Off-road fee has merit

By the Journal Editorial Board | Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Previous Page

Share

• del.icio.us
• Digg
• NewsVine
• Fark

Print

Email

Preserving the Black Hills’ natural beauty while, at the same time, allowing for the public use of the hundreds of thousands of acres that are open for biking, hiking and off-road vehicles requires some compromise.

But sometimes the sides involved realize it’s difficult to find common ground.

That’s clear now considering the discussion revolving around the Forest Service development of a designated trail system for off-road vehicle use in the Black Hills.

As it stands, volunteers for off-road rider groups say they will enforce and monitor the trail system rules. But some supporters of the trail system say it would require professionals to enforce the rules, and those supporters would like to see a fee in place to fund the enforcement effort.

We agree. Volunteers, however well-intended they may be, can’t enforce off-road rules in the Black Hills National Forest any more than a driver on Main Street can enforce the city speed limit.

One member of the off-road group said she would be on the trailheads “pressuring my peers to do the right thing.”

Unfortunately, it’s usually the minority that makes rules and regulations necessary for the majority, and this would be a case of that. Peer pressure just won’t do it.

As we’ve seen in the past, it doesn’t take too many irresponsible off-road vehicle users to do serious damage to the forest. Because of that, a fee should be in place to provide for enforcement of the trail rules. And when damage does occur as a result of irresponsible riders, the fee should cover repairs.

An advisory board is working on a fee structure to improve and maintain the trail system. The board is also considering a proposal to implement a fee for off-road vehicle users which may be applied to enforcement efforts.

Comments will be accepted on the plan until Nov. 3. By this fall, a proposal should be available to the public. Comments can be sent to Travel Planning, 1019 No. 5th St., Custer 57730.

The preservation of the forest to address the concerns of both environmental and recreational users is terribly important.

Putting a fee structure in place for the maintenance of trails and enforcement of off-road rules makes sense and should be part of the Forest Service off-road trail plan.