Coconino forest's off-road trails may bite the dust by 2009 (Arizona)
The Associated Press
April 22, 2007
FLAGSTAFF — Coconino National Forest officials are considering closing almost all off-road trails used by motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles by September 2009.
The local off-road driving ban is part of a national proposal designed to cut back motorized cross-country travel in national forests and could be modified once existing trails are mapped, U.S. Forest Service officials told riding groups.
A briefing for nearly 200 motorcyclists and all-terrain vehicle riders at a Flagstaff motorcycle shop Wednesday brought swift reaction from riders, who complained that closing the forest to off-road use and then selectively reopening some trails would leave them without a recreation spot.
"They see a legitimate problem, but their management is, 'Close it,' " said Keith Greenwalt, a member of the Coconino Trail Riders group.
The Trail Riders have been asking for multi-use trails that include motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles for the last 30 years to eliminate damage from cross-country travel, Greenwalt said. Scars across the land cause image problems for responsible riders, he said.
A local forest management plan is set to be released next month, and tentative maps show none of the thousands of miles of off-road trails now used by riders. Some of the trails are illegal, some may be legal and others have been approved by the forest before, riders said.
But the Forest Service plans to map none of them, relying instead on riders to report specifically where they ride and ask that those trails be reopened.
"Frankly, we just haven't had the time to dedicate to a trails system, especially new trails," said Jim Beard, the forest's project leader for the off-road plan. "We're just really pleading lack of energy and staff and time to pull it off."
New trails are constantly created when people drive cross-country over the same ground, Beard said. Causing ground disturbance in this way is illegal, but difficult to catch.
"We have no basis for enforcement. It's basically the Wild West out there as far as that goes," Beard said.
Article Reference: Coconino forest's off-road trails may bite the dust by '09 | www.azstarnet.com ®
April 22, 2007
FLAGSTAFF — Coconino National Forest officials are considering closing almost all off-road trails used by motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles by September 2009.
The local off-road driving ban is part of a national proposal designed to cut back motorized cross-country travel in national forests and could be modified once existing trails are mapped, U.S. Forest Service officials told riding groups.
A briefing for nearly 200 motorcyclists and all-terrain vehicle riders at a Flagstaff motorcycle shop Wednesday brought swift reaction from riders, who complained that closing the forest to off-road use and then selectively reopening some trails would leave them without a recreation spot.
"They see a legitimate problem, but their management is, 'Close it,' " said Keith Greenwalt, a member of the Coconino Trail Riders group.
The Trail Riders have been asking for multi-use trails that include motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles for the last 30 years to eliminate damage from cross-country travel, Greenwalt said. Scars across the land cause image problems for responsible riders, he said.
A local forest management plan is set to be released next month, and tentative maps show none of the thousands of miles of off-road trails now used by riders. Some of the trails are illegal, some may be legal and others have been approved by the forest before, riders said.
But the Forest Service plans to map none of them, relying instead on riders to report specifically where they ride and ask that those trails be reopened.
"Frankly, we just haven't had the time to dedicate to a trails system, especially new trails," said Jim Beard, the forest's project leader for the off-road plan. "We're just really pleading lack of energy and staff and time to pull it off."
New trails are constantly created when people drive cross-country over the same ground, Beard said. Causing ground disturbance in this way is illegal, but difficult to catch.
"We have no basis for enforcement. It's basically the Wild West out there as far as that goes," Beard said.
Article Reference: Coconino forest's off-road trails may bite the dust by '09 | www.azstarnet.com ®
