Public ATV Trail Shut Down

Written by WSET-TV

Monday, January 25, 2010

David Tate

Botetourt Co., VA - The region's only public ATV trail system in the George Washington/Jefferson National Forest has been closed indefinitely.

Forest Rangers blame the closure on adverse trail conditions.

The 16-mile system, which was built in 1991, has created an environment that is not working well with aquatic life in the area.

The US Forest service recently completed a water-monitoring study on the creeks that are in the area, and they say sediment buildup in those creeks has biologists concerned.

Those concerns led to the closure last Friday.

Jesse Overcash of the US Forest Service said, "The sediment that has moved offsite, off the trail system, has gone into those streams. So, that is... it's been identified as a legal use but the resource damage we're having from the legal use is getting to the point where it's not really acceptable."

Of course sediment buildup wreaks havoc on those ecosystems that need the creeks to survive

The trail system is located on Patterson Mountain, which is on the border with Craig and Botetourt Counties near Craigs Creek.

We’re told that the Forest Service hopes to have a better idea of what it will take to fix the problem, but if there is no funding in place to fix those issues, that system will be closed until that funding becomes available.

At the earliest, these trails will be closed through the summer. That's when a decision on this issue should be made.

Source: http://www.wset.com/news/stories/0110/699551.html

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Community Voices

“During the past decade, I have personally had six out of seven elk hunts ruined by the careless intrusions of ATV operators. This epidemic has forced me to abandon one prime hunting area after another, only to encounter the same situation elsewhere. The shameful part of this picture is that the overwhelming majority of these ATV’ers are young and healthy, not decrepit or physically challenged. Maybe these riders would be more respectful of other people's outdoor experience if they knew we could ID them."

- Bill Sustrich, Colorado Backcountry Hunters and Anglers