 Community Voices Demand Action in Wyoming
- "ATVs are a legitimate use of Forest Service lands ... but it needs to be managed to provide the appropriate access, while protecting other resource values." -- Kevin Elliott, Ashley Forest Supervisor, "Motorized plan aims to manage ATV use", Casper Star-Tribune (5/20/09)
- "Our travel plan intends to help us manage that increasing ATV use...We're trying to find that balance, those appropriate places for ATVs while at the same time protecting the area's water quality, wildlife and soil resources." -- Kevin Elliott, Ashley Forest Supervisor, "Motorized plan aims to manage ATV use", Casper Star-Tribune (5/20/09)
"'No Motorized Vehicles Beyond This Point' means exactly that; either park it or go home. It only takes one lazy idiot to ruin it for everyone else." -- J. Theien, rider, "Speaking Up", Eastman's Hunting Journal (Feb.-Mar. '10)
"The ATV and snow machine are the biggest threat to wildlife. It's not the people walking in." -- Terry Reach, Pinedale, WY sportsman, "Wyoming antler collectors butt heads over proposed law", Los Angeles Times (11/18/09)
- "I can't really see a downside to it [designated ORV trails]. The last thing I want to see is off-highway vehicles running all over the place. I want to be able to go up the Gros Ventre and hike and enjoy the wilderness as well as enjoy motorized travel...not to mention the wildlife. Just having an organized trails system with this much research, it's hard to find fault with that." -- Bob Hatton, owner of Bob's Quads, "Bridger Forest plan limits ATVs", Associated Press (1/28/09)
- "If it's the law, follow it! They take ATVs where they're not suppsed to be and then hide them. Hope I don't find it. First offense - take the ATV" -- Bill Haeck, sportsman, "Speaking Up", Eastman's Hunting Journal (Feb.-Mar. '10)
- "On the motorized side, right now we have zero miles of trails (dedicated to their use), while there's a high demand that's increasing...We're proposing a managed system that will hopefully minimize the impact on the environment. Right now, there's a lot of illegal off-road use." -- Clint Kyhl, Laramie District Ranger, "Off-road motorists soon might have their own home in the forest", Wyoming Tribune-Eagle (11/25/06)
Examples of Recent ORV-Related Law Enforcement ActivitySource: United Stated Forest Service 2008 - Medicine Bow-Routt NF - On 7/26, an LEO responded to a reported high speed head-on collision between two 4-wheel ATV’s on a heavily traveled dirt road on the Parks RD. Emergency medical and Jackson County SD personnel were on scene when the LEO arrived. An adult female operator of one ATV was airlifted to a trauma center for serious head injuries and facial fractures. She died at the hospital. The woman was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident. Two juvenile males were on the other ATV. The operator suffered a dislocated shoulder and the passenger suffered a head injury. Both juveniles were wearing helmets, but the passenger’s helmet was not equipped with a chin strap and the helmet became dislodged on impact. The two juveniles were initially transported by ambulance to a regional hospital in Steamboat Springs and subsequently airlifted to Children’s Hospital in Denver. The LEO, Jackson County SD and Colorado SP investigated the accident. State charges are pending against the juvenile operator.
Recent ORV-Related Media Coverage
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Written by Casper Star-Tribune
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Thursday, December 03, 2009 |
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Craig Mead, "No reason to designate Rock Creek as wilderness," (Nov. 29) sets up the Wyoming Wilderness Association for fault in its observations on the encroachment of off-road vehicles on the wilderness acres inventoried in the 1984 Rock Creek area, yet fails to present any contrary facts. I personally have witnessed the advance of user-created trails and other impacts from off-road vehicles. |
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Read more... [Letter: Rock Creek needs protection]
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Written by Los Angeles Times
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Wednesday, November 18, 2009 |
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DeeDee Correll Reporting from Denver - As a boy, Terry Reach used to traipse the land around his Pinedale, Wyo., home, searching for antlers shed by deer and elk. It was a solitary pastime; he never saw anyone else, and he always found plenty of antlers, which he'd drag home and pile in the yard. |
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Read more... [Wyoming antler collectors butt heads over proposed law]
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Written by Casper Star-Tribune
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Wednesday, October 21, 2009 |
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Antler hunting is a legitimate recreational activity that many people in Wyoming enjoy. It's a hobby that gives them a chance to be outdoors and collect antlers that can either be used for craft items or sold. Racks can fetch up to $20 per pound. But those who are abusing the privilege are responsible for the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission's consideration of a seasonal ban on antler hunting in parts of the state. |
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Read more... [Editorial: Seasonal ban on antler hunting makes sense]
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Written by Associated Press
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Sunday, October 18, 2009 |
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Mead Gruve Cheyenne, Wyo. » The chance to find an enormous and valuable set of antlers shed by a mighty bull elk or mule deer has been drawing ever-larger crowds of people from around the region to western Wyoming each spring. Some look for antlers on foot. Others ride snowmobiles or all-terrain vehicles. Many are so eager to go home with antlers -- sometimes stacks of them -- they often get too close to the areas where elk and deer congregate, and spook the herds into running. For animals weakened by months of wallowing in deep snow and nibbling on scarce forage, running can be deadly.
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Read more... [Antler frenzy leads to possible ban]
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Written by Casper Journal
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Wednesday, October 07, 2009 |
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The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Wyoming reminds hunters and other recreationists to limit their off highway vehicle and truck use to existing roads and trails to protect important wildlife habitat and provide better hunting and recreational experiences for all public land users.
BLM's land use plans limit motorized vehicle traffic to existing roads and trails, except in Wilderness Study Areas (WSAs). Motorized travel in WSAs is generally restricted and varies from area to area. Current BLM land status maps show WSA boundaries and are available at BLM offices. |
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Read more... [BLM Reminds Hunters to Stay on Existing Roads]
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Written by Casper Star-Tribune
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Wednesday, May 20, 2009 |
Jeff Gearino
GREEN RIVER -- Rather than close roads and access, a proposed draft travel plan for the Flaming Gorge reservoir in southwest Wyoming will actually designate more motorized routes for the popular recreation area, Ashley National Forest officials contend. The new plan will update the existing motorized travel plan last revised in 1995, officials said during a public meeting in Green River on Tuesday night. |
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Read more... [Motorized plan aims to manage ATV use]
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Written by Associated Press
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Wednesday, January 28, 2009 |
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JACKSON, Wyo. Bridger-Teton National Forest officials have approved a plan that limits off-road motorized vehicles to designated trails and roads on the western Wyoming forest. The use of motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles in the forest around Jackson Hole had largely been unregulated before the agency announced Tuesday that it had issued a final decision on the plan. Wilderness was one of the few exceptions. The final plan eliminates unrestricted use and designates 392 miles of roads and 88 miles of trails where motorized use is allowed. While the plan keeps many trails popular with motorized vehicle users, it does impose more seasonal limits to protect wildlife and sensitive soils during certain times of the year. |
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Read more... [Bridger Forest plan limits ATVs]
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