National Forest Service to Tighten Where ATVs Can Be Ridden

Kate Luck

The National Forest Service is tightening its rules for riders of All-Terrain Vehicles, or ATVs.

And one group is trying to fight the ruling, saying it would do more harm than good.

The National Forest Service issued a new map of where it is acceptable to ride ATV's in the Ouachita National Forest. Out of the 1.8 million acres in the forest, 130 miles of non-connected trails would be allowed for ATV use.

That's 90 percent less than before.

Some trails, like the Wolf Pen Gap in Mena, will only be open for a certain part of the year, from May to September for example.

And others would only allow a certain number of users per year.

Under the new rules, if it rains more than a quarter of an inch in a day, the trail would be closed until a hydrologist could approve it.

The biggest area of concern lies in what is environmentally safe for the forest.

But David Nichols with an ATV riding club called the Arkansas Trailblazers says he would rather find a compromise than shut down the miles of trails. "We realize that it's very doable. The fact is most of the trail systems right now are sustainable right now. The few places where there is trouble, we can go in and repair them. We have the know-how and we even have the volunteers to go out there and get this accomplished," said Nichols. Arkansas Senators Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor and Representative Mike Ross have expressed concern over the ruling, saying it could hurt the economy in Western Arkansas.

Nichols says he spends an average of $100 on groceries and supplies every time he goes ATV riding.

He says that money would be lost if the ATV rules are tightened. "It's going to hurt this area though. It's going to hurt it tremendously. Even in this area, we've got a lot of rider and a lot of ATV's that ride all over this area. It's going to hurt them," said Nichols. The rule would also affect hunters, who would not be allowed to go more than 300 feet off an established trail to retrieve any game they shot.

The new maps go into effect in mid-April, but the group plans to appeal the ruling.

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Source: http://www.kfsm.com/news/kfsm-news-rv-atv-rules,0,3238872.story

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