USFS seeks more control of drivers

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.

"We haven't had any serious accidents this summer, but we've collected a lot of near-misses,"" said Brent Larsen, supervisor of the 2.6-million-acre Caribou-Targhee National Forest.

Larsen and several of his Idaho colleagues would like to see the next session of the state Legislature revisit Senate Bill 1098, passed in this year's session.

It removed a requirement that individuals operating off-highway vehicles on national forest roads must possess a valid driver's license.

""It basically created a situation where we have children as young as 12, 13 or 14 years old on OHVs sharing the same roads with vehicles as large as a truck or a Chevy Suburban that are driving as fast as 55 miles an hour,"" Larsen said.

""We originally opened some of those roads to OHVs with the understanding they'd be driven by licensed operators with some amount of experience, not kids under 16.""

Earlier this summer, officials at the Challis and Boise national forests said they were considering closing all their roads to all vehicles.

Forest Service administrators have no ""middle path"" options, Larsen said. The Forest Service doesn't have the authority to open its roads to one type of driver, or vehicle, and not another.

""Closing all the roads would be a tool,"" Larsen said, ""but it would be a very blunt tool.""

Look for a statewide public relations campaign over the next few weeks highlighting OHV safety on Forest Service properties. OHV operators will also be encouraged to use designated trails in the forests that they do not have to share with other vehicles.

An effort to lobby the state Legislature will likely follow.

""If the law doesn't get changed, I think you will see some roads removed from service next year,"" Larsen said.

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Source: http://www.postregister.com

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