Red Lodge Clearinghouse

Representatives from the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management told members of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee last week that they recognize the impact OHVs have on public lands and are taking steps to ensure proper management and enforcement, but committee members were unimpressed.

"It seems to me that neither agency has been able to successfully manage off-road use," said Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.). "In some cases, it appears that plans are not being enforced, while in others, it appears that the agencies are simply ignoring unregulated use, with significant consequences for the health of our public lands and communities, and adverse effects on other authorized public land uses."

The use of OHVs on federal lands has been one of the most controversial public lands debates in recent years, amplified by both an explosion in OHV use and increased restrictions on public land use. Observers say the result is more riders on fewer acres and a greater opportunity for damaging and illegal use.

Forest Service Deputy Chief Joel Holtrop said the agency is already working on one of the most essential elements to a long-term management strategy, a national travel plan to determine where and in what manner OHVs can traverse federal lands.

While that process is due to wrap up at the end of next year, BLM Deputy Director Henri Bisson said that it could be 10 years before his agency is done with its own travel management plan. Bisson said that while BLM has the adequate policies and plans to create a management strategy, it is inhibited by limited resources and funding.

The Forest Service's fiscal 2009 budget proposal calls for a $17 million decrease for its law enforcement activities, further threatening the agency's ability to police OHV use. BLM's resource protection and law enforcement budget faces a net decrease of $365 million in the president's budget.

"We're doing the best we can with the funds we have," Bisson told the committee.

Greg Mumm, executive director of the BlueRibbon Coalition, said the OHV community is willing to accept a reasonable amount of restrictions and enforcement as long as their right to ride is not overly burdened. The key, he said, is through the travel management plans.

"Compliance and enforcement go hand in hand. A well-designed, successful system meets the needs and desires of the user," he said. "This, in turn, results in compliance and requires a reduced level of enforcement."

Enforcement and education

The Forest Service manages more than 300,000 miles of roads and 35,000 miles of trails for motor vehicle use, while BLM is responsible for 258 million acres of land nationwide. Those lands and routes have faced a tenfold increase in the number of OHV users in the United States over the last 32 years, climbing from approximately 5 million users in 1972 to more than 51 million users in 2004.

Critics say irresponsible riders have severely damaged public lands by forging trails where they do not belong, damaging wildlife habitat, muddying streams and disturbing other users of public lands.

Jayne Belnap, a research ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, warned that the dust kicked up by OHVs could be one of the biggest problems because of the effect dust can have on winter melts.

To maintain the health of those lands while providing adequate space for OHV users, experts told committee members, the agencies need to crack down on illegal OHV use.

"The increased levels of enforcement, education and rehabilitation that will be needed are significant," said Brad Powell, a Forest Service veteran and Arizona public lands coordinator for Trout Unlimited. "I don't believe that the agencies are prepared for this implementation workload."

Several ideas were tossed around on how to prevent illegal OHV use, including requiring licenses and visible tags on OHVs to track repeat offenders.

All agreed that more law enforcement personnel was paramount. In Nevada alone, the BLM, Forest Service and National Park Service are in charge of managing at least 48 million acres of land, but all three agencies combined only have 28 uniformed officers and five special agents.

Bisson and Holtrop said that the agencies compensate for this shortfall with partnerships with local and state law enforcement agencies, which, while endorsed by some, was not a universally accepted solution.

"I don't think the best way to manage these issues is to depend on the kindness of strangers," said Nada Culver, senior counsel for the Wilderness Society.

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Name

Email

Title

Comment

smaller | bigger

Subscribe via email (Registered users only)

I have read and agree to the Terms of Usage.

Write the displayed characters

Add Comment