Journal editorial, 7-26: Forest needs travel plan

By The Journal Editorial Board | Tuesday, July 26, 2005

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Last month a group of ATV riders tore up a sensitive bog before they were stopped and told that they weren't allowed to ride their all-terrain vehicles there. The riders apologized, saying they didn't know that they could not ride through the Black Fox Bog near Rochford.

Sadly, it's not an isolated problem in the Black Hills National Forest. The Black Hills is one of the few remaining national forests where motorized travel is permitted everywhere except where it's specifically closed to motorized use. In most national forests, the motorized travel policy is the opposite: closed to vehicles except where it's open to motorized travel.

The Black Hills National Forest is working toward developing a travel management plan that should alert off-highway vehicle (OHV) owners, four-wheelers, hunters and other recreation users of the forest where they can take their vehicles and where they cannot go.

The first step toward a travel management plan came one year ago when the national forest and its forest advisory board developed objectives for a management plan, one of which was a detailed map of existing roads and trails and their status - closed or open, and which are now available to the public.

Rick Hudson, recreation program manager at the BHNF, said the maps show the current travel management conditions of the forest. He said the road and trail map is part of the initial informal process of developing a travel management plan. A more formal process that includes environmental studies, hearings and public comment won't begin for another six months and could take at least two years to complete.

Hudson said when the process is finished, a network of trails and roads for motorized use will be developed. The travel management plan will include a designated road and trail system that OHV owners and others can utilize for recreational purposes. Helping to develop the management plan and potential off-road trail system are OHV user groups. "We couldn't ask for better cooperation," he said. "Everyone wants the same thing."

Hudson said most OHV riders practice the U.S. Forest Service's Tread Lightly pledge to minimize resource destruction but there are some people who don't use good judgment. Even where there are roads and trails, OHVs and other vehicles are not supposed to drive off roads in the national forest, Hudson said. A travel management plan and designated trail system should reduce incidents such as what happened at Black Fox Bog.

Our national forests are public lands where policies reflect the principle of multiple use. Some people want to travel the forest roads on their OHVs, while other people want to enjoy the forest without seeing natural areas marred by wheel tracks. The Black Hills National Forest includes 1.2 million acres - enough for everyone to enjoy. A travel management plan will help steer differing forest users to areas where they can enjoy their separate pursuits without disturbing other users of our public lands.