Common sense should prevail on ORV use

Mark Clifford

I have hunted and fished the Shasta-Trinity and Klamath national forests for some 20 years now, and the time I spend casting for trout and tracking game gives me a few precious hours of breathing space from all the demands of everyday life.

So imagine my concern last year when I arrived at my favorite hunting spot only to find the trail mangled and trees and bushes uprooted by an off-road motorcycle. Don't get me wrong, I can appreciate the fun of an off-road excursion, but to me, this incident reinforces the need to increase protection of our remaining unroaded areas for those of us who like to hunt, fish, backpack and camp away from the noise and pollution of the city.

A recent study in Idaho proved that the biggest bucks and bull elk are more populous in areas with few or no roads. With development pushing right to the edges of our remaining wild areas, it's getting harder and harder to find a nice buck, let alone get out on a cool morning before dawn and not hear some motor disturbing the silence. Driving quads all over the backcountry is not hunting, it's wasting time and ruining habitat. Yes, my family members own and race off-road bikes, but keeping it to pre-existing areas of access at least contains the damage caused by unmanaged riding.

For years now, the Forest Service has named unmanaged off-road vehicle use as one of the top four threats to the nation's forests. The current system for managing off-road use is not practical, and the forest is suffering as a result.

The vast majority of our public lands are already open for riding jet skis, driving vehicles, riding snowmobiles and the like. We need to reserve places where our impact on the natural environments is less severe.

Another good reason to better define a specific network of fewer roads for ORV use is money. Currently, the Forest Service estimates that the road maintenance backlog in California national forests is more than $1.1 billion and rising, with no long-term plan to keep more roads from falling into disrepair. As taxpayers, we can't afford the cost of maintaining the roads and trails we already have. And as people who care about our forests and the water they provide in this time of drought, we can't afford the natural cost that unmaintained roads inflict on the forest, causing substantial erosion and choking fish-bearing streams with sediment while polluting our drinking water.

The bottom line is, we need to designate adequate and appropriate routes for dirt bikes, ATVs and other off-road vehicles, and close the routes that are damaging this irreplaceable resource. Conscientious riders should get to enjoy their pastime to the fullest, but not at the expense of everyone else's national forest. Wildlife depends on healthy, intact habitat for survival. If we don't take this opportunity to protect this forest that provides abundant opportunities to hunt and fish, down the line there may not be enough game left to go after - and that would be a huge loss to all of us.

In my view, everyone has the right to enjoy the forest, but nobody has the right to abuse it. As increasing development brings more people to our forests with more demand for larger, more powerful off-road vehicles, our forests face irreversible damage. Unless we have more controlled access of off-road vehicles and better enforcement of these controls, the quiet, unspoiled sanctuary of the Shasta-Trinity, along with my favorite hunting areas, will just slowly disappear.

Mark Clifford is a member of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.

http://www.redding.com/news/2009/aug/02/common-sense-should-prevail-on-orv-use/

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