Lawmakers against off-road ban in Ouachita

Mark Gregory

HOT SPRINGS, Ark.—Members of Arkansas’ congressional delegation say a National Forest Service plan to close areas of the Ouachita National Forest to off-road vehicles should be stopped in its tracks.

Sens. Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor and U.S. Rep. Mike Ross say any such rule could hurt the economy in western Arkansas. They cite the Mena area in particular as one that would be hard-hit by an off-road vehicle ban in the national forest.

The forest covers 1.8 million acres in western Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma.

Lincoln, a Democrat, chairs the Senate Agriculture Committee, which oversees the federal Agriculture Department, parent agency of the forest service. She met Thursday with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack about the Ouachita forest’s Travel Management Project.

On Friday, Pryor and Ross, both also Democrats, asked Vilsack to halt implementation of the project. Ross and Pryor also asked national forest officials to “re-engage” with local and state officials to find a common-sense solution.

“Reasonable access to our nation’s public lands, for both jobs and recreation, is something many Arkansans depend upon,” Lincoln said in a news release.

“Tourism associated with off-highway vehicle use is important to the local economy in Mena and the surrounding communities, many of which have invested heavily in recreational businesses dependent upon the annual visitors to the Wolf Pen Gap Trail System,” she continued. “I firmly support the local community’s effort to reverse this decision and urge Secretary Vilsack and the Forest Service to work with the local community to develop a reasonable approach to balancing recreation and sound management of our precious natural resources.”

Lincoln met with Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell earlier in the week to express concerns about the decision to close the Wolf Pen Gap area, and her office said she sent a followup letter to Tidwell, echoing her concerns.

Ross and Pryor said the national forest plan severely restricts ORV access in the Wolf Pen Gap Trail System by closing 31 miles of loop trails, except on weekends and holidays between May 15 and Sept. 15.

Ross said “all Arkansans should have access to our public lands and ... people should not be prohibited from riding ATVs in a responsible manner in national forests.”

“The Ouachita National Forest is a state treasure, and the tourism it attracts is an essential part of the economy in Mena and surrounding areas,” Pryor said.

The Forest Service released its plans for motorized travel, including off-highway vehicles, in the Ouachita National Forest in January. The agency said it would put the new rules into force in April or May unless an appeal resulted in their being overturned.

Ouachita Forest Supervisor Norm Wagoner said the plans for the Wolf Pen Gap system will “improve water quality and reduce natural resource damage, but will still allow riders to enjoy the trail system and the natural resources that attracted so many people to the forest in the first place.”

Public use of ORVs is currently allowed in the Ouachita forest on designated routes and in cross-country travel, except for areas where it is specifically prohibited.

Ouachita forest officials developed the Travel Management Project after the Agriculture Department issued its Final Rule for Travel Management in 2005. The rule required each of the country’s 155 national forests to designate a travel system for motorized vehicles, including off-road vehicles.

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Source: http://www.texarkanagazette.com/news/WireHeadlines/2010/02/01/lawmakers-against-off-road-ban-in-ouachi-6.php

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