New off-roading rules mean changes for the Black Hills.

By Bill Harlan, Journal Staff Writer | Thursday, November 03, 2005

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The Bush administration on Wednesday announced a new national off-roading regulation that will, in time, reverse the way off-highway vehicles are regulated in Black Hills National Forest.

The current rule in the Black Hills allows off-roading wherever it isn’t specifically prohibited. Under the new rules, off-roading would be prohibited except on designated trails or in designated areas.

“It changes our basic approach for motorized use,” Mystic District ranger Bob Thompson said.

But Thompson added, “People should not expect the rule to have an immediate effect.” National forests have four years to make the changes.

Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth announced the new rule in a conference call with reporters nationwide.

Bosworth said it was in response to an explosion in off-highway travel in national forests. In 1972, there were 5 million off-roaders, he said. By 2001, there were 51 million.

The “travel management” regulation, which takes effect in 30 days after it is published in the Federal Register, directs managers of the nation’s 155 national forests and 20 national grasslands to develop area-specific off-roading trails and areas. Off-highway vehicles — or “OHVs” — would be allowed only on those designated trails. The rule also directs land managers to publish maps and mark trails.

“Our problem is recreation has to be carefully managed,” Bosworth said in a telephone briefing Wednesday. “The rule itself doesn’t open or close a single route. That’s a local decision.”

The new rule does not change penalties for violating off-road travel bans nor does it include more money for enforcement. “It’s my belief most users want to do the right thing,” Bosworth said. He said clearer regulations would reduce violations.

The rule doesn’t provide extra money to create, map and sign trail systems, either. The Forest Service typically spends $15 million to $35 million a year managing off-road travel. Bosworth said the new rules will help land managers spend that money more effectively, and he said money from other accounts — soil and water protection, for example — might be used when management goals overlap.

Many national forests already restrict off-roading to designated trails, but the new policy will be a big change for the Black Hills, which is one of the most heavily roaded national forests in the nation.

Still, off-roading activist Greg Mumm of Rapid City said he supported the new regulations. “I think we’re in good shape,” he said. “It’s not a closure order. It’s a management plan.”

Mumm said he is glad that Bosworth emphasized that motorized recreation is a legitimate use of public lands.

Mumm is president of the South Dakota Off Highway Vehicle Coalition, and in January, he will take over as executive director of the Idaho-based Blue Ribbon Coalition, which represents off-roading groups nationwide. Blue Ribbon Coalition also supports the new rule. “We’ve all recognized from day one that that’s what we’re talking about,” Mumm said.

Mumm did warn, however, that acceptance of a final off-roading plan for the Black Hills will depend on details — including the size of the trail system and areas for off-trail riding.

Jack Troyer, a regional forester from Utah who led the Forest Service team that developed the policy, said Wednesday that the new regulation encourages loop trails. He said some renegade trails might even become official trails.

But Troyer added that areas for off-trail riding would be small and restricted to sandy or rocky areas that are less susceptible to damage. “We do not expect these areas to be large or numerous,” he said. “They’d be the exception rather than the rule.”

Mumm also worried whether four years would be long enough to develop a trail system.

Becci Rowe of Black Hawk, a founding member of the Norbeck Society, took the opposite view. “I think two years should be plenty of time. The Norbeck Society advocates protecting ecologically sensitive areas from off-road vehicles.

“It’s encouraging to see the Forest Service recognizes this is a situation that needs to be managed,” Rowe said.

Mumm noted, “South Dakota already has a jump-start on that.”

Mumm serves on the off-roading subcommittee of Black Hills National Forest Advisory Board, a citizen panel that advises the Forest Service on management policies in the Black Hills. The subcommittee already is gathering public comments and is developing recommendations for a designated trail system and off-roading areas in the Black Hills. (See the next story on this page.)

The subcommittee has published a preliminary off-roading map — available free at Forest Service officers — and the subcommittee is working with the state of South Dakota to create a trail system, similar to the state’s snowmobile trail system. Snowmobiles are exempt from the new off-roading rule.

After the Black Hills National Forest Advisory Board makes its recommendations on a trail system, the Forest Service will begin a lengthy process of public comment and analysis. Thompson said it might include an environmental-impact statement.

Thompson, who is working directly with the OHV subcommittee, said he believed the Black Hills National Forest could meet Bosworth’s four-year deadline.

Thompson urged Black Hills residents to comment on upcoming rule changes. “These are public lands, and we really do want the public to help us make good decisions,” Thompson said.

Contact Bill Harlan at 394-8424 or bill.harlan@rapidcityjournal.com