Kisatchie National Forest closed to off-road vehicles

Overuse and misuse of Kisatchie National Forest land, a popular hunting and recreational area, has caused the U.S. Forest Service to close the forest to off-road vehicles.

"This decision essentially eliminates large game retrieval and cross-country travel by motorized vehicles," said Forest Supervisor Gretta Boley.

The new travel management rules will go into effect Aug. 1 for the forest's five major management areas in central Louisiana.

"The Kisatchie National Forest is a wonderful place to visit. However, I have seen tremendous soil damage, erosion of creek banks, reduction in water quality and destruction of forest vegetation," Boley said. "This unsightly damage was caused by misuse of off-road vehicles."

Under the new rules, all motorized traffic will be confined to existing designated roads and trails. A very limited amount of cross-country travel for game retrieval will be provided during deer hunting season for the forest's National Red Dirt and National Catahoula Wildlife Management Preserves.

She said the decision will make it easier for rangers to enforce rules concerning four-wheelers, motorcycles or passenger vehicles. "If the operator leaves a designated route, the operator is now in violation," Boley said.

While off-road travel is banned, the forest services has designated hundreds of miles of roads for motor vehicle travel and more than 250 miles of trails for four-wheelers and motorcycle travel.

Maps of designated trails are available at all Forest Service offices. Even on the designated trails, the new rules ban nighttime ATV riding except for one hour before and after sunset.

"These actions were necessary to address unacceptable resource damage because of increased recreational riding with increasingly more-powerful vehicles," Boley said.

Kisatchie National Forest, the only national forest in Louisiana, is located in the state's old-growth piney hills and hardwood bottoms of seven central and northern parishes. It totals more than 604,000 acres of public lands in Grant, Natchitoches, Winn, Rapides, Vernon, Claiborne and Webster parishes.

The forest, headquartered in Pineville, offers more than 40 developed recreation sites and more than 100 miles of trails for hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding.

Source: http://www.dailyworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080715/SPORTS/807150316/1006

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