Dixie forest plan eliminates off-trail motorized travel

Mike Stark

SALT LAKE CITY- A new plan for Dixie National Forest released on Tuesday eliminates unrestricted off-trail travel for motorized vehicles and instead designates some 2,700 miles of routes for ATVs and other vehicles.

The plan is part of a national effort to help federal officials better manage an increasing number of off-road vehicles in the national forests and limit the effects on the natural environment.

"Motorized use has grown dramatically," said Kenton Call, a spokesman for the Dixie forest, which covers nearly 2 million acres in southern Utah. "Each year we see more users and more adventurous users wanting to get to more places."

The plan, which has been in the works for years, attempts to continue motorized access - though in a more regulated way - and limit conflict with others seeking a quieter experience, such as horseback riding and biking, he said.

Between 1998 and 2005, the number of registered off-road vehicles in Utah grew to more than 152,000, an increase of 195 percent, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

Dixie forest officials have seen and felt that change and so have some who use public land in search of a quiet getaway.

"We have a real challenge in managing that recreation use," Call said.

There are more than 5,200 miles of roads in the forest but only about 20 to 30 percent are maintained each year. Some of those routes used by vehicles in the past will be closed to protect water quality, wildlife or soil, according to the plan.

By whittling down the number of routes designated for motorized travel, Call said the Forest Service will have an easier time maintaining what's being used and managing who's going where.

There was contention about which routes should stay open and which should be closed and detailed discussion about the best way to eliminate dead-ends and redundant routes.

Mike Swenson, executive director of Utah Shared Access Alliance, which advocates for off-road access, said he was pleased to see Dixie forest officials working closely with local governments and others in developing the plan. That said, members of his group would rather not be subject to wide-scale restrictions in the forest.

"We'll work with whatever we're given but that doesn't mean we won't be asking for improved access," he said. "We don't like closing large amounts of trails."

National forests are dealing with motorized vehicles in different ways. Some are being more aggressive than others about reducing routes, said Wayne Hoskisson, chairman of the Utah chapter of the Sierra Club.

He'd like to see an increased emphasis on protecting ecosystems, reducing erosion and preserving wildlife.

"We know that the higher the density of roads, the less adequate habitat there is for things like elk," he said.

In 2005, then-chief of the Forest Service Dale Bosworth called unmanaged recreation one of the four major threats facing the nation's forests, along with wildfires, invasive species and loss of open space. He told forest managers to begin working with the public to designate routes, trails and other areas suitable for off-road vehicles.

Most off-roaders have accepted that change - as long as the government doesn't go too far in shutting out the vehicles - said Brian Hawthorne, public lands policy director for the Blue Ribbon Coalition, an Idaho-based group that advocates for motorized recreation.

"When there are these huge, landscape-level changes, that's not what we signed up for," he said.

The public has 45 days to comment on the plan. It's scheduled to go into effect later this year.

Source: http://www.thespectrum.com/article/20090520/NEWS01/90520001

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