR MONTANA NATIONAL FOREST
8. NEW OFF-ROAD VEHICLE REGULATIONS IN ALBERTA FOREST
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1. WYOMING ROAD WILL NOT BE RE-ROUTED THROUGH PRIME HABITAT
The
Wyoming Department of Transportation has decided against rerouting U.S.
26/287 in northwest Wyoming as part of the road’s ongoing
reconstruction project. Motivating factors behind the decision include
environmental and cultural concerns.
The agency had considered
moving a section of the highway in an area known as Rosie’s Ridge
because the existing route location, with its steep slopes and icy
weather, requires heavy maintenance. This possibility was criticized by
the Wyoming Fish and Game Department and conservationists, as the new
road would have entered prime habitat for wildlife, including grizzly
bears. U.S. 26/287 connects the town of Dubois to Grand Teton National
Park, and crosses scenic wildlands in the Bridger-Teton and Shoshone
National Forests.
The Department spent a year studying the
potential effects of rerouting the Rosie’s Ridge section. It was
determined that the costs of the project, coupled with the projected
degradation of area habitat, were not feasible.
According to
Bob Bonds, an environmental coordinator for the agency, current grizzly
bear conservation standards would have required new habitat of equal
quality to be available to bears before re-routing construction could
begin.
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2. UTAH FOREST PLAN DRAWS PROTESTS
A
proposed forest summer travel plan for the Ogden District of the
Wasatch-Cache National Forest calls for the designation of 113 miles of
non-motorized trails, and 58 miles of motorized routes, including nine
miles of new routes. The plan would also close 54 route miles for
restoration, and install 15 new gates to enforce closures.
The
proposal, released in late March after two years of study, has created
concern among conservation and recreation groups. Several appeals to
the plan have been filed, including one from the Sierra Club’s Ogden
Chapter, along with three Salt Lake City conservation groups: the Wild
Utah Project, Western Wildlife Conservancy and the Citizens’ Committee
to Save Our Canyons. This appeal claims the proposal violates federal
laws, and favors motorized recreation at the expense of wildlife,
watersheds, and those who engage in “quiet recreation.” According to
Dan Schroeder of the Ogden Sierra Club, the proposal gives wildly
disproportionate access to off-road vehicle users, whom he believes
make up less than 5% of forest recreationists.
The new plan is
an attempt to address increases in local off-road vehicle use, which
has risen 156% in the Ogden District since 1998. A final travel plan
should be issued by July 1.
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3. RULING: FOREST SERVICE MUST HALT ROAD REPAIRS
A
federal judge has ruled that the United States Forest Service must stop
repairs to two logging roads in Alaska’s Tongass National Forest, due
to a lack of proper research on the environmental impacts of the
construction.
Glen Ith, a U.S. Forest Service Biologist, along
with Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics, sued the US
Forest Service, claiming road repairs should not be done without proper
environmental review and an open public process. The roads in question
run through stands of old-growth forest, where the Forest Service plans
to allow logging. The plaintiffs alleged that the agency was promoting
logging by bypassing the required study and citizen-involvement
process.
An injunction on the repairs has taken effect, and to
continue, the Forest Service must demonstrate why the road work’s
environmental effects are minimal.
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4. CITIZENS AND OFFICIALS UNITE TO PREVENT COLORADO STATE PARK ROAD
The
Colorado town of Firestone and state park officials are attempting to
annex St. Vrain State Park, which would permanently protect the
130-acre parcel from development by Weld County. The area provides
invaluable bird habitat, and is visited by thousands every year. The
county favors expanding Weld County 7 into a four-land highway that
would bisect the Park. County officials claim the expansion is
necessary to accommodate ever-expanding transportation needs in the
area. The proposal was set aside last year, but citizens and state park
officials are concerned that the county will again push for the
expansion.
The Colorado State Parks Board has asked Firestone
to bring the Park into the city limits. The town would then turn
park/road management over to the state, including any roadway
easements.
"In 20 or 30 years, all that would be left of the
park...would be another road," said Tom Ready, chairman of the Colorado
State Parks Board. "But open space goes on forever."
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5. NEW OFF-ROAD VEHICLE RULES IN CALIFORNIA NATIONAL FOREST
An
8,700 acre area of California’s Stanislaus National Forest known as the
Interface now contains 12 miles of trails that are closed to off-road
vehicles. As a compromise, new routes in the Summit Level area are now
available for off-road vehicle use. These routes are approximately 90%
complete, and should be fully operational by mid-summer.
These
new rules, which took effect in early May, are the latest development
in a debate about off-road vehicle use that has waged in the area for
years. Interface neighbors and property owners have long complained
about the noise pollution from nearby engines.
The Forest
Service is working with the County Sheriff’s Department to provide
daily enforcement of the new Interface rules. Those who use off-road
vehicles in restricted areas could be fined up to $5000 and spend up to
six months in jail.
Tom Quinn, Stanislaus National Forest
Supervisor, said, “The Interface Project will provide a wide variety of
outdoor recreation opportunities, while balancing uses to protect
natural resources and maintaining our good-neighbor relationship with
adjacent landowners."
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6. IDAHO FACES MUD-BOG DAMAGE
Idaho
officials are struggling to combat damage inflicted to the state by
"mud-bogging," the popular springtime practice of driving off-road
vehicles through wet areas. This activity damages water quality and
wildlife habitat, as well as leaving physical scars on the land. In
some cases, entire streams have been re-routed due to deep tracks
gouged by vehicles. State, federal, and tribal lands are all being
affected.
The area south of Lewiston is a particularly popular
mud-bogging destination, including large swaths of land owned by the
Nez Perce Tribe. Although all tribal land in the area is closed to
non-tribal members, there are only two gates on roads crossing the
area, leaving the land vulnerable to trespassers. A grant request was
recently filed by the tribe in an attempt to secure funding to more
adequately protect the land from off-road vehicle abuse.
Great
resources are spent to fight mud-bogging every year, with the Idaho
Department of Fish and Wildlife even funding patrol planes that search
for violators who can be caught in the act. This money could instead be
used for improving wildlife habitat or recreation infrastructure, and
the damage caused by mud-bogging causes the state to be more
restrictive in its access policies.
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7. GREATER LAW ENFORCEMENT PLANNED FOR MONTANA NATIONAL FOREST
Officials
for Montana’s Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest hope to step up
enforcement of off-road vehicle restrictions by using state grant money
to hire up to six patrol rangers.
Currently, there are three
officers charged with providing coverage to an area one-and-a-half
times the size of Yellowstone National Park. This makes catching
illegal off-road users very difficult. In the past five years, officers
have issued 21 tickets for off-road rule violations. During the same
time, over 291 incident reports have been filed, according to Jack de
Golia, a Forest spokesman.
The funding would come from The
Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks’ Off-Highway Vehicle and
Recreation Trails program. Program funds are generated from gasoline
taxes and proceeds from required off-road vehicle stickers.
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8. NEW OFF-ROAD VEHICLE REGULATIONS IN ALBERTA FOREST
New
rules in Alberta’s Ghost-Waiparous forest allow off-road vehicles to
travel only on 600 designated kilometers of routes, but off-road
vehicle damage to other parts of the forest continues.
The new
regulations come 20 years after provincial officials alerted the public
to the damage off-road vehicles were inflicting to the land, and
crafted recommendations to preserve the area. Hillsides were deeply
scarred, and rampant erosion was causing extreme damage to local
watersheds.
Motorized recreation in the area has steadily
become more popular and problematic. Provincial cutbacks during the
1990’s gutted enforcement and education efforts. There are now around
six officers assigned to enforce access rules in the 1,500 square meter
area. According to provincial officials, until enforcement capacities
are adequate, illegal motorized abuse will continue in the
Ghost-Waiparous and other areas.
