Thursday, Nov. 3, 2005 | 8:18 a.m.
With the growing popularity of off-road vehicles threatening sensitive habitats, the U.S. Forest Service on Wednesday proposed new rules governing its nearly 200 million acres of public land, including 316,000 acres of Southern Nevada's Spring Mountains National Recreation Area.
Under the 124-page rule, managers of the 175 national forests and grasslands will designate which roads and trails are appropriate for motorized vehicles over the next four years, with the rest of the land being declared off-limits.
However, the nagging issue of enforcement, which one observer said is at the heart of the problem, is not resolved in the rule.
"We were looking forward to a bold stride, but the Forest Service only took a baby step," said Jason Kiely, director of the Montana-based Natural Trails and Waters Coalition. The organization is an umbrella for 125 hunting and conservation groups that "works to protect and restore all public lands and waters from the damage" caused by off-road vehicles.
Without additional law-enforcement resources, the plan is not likely to work, Kiely said.
"These rules do not propose a bold strategy," he said. "They need a road map and they need additional sheriffs."
Joe Walsh, a Forest Service spokesman in Washington, said maintaining the agency's 175 national forests and grasslands would depend on the users, including off-road vehicle fans.
"OHV users need to be responsible users," Walsh said. "They need to think about the future and think about their grandchildren. There is a responsibility by the American people, too. We are the stewards of the land, but it belongs to the American people."
Don Wall, vice president of Southern Nevada Off Road Enthusiasts, said off-road vehicle users want to follow the rules because failure to do so threatens the use of public lands.
"Most motorcyclists and quad (four-wheel all terrain vehicles) people, we follow the rules verbatim," Wall said. "It's in our best interests. ... We tread lightly. We are here to protect the desert tortoise, the creosote bush, the sage and our use of the public lands."
Wednesday's plan calls for local units of the Forest Service across the United States to identify, in coordination with local and state governments, existing roads and trails that are or should stay open to motor vehicle use.
Under the plan, "unplanned, user-created routes," now common in many areas, including the Spring Mountains, would be prohibited.
Forest Service officials in charge of the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area, motivated by damage to sensitive habitats and growing off-road use, produced a plan two years ago that restricted motorized vehicles to paths "in designated roadless areas" already in use.
The agency said in 2003 off-road motorists were blazing 10 miles of new tracks in the Spring Mountains annually, a trend that mirrored the growing popularity of off-road activities nationally. From 1982 to 2000, the number of people driving motor vehicles off roads in the United States increased 109 percent, the national agency said Wednesday, while the "power, range and capabilities" of the vehicles have increased.
The result has been that "soil erosion, water quality and wildlife habitat are affected," the agency said. "A designated and managed system of roads, trails and areas for motor vehicle use is needed."
Beth Short, a spokeswoman for the Forest Service's Spring Mountains National Recreation Area, said that in many respects the local unit of the agency already has implemented the national policy. Local officials, for example, already have ordered signs designating appropriate trails and roads for vehicles.
"We are currently evaluating the new (national) policy to see what needs to be done," she said. "We're going back to make sure we're fully in line."
The policy will work, she predicted.
"Most OHV users want to do the right thing," Short said. "By providing the proper signage, maps and information, the public is more likely to do the right thing. This will allow law enforcement officers to focus on those few users who intend to violate the law."
Short said that with five officers for the Spring Mountains, the local unit of the Forest Service has a higher level of enforcement than others around the country.
John Hiatt, a Las Vegas conservationist, agreed that the designations and signs have an impact on the way the land is used.
"It's vitally important to get the rules in place to restrict those areas that should be restricted," he said. "There are yahoos that are never going to pay attention, but the vast majority of folks, if you put up the signs, they will obey them."
Launce Rake can be reached at 259-4127 or at [email protected].
archive
