Idaho

Officials with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game in northern Idaho say they found a device apparently designed to damage tires of vehicles illegally using a closed road near Soldier's Meadow Reservoir.

Senior Conservation Officer Mark Hill tells The Lewiston Tribune that the device found last week on a closed road is in an area being damaged by people off-roading and mud-bogging.

ISLAND PARK – The number of All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) users has passed the 100,000 mark in Idaho, and Island Park is one of the state’s most popular riding areas. Officials with the the Idaho Department of Fish & Game (IDFG) and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) announced this week that the agencies will be out on the ground and in the air for the remainder of the hunting season to insure that motorized users obey forest and IDFG regulations. They will focus on preventing habitat damage, disruption of hunters, and on minimizing disturbances to wildlife.

The Ashton/Island Park Ranger District is seeking public input on motorized recreation and its impact on the area’s natural resources and roads.

Sven Berg

The battle over off-road vehicle use on public lands is quickly becoming a key front in the larger war over the West's great supply of natural resources.
Off-road vehicle registrations in Idaho have increased in every year since 1980, growing nearly 200-fold from a statewide total of 747 to more than 135,000 in 2008. The frenzy to enjoy the state's public lands on the back of an internal-combustion machine has coaxed off-road vehicle users out of the shadows and into an increasingly politicized debate about the use of motorized trails.

When people visit www.stayontrails.com, they will experience a driver’s view of riding an ATV on the trail and motorcycles on trails. The site also links to YouTube videos of popular OHV rides in Idaho, and links to the Idaho State ATV Association, Treasure Valley Trail Machine Association, Blue Ribbon Coalition and many other local clubs.

Elizabeth Laden

Island Park. ID. — The Ashton/Island Park Ranger District is seeking public input on motorized recreation and its impact on the area’s natural resources and roads.

Motorized vehicles ‚ including OHV’s, ATV’s, 4 by 4’s and trail bikes — have been banned from riding outside of designated roads, trails, and areas in the Caribou-Targhee National Forest since the National Forest Service adopted its Travel Plan in 1999.

John Markon

There haven't been any bad accidents this summer, but the Forest Service wants to keep unlicensed drivers off its roads.

As summer draws to a close, U.S. Forest Service officials are still hoping for changes to a state law that opened roads inside Idaho's national forests to just about any driver on almost any kind of vehicle.

Lewiston Morning Tribune

By: Eric Barker

Alan Deyo, of Orofino, has a favorite motorcycle ride on the Clearwater National Forest.

He starts near Bungalow on the North Fork of the Clearwater River and rides up and across Pot Mountain to Mush Saddle. From there he rides past Cold Springs Peak and Elizabeth Mountain before dropping down to the Black Canyon Road. He rides up Kelly Creek and the Junction Mountain Trail to Windy Ridge and eventually to Cook Mountain and back down Fourth of July Creek. It's 87 miles in all.

But this year could be the last Deyo rides the route. A draft travel management plan released by the Clearwater National Forest last week would close large stretches of trails he likes to travel to motorcycles. The agency is closing the trails to provide security to animals like elk and to protect habitat for fish. But Deyo doesn't believe motorcycles affect elk or trout.

Summertime is here; at least that’s what the calendar is showing. Folks are gearing up for their summertime camping trips and adventures in the woods. For some that includes motorized recreation such as riding ATVs, or motorcycles, generally referred to as Off Highway Vehicles. Some rules have changed that regulate the use of OHVs on public lands, and I’ll attempt to cover those in this column so riders can have a better understanding.

OHV use in Idaho had grown exponentially over the past 20 years; subsequently the regulations are becoming more detailed and change often. An astonishing 81,000 OHVs were registered in Idaho last year compared to a little over 6,000 in 1988. With such a quick growth in popularity of off road vehicles, conflict has resulted among user groups, especially those who prefer to travel without motors. The evolving rules are geared toward minimizing conflict and encouraging safety.

LEWISTON, Idaho, June 9 -- The Idaho Fish and Game Commission issued the following news release:

Mud-bogging, the ritual of driving off-road vehicles through wet areas, is creating big problems on the Craig Mountain Wildlife Management Area south of Lewiston. Idaho Fish and Game officials are struggling to combat damage caused by drivers of 4-wheel drive trucks and ATVs who illegally off-road through wet meadows and streams causing long-term damage. "These areas are especially vulnerable, yet are the most appealing to mud boggers because of the water and moist ground," said Rick Cooper, conservation officer for Fish and Game.