Off-road report draws mixed reactions

Marek Warszawski

Following months of delays, the Sierra National Forest has issued a detailed decision that will restrict off-road driving in the mountains north and east of Fresno.

Released Monday, the Motorized Travel Management Record of Decision, as well as the Final Environmental Impact Statement, establishes a designated system of routes where off-highway vehicles (OHVs) can and can't go. The 1.3 million acre national forest covers parts of Fresno, Madera and Mariposa counties.

While the ROD adds 82 miles of roads and trails to the existing system as well as 20 parking and staging areas, it also takes away nearly 400 miles of routes that four-wheel enthusiasts have enjoyed for years.

All 155 national forests must comply with the Motorized Travel Management Project, and the Sierra is among the last in California to issue a decision.

Officials have scheduled four public workshops beginning next week, along with a May 26 webinar, to explain the decision.

"This has been quite a process, and we want people to understand the decision so if they don't agree with it they have the opportunity to appeal," Sierra National Forest spokeswoman Sue Exline said.

The 45-day appeal period ends June 24 and must be submitted to the regional forester in Vallejo.

Because the appeals process extends into summer, no changes will be enforced until 2011, Exline said.

For decades, OHV use in the Sierra National Forest was almost totally unregulated, including cross-country travel. Officials said this has resulted in dozens of unplanned roads and trails as well as watershed and habitat degradation.

Some 550 miles of "unauthorized" or user-created routes were mapped and catalogued in 2005. They range from narrow motorcycle trails to wider routes passable by full-sized vehicles. Sixty-seven miles of these trails and 15 miles of roads were added to the system, while the rest were left out.

The ROD prohibits cross-country travel and closes a few well-known routes. For example, motorcycle riders won't be allowed on the 007 Trail at Bass Lake until the route gets moved away from a Native American archeological site.

Others will undergo season-of-use changes. For example, the 33-mile Dusy-Ershim Trail from Kaiser Pass to Courtright Reservoir will be open Aug. 1 to Nov. 1. The route formerly opened June 30.

Release of the ROD triggered mixed reaction from off-road enthusiasts who have long argued against closing trails, as well as environmentalists.

Mike Wubbels of Madera, executive director of the pro-access group Stewards of the Sierra National Forest, pointed out that OHV use has doubled over the last 20 years -- according to the Forest Service's own statistics. So confining more users to fewer trails will result in more environmental problems, which he contends OHV users will be blamed for.

"The Forest Service is failing to recognize recreation as a viable use of the forest, when in fact it's the No. 1 use -- and motorized travel especially," Wubbels said. "We're scared of the end result, that they're going to close people completely out of public lands."

Stan Van Velsor, OHV campaign coordinator for the Wilderness Society, said the forest service should have examined the entire trail system, not just the user-created routs. Van Velsor also pointed to the Sierra National Forest's multimillion-dollar maintenance backlog for existing routes.

"We're looking at adding to a trail system they can't currently afford," he said.

The 154-page ROD, as well as the 663-page Final Environmental Impact Statement, can be viewed at www.fs.fed.us/r5/sierra/projects/ohv/index.shtml.

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Source: http://www.fresnobee.com/2010/05/12/1931224/off-road-report-draws-mixed-reactions.html

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