Journal editorial, 9-24: Speak up on trail system

By The Journal Editorial Board | Sunday, September 24, 2006

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Now is the time for users of the Black Hills National Forest to speak up about plans to limit vehicle use in the national forest. Workshops are set for October and November in which a proposed travel management plan for the forest will be discussed. The meetings begin a long process of public comment on a plan that will change how and where motorized travel will be allowed.

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.

Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth has decreed that off-road travel in national forest land should be restricted to designated trails. The Black Hills National Forest has been working for two years 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.

So far the move to restrict off-road travel in the Black Hills has been met with favorable response by OHV owners and other users. An informal survey of off-roaders and other forest users undertaken last spring found agreement that a trail system was needed for off-highway vehicles. The Forest Service's "User Needs Assessment Survey" found that 59 percent of "OHV users" favored an OHV trail system in the Black Hills National Forest and 67 percent of "non-OHV users" favored restricting OHV use to designated trails. Eighty-two percent of both groups said they supported user fees to pay for trails in the Black Hills.

The survey was taken after well-publicized incidents where a few ATV riders tore up sensitive areas in the BHNF. Non-OHV users were more likely to favor keeping off-roading trails away from "sensitive wildlife and botanical areas."

OHV users said they wanted a trail system that included "technical challenges" and "areas where OHVs can travel cross-country."

The BHNF's forest advisory board began studying a travel management plan for the Black Hills two years ago. The South Dakota Off Highway Vehicle Coalition has mapped 300 miles of trails it would like to use. The Norbeck Society, mainly hikers and conservationists, meanwhile, has submitted a map of areas the group would like to see off-limits to motorized travel.

A final travel management plan for the Black Hills isn't due until September 2009. Now begins the process where public comment and input can influence the plan that Forest Service managers eventually will adopt for the Black Hills.

National forests are public lands where policies reflect the principle of multiple use. While some people want to travel forest roads on their OHVs, other people want to enjoy natural areas without hearing or seeing motorized vehicles. The Black Hills National Forest includes 1.2 million acres - enough for everyone to enjoy.

Now's the time to speak up let your views be known about how the Forest Service manages our beloved Black Hills so that everyone can continue to enjoy its spectacular beauty in their own way.

Off-road trail system workshops

October workshop: The National Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation Council will hold an "OHV Route Designation Workshop" at Rushmore Plaza Holiday Inn in Rapid City from Thursday, Oct. 12, through Sunday, Oct. 15. Registration deadline is Oct. 2. Register online at http://www.nohvcc.org/. Or contact Ann Vance at 800-348-6487 or at avance@nohvcc.org.

November workshops: The U.S. Forest Service will hold four workshops in November to gather public opinion on routes for an off-road vehicle trail system. Each workshop will be held from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The locations and dates are:

-- Monday, Nov. 13: Black Hills National Forest headquarters in Custer.

-- Tuesday, Nov. 14: The courthouse at Sundance, Wyo.

-- Wednesday, Nov. 15: The Holiday Inn at Exit 14, Spearfish.

-- Thursday, Nov. 16: The Best Western Ramkota at LaCrosse St. and Interstate 90, Rapid City.