Pirate 4x4 banner

What the other side is saying......

1K views 4 replies 5 participants last post by  cruzila 
#1 ·
Here's what our opponents are saying about the route designation process. This article is a bit dated, but gives you a good sense of who we are up against. There is a factual error in almost every paragraph, but that doesn't stop this asshat from spewing.......

COUNTLESS MILES OF ILLEGAL OHV ROUNTES TO BE GIVEN LEGITIMACY IN A BIASED FOREST SERVICE PROCESS! by John Buckley
Saturday, August 14 2004 @ 11:18 AM PDT
Contributed by: connie

Earlier this year, Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth pledged to deal with the OHV problem as one of his top priorities, but it now appears that political pressure has twisted and reversed that intended "improvement" effort. Instead, a new "ROUTE DESIGNATION" process is now going forward that will in many ways entrench OHVs in many of the most controversial, most harmful aresas imaginable.

As some of you may already know, for many years the Forest Service has
done little to effectively manage off-highway-vehicle (OHV) use on
national forest lands. Riders of dirt bikes - motorcycles and
all-terrain-vehicles (ATVs) have seldom been cited or fined when
they've roared across a hillside or ridden off established OHV routes.
Part of the agency's failure to adequately manage OHVs has been a
result of limited staff and limited dollars for enforcement, but part
of it has also resulted from the Forest Service's unwillingness to
force OHV riders to stay in non-controversial areas. Politically, the
agency hasn't had the backbone to stand up to lobbying pressure from
the numerous well-funded and vocal OHV organizations that resist any
major restrictions on their ability to ride as they always have on
national forest lands.

When used irresponsibly, ATVs and motorcycles can churn up meadows,
cause erosion along streams, and tear up vegetation. Even when OHVs
are used responsibly, they still disturb wildlife as well as all the
people who come to the forest for non-motorized, quieter recreation.

Earlier this year, Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth pledged to deal
with the OHV problem as one of his top priorities, but it now appears
that political pressure has twisted and reversed that intended
"improvement" effort. Instead, a new "ROUTE DESIGNATION" process is
now going forward that will in many ways entrench OHVs in many of the
most controversial, most environmentally harmful areas imaginable.

HERE'S THE PROBLEM:

On the Stanislaus Forest and other national forests of the Region,
Forest officials have recently been given a short timeline to
"designate OHV routes". This sounds great, because once the Forest
establishes a clearly mapped and defined OHV route system, then any OHV
riders found riding off those approved routes could be cited.
Accordingly, it sounds positive to designate an official route system,
and as part of that process, the to develop "forest orders" that will
allow USFS staff to enforce the new designated trail system.

BUT THE ENTIRE PROCESS FOR DESIGNATING OHV ROUTES FOR THE STANISLAUS
AND OTHER FORESTS IS REQUIRED TO BEGIN WITH THE FOREST SERVICE MAPPING
(AS AN EXISTING ROUTE) EVERY MOTORCYCLE OR ATV ROUTE THAT CURRENTLY
EXISTS ANYWHERE ON THE FOREST.

ACCORDING TO STANISLAUS FOREST OFFICIALS, IF A MOTORCYCLE EVER DROVE
THERE AND LEFT A TRACK, AND SOMEONE WANTS TO CLAIM THAT'S THEIR TRAIL,
THEN THE STANISLAUS FOREST IS GOING TO SHOW IT AS AN EXISTING OHV
ROUTE.

What this means is that if over past decades, illegal motorcycle routes
have carved up hillsides and scarred ridgelines and cut across meadows
or criss-crossed streams, the Forest Service is now going to put all of
those down on the map as "existing OHV routes" -- even though 90% of
such routes on the Stanislaus Forest have NEVER had any NEPA analysis
nor any environmental study of those routes.

SO.... IF JOE DIRTBIKE AND HIS BUDDIES RUSH OUT AND DRIVE THEIR OHVS UP
20 RIDGES AND DOWN 30 HILLSIDES - ESTABLISHING TRACKS ON THE GROUND -
THEY CAN NOW GET THOSE ILLEGALLY CREATED DIRTBIKE TRAILS INCLUDED ON
OFFICIAL MAPS THAT THE FOREST SERVICE WILL CALL "EXISTING ROUTES."

EVEN WORSE...

THE FOREST SERVICE HAS DECIDED THAT FOR AT LEAST ONE YEAR, (AND
PERHAPS FOR AS LONG AS THREE YEARS OR MORE) EVERY TRAIL SHOWN ON THE
MAP WILL BE LEGALIZED AND APPROVED FOR OHV AND DIRTBIKES TO RIDE ON!
EVERY "ROUTE" WILL BE APPROVED FOR AN INTERIM PERIOD.

In other words, if there is even just one motorcycle track that cuts up
Jones Ridge right through the midst of a goshawk territory and right
through the midst of sensitive plants and goes close above a campground
that is filled with people seeking peace and quiet, that so-called
route will now become legal and approved during the year(s) of interim
designation.

Put another way, all the illegal riding that outlaw motorcycle riders
have done over the last 40 years will now be officially shown as "the
existing OHV route system" and approved for riding until some future
NEPA analysis decides how much of that to keep or toss out.

For those of you who haven't had the time to walk countless hillsides
out in the forest where OHV single-track or ATV vehicles have literally
criss-crossed the hillside with a maze of user-created trails, just be
aware that now every single one of those illegally created trails will
be legal and approved for at least a year and perhaps many years. And
then, all those illegally created trails will be the basis for what the
Forest eventually designates as the permanent OHV route system.

FINALLY...
Once the public input process starts and the Forest Service hears from
the well-organized OHV clubs and all the individual riders who promote
their personal routes, the Stanislaus Forest and other Forests are then
supposed to do NEPA to decide which of those "routes" to permanently
keep. It is almost certain that with as many as 2,000 miles or more
of OHV routes on each forest, there is no physical way that wildlife
biologists, botanists, or other specialists will be able to walk every
route. Thus, what it will likely boil down to is that only those
relatively few routes that can be clearly proven (with evidence) to be
causing environmental harm are likely to be dropped from the
"spaghetti" maze of mapped routes.

The end result is almost certain to be that literally hundreds of miles
of never-approved, illegally-created OHV routes are going to end up
being given permanent approval on the Stanislaus National Forest, with
thousands of miles of routes being approved overall for the national
forests of the region.

And all of it will start with a base map of "existing routes" that will
include every illegally-created route that anyone claims exists out
there in the national forest.

Despite what may have been the original intention, it is hard to
imagine a designation process that could be any worse for the
environment. Instead of the Forest Service starting with agency
specialists laying out where appropriate trails should be and then
asking the public to suggest which additional routes should be added,
the agency instead is starting with what could end up being an
incomprehensible maze of routes, tracks, false claims, and obsolete
trails that total an incredible amount of mileage.

Some of the representatives of the OHV community already have shared at
local meetings that their goal is not to lose a single mile of OHV
route. Accordingly, this process will make it almost impossible for
the conservation community to get OHVs limited to only appropriate,
environmentally-benign areas on national forest lands. Instead, this
biased process will likely end up giving permanent NEPA-based approval
to a spaghetti-like maze of user-created OHV routes.

This is just another environmental woe created by the Forest Service
under the leadership of the current Administration.
 
See less See more
#2 ·
Thats crap. What the designation process means is that if you are traveling an unmapped route you could be cited. It means that any current trails that are physically there but not mapped would be off limits. It further goes into what mapping an existing trail constitutes to ensure its availability in the future.

IT DOES NOT PROVIDE a process whereby OHV users can go out and track up any terrain and then haver it mapped as a trail. TOTALLY A BOGUS INTERPRETATION. The process to map trails is clearly defined and quite complex. I do not see how anyone could infer that just because terrain has be crossed it is eligible for a permanent trail.

Conversly , should then all foot trails be mapped by the designated route mapping system in order to be legaly hiked ? No , and not one OHV group or user has even vented that issue so what would cause some blowhard to try and insight trouble regarding the very strict process by which the OHV community has been presented with in order to MAINTAIN USE OF EXISTING TRAILS.
 
#3 ·
That was an eye-opener, Andy. They have read it through green-colored glasses for sure, with a good bit of conspiracy-fear, as well.
...numerous well-funded and vocal OHV organizations
Well, we ARE at least vocal. :p

...THE ENTIRE PROCESS FOR DESIGNATING OHV ROUTES...TO BEGIN WITH THE FOREST SERVICE MAPPING (AS AN EXISTING ROUTE) EVERY ROUTE THAT CURRENTLY EXISTS ANYWHERE ON THE FOREST.
This much is true, but for the ENF, we lost the VAST majority of these miles (hundred and hundreds) and retained access in only a handful of exceptions (tens of miles).

EVERY "ROUTE" WILL BE APPROVED FOR AN INTERIM PERIOD.
Wish that was true... as soon as it was mapped, it was closed to non-system roads pending further review.


Thus, what it will likely boil down to is that only those
relatively few routes that can be clearly proven (with evidence) to be
causing environmental harm are likely to be dropped from the
"spaghetti" maze of mapped routes.
Wish it were true... it winds up being the polar opposite, in most cases.

Randii
 
#4 ·
ACCORDING TO STANISLAUS FOREST OFFICIALS, IF A MOTORCYCLE EVER DROVE THERE AND LEFT A TRACK, AND SOMEONE WANTS TO CLAIM THAT'S THEIR TRAIL, THEN THE STANISLAUS FOREST IS GOING TO SHOW IT AS AN EXISTING OHV ROUTE.
SWEET, I hope their "plan" backfires on them! Although this statement is probably not entirely true, or going to be followed as described.

Even when OHVs are used responsibly, they still disturb wildlife as well as all the people who come to the forest for non-motorized, quieter recreation.
If there is ever a time I can not ride my bike, I will camp without it RIGHT FAWKING NEXT TO THIS BASTARD. AND THEY WON'T SLEEP A WINK, I ASSURE YOU. :mad3:


Seems like this letter is very promising to me, but likely propaganda. :shaking:
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top