Forest Service to study ATV impact

ROLLA, Mo. (AP) -- The Mark Twain National Forest has targeted three southeast Missouri sites popular for illegal use by four-wheel drive and all-terrain vehicles for a study aimed at encouraging more responsible land use.

The proposal would open 144 miles of trails for use by enthusiasts of state-licensed off-highway vehicles in forests near Potosi, Fredericktown and Poplar Bluff, Mark Twain National Forest spokeswoman Charlotte Wiggins said Tuesday.

As part of the proposal, 67 miles of roads and trails now being driven on illegal in ecologically sensitive areas would be closed, she said.

The U.S. Forest Service and environmentalists have butted heads many times over the use of off-highway vehicles -- including off-road motorcycles -- in national forests. A plan to expand ATV use in the Mark Twain was dropped a decade ago amid public opposition.

U.S. Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth has said unmanaged off-highway vehicles use was one of the top four threats to national forests, along with wildfires, dwindling open space and invasive plants and animals. It is one of the reasons the Mark Twain has begun looking for a way to control the all-terrain vehicles.

"We will never have the number of law enforcement people to chase all these people down. That's the real, honest truth here," Wiggins said. "We do know it's a growing sport, and we're trying to manage it."

The proposed trail systems include county, forest and woods roads that have been previously used by motorized vehicles. Small sections of trail would be constructed to connect some of the existing roads.

The proposal calls for 68 miles of existing road and one mile of new road to be open in an old mining area near Palmer, southwest of Potosi. The Cherokee Pass area, south of Fredericktown, would open 44 miles of existing road and one mile of new road.

The third area at Blackwell Ridge near Poplar Bluff would open 28 miles of existing road and two miles of new roads.

"We're not trying to build new trails," Wiggins said. "We're trying to connect the dots between existing trails, and we want to get them out of stream beds and the sensitive natural areas that might have water and endangered plants. Then, we want to study the effects of that."

Jim Scheff, coordinator of Missouri Forest Alliance in St. Louis, said that notion was illogical. His group -- along with others, including Heartwood -- planned to insist the forest service conduct an environmental impact study before vehicles are allowed in the three proposed sites.

"Forest land is put in trust for perpetuity for all people," Scheff said. "People shouldn't be allowed to wreck it for their own entertainment."

The Mark Twain will take comment on the proposal through Feb. 20.

If all goes as planned, the study would start in June, Wiggins said. It was expected to last three years but could be modified or terminated if the impact to the environment is found unacceptable, she said.

A team of biologist, hydrologists, naturalists and others from the forest service will lead the study.

http://www.darnews.com/articles/2003...news/news6.txt

 

Connecting the dots and making trails should help, but how about a reward system to help bust the illegal idiots?