Colorado

Bob Berwyn

DENVER, June 14 (UPI) -- Federal agencies have been forced into playing traffic cop between hikers and off-road vehicle riders in Colorado's crowded national forests.

More than 27 million people head for the woods in Colorado every year, and White River National Forest near Aspen gets more traffic than anywhere else in the country.

Officials with the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management say the biggest problem is the huge numbers of off-road vehicles, The Denver Post reported Sunday. There were 11,700 registered in the state in 1991, and there are now more than 132,000. Mountain bikes are also a problem.

Durango outfitter Sandy Young was leading a string of horses up the San Juan National Forest's Hermosa Creek Trail when she heard the buzz of dirt bikes and knew she'd better pull the horses to the edge of the path.

"I could see 'em coming, and I was shouting, 'Whoa! Whoa!' But dirt bikers and mountain bikers, they just keep their nose to the trail," Young said. "He was just a few yards away when he saw me and stopped, but the biker behind slammed right into him."

April Reese

As the weather warms across the West, thousands of off-highway vehicles are warming up as well, preparing for another season of riding the vast web of roads and trails traversing federal lands.

But as the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management begin placing restrictions on off-highway vehicle (OHV) use, such motorized travel will become more restricted just as the popularity of the sport skyrockets.

Hank Lohmeyer

The time limit on submitting protests on the BLM's proposed travel restrictions in the Dry Creek area will end on June 12.

The BLM describes its proposed action as "changing existing off-highway vehicle designations on (affected) public lands (currently) categorized as ‘open' and ‘limited' to ‘limited to designated routes' year-long or with seasonal restrictions." An Environmental Assessment has been written "which addresses limiting all motorized use, including snowmobiles, and mechanical devices not powered by a motor, to designated routes."

Bob Elderkin is getting older, and his bad hip, back and knees remind him of it every time he goes hunting.

For that reason, you might expect the Silt-area resident to be upset about a proposal to reduce all-terrain-vehicle use in the White River National Forest.

R. Scott Rappold

The U.S. Forest Service has launched a study of off-highway vehicle use in the Rampart Range northwest of Colorado Springs, which could lead to road closures or new regulations in the heavily used area.

The agency will hold public meetings in June regarding motorized recreation on 115,120 acres of Pike National Forest, an area officials say is a honeycombed with countless miles of illegal roads and trails that have damaged the landscape.

Karen Lungu

Local dirt bikers are looking for new places to ride since the closing of the Hogbacks to motorized use.

Though school board members are sympathetic to their plight, they are frustrated that many have taken to riding on the grounds at Harrison School.