Show The Herald Journal Logan Utah Friday November 28 2003 v' off-highw-ay OHVs under two presidential orders from the 970s The orders said it ' was illegal to ride in a manner that would cause “resource damage" 'The federal law has always' said you can’t ride somewhere that will do resource damage' But the issue always was and is what is resource damage?" said Dave Payne recre- ation manager for the Helena National Forest "Is it ilie first person who drives across sonic land and mukes a liltle rut or is it the second or the ' third? Who really knowis'?'' Land managers had the time or manpower to patrol the I use increases damage does too 'i HELENA Mont (AP) They came on four wheels and on two hunting or just tooling around They came to ride on mads and trails land in 9 through vast swaths of public the West And unfortunately some ' of them rode anywhere they wanted The explosive popularity of “off-- v ‘ highway” vehicles — everything from to trail-hikand 'souped-u- p jeeps — over the past 20 four-wheele- rs : simply-haven'- es millions rules in place to maitage them and : v -' protect natural resources1': is more difficult That task proving ’Y than anyone expected Officials have fth" found themselves trying to balance the' rights of those who want to visit public lands by motor vehicle with those who say it's gotten but of hand“They’re at total opposite ends of the spectrum" said Steve Chris- ’'' : - tiansen environmental coordinator for the Gallatin National Forest in ' Montana “Right now it looks like si there's no way to find solution that will make the majority happy v The Gallatin is one of nine forests in the US Forest Service's Northern Region under orders tb' update in motor- plans to help rein : vehicle use In a 2(X) decision Dale Bos worth at the time head of the Northern Region put strict limits on e usein thc forests jg In the Helena National Finest Payne shows a trail specifically built for motorized use It is posted with signs and is engineered to leave little impact on the land with strategically placed water ditches But just a short 'distance away he points to another trail created by blT-rousers that scales an adjacent hillside — straight up — form least 34 of a mile “That iswhat we don’t want’ he AP photo Jeep enthusiasts make their way up a narrow road in the Helena National Forest near Helena Mont last summer The mad is one of dozens that is considered a “designated route" by the Forest Service But federal officials say many other roads and enthusiasts trails on Forest Service land have been cut illegally by off-ro- ad Forest supervisors in the region are 'still struggling to meei Bosworth’s orders and are running into even " mwe conflicts as they try lodccidc which roadsand trails to close mari-ageme- nt motor-vehicl- of acresi'® Jongeling said: ' ' ' t pairojling and even rebuilding aged trails' “We police abusers because (their activity) just makes us lookhad''- - - ' C3 §®®Cs m©c® ATO msgonllsritfoiiD HaDUd As — “It's just gotten morfi cbmplicated controversial' said Dick ' more ' : ordering vehicles to stick to designated roads and trails' He also V ordered forest supervisors in the region covering Montana North Dakota arid parts of South Dakota to review all of their existing trails and roadsand determine which ones — onabout 10 million acres in all — shouldbe closed iTBpsworth' now chief of the US Forest Service noted at the time that it wis clear the general policy of : “nnpii irnlpss clnspd” had ted tn Schweke' travel planner for Mon- ianu'sLewis and Clark National For- st “We seem to bog down with public controversy” The Lewis and Clark forest esli-- ’ mated Iasi spring that more than 1000 unplanned trails have been ' Carved orithe forest’s 18 million - ' acres-- ' Mike Jongeling owner of Mike's " in Bozeman Mont has been an d enthusiast most of his life Many of the trails he aiid his family have ridden on in national forest land outside'of Bozeman have ' beeridbsed in recent years often to Off-Ro- ad off-roa- ' ' ing?" said John Gatchell of the vehicles have not worked he said ' “We try to even adopt trails" he said "But we're just told ’no' and ' 'they’re closed" Critics say the problem is (hat many of the trails Jongeling and others use were never meant to be there Forests across the West often are crisscrossed witty old logging and mining roads and twiWrack trails a lot of them considered part of a forest's official “trail system" Others were cut by horse packers or even homesteaders and existed for tana Wilderness Assoeialion“Thefe is this whole misplaced discussion Of access'- ' '' ' ' d enthusiasts) “Legally have been pioneering" Schweke said ‘'And that's what we don't Said ' enthusiast groups Many agree some limits areneeded but they fear loo many trails ’will be dosed irtlhe process (olT-roa- off-roa- want"' When Bosworth became Forest Service chief he said unregulated reercarion specifically vehicle use or “OH V" use was as a major threat to national forests' In 1983 the Forest Service estiay mated there were about 194 million OHVs in thecountry By 2000 that-- decades although never officially recognized as designated routes Critics say many more however were carved asts without one AT V or jeep followed often r trail was never si v “Any responsible private m m Mon- ' ' d ‘‘We don’t want to see piplifera- tion or really any new routes treated We are just concerned that the trend is to pretty severely restrict access” said Bill Dart of the Blue Ribbon Coalition which' supports multiple ' use on public hinds Kristen Brerigel ' of theWilderness Society said most f ' i&aft- ifc m mk w M- 4-0- people who have lielpe nose unique photographs were subnutteu us today ' 5V V '‘tii' i 'v i by the ilcrald Joumal reailers and tcll an interesting pieto- sSi I rial history orf the valley' I Jon tmiss this opportunity to give & vSwy 1 ' " ' : I h ji’V ric up cost -- ' ‘ (2C Ht) ” r- -t i lail Cost Herald 3: Journal 75 WcSt300Nortl 752-212- :f 1 ALSO AVAILABLE AT i THE PERFECT GIFT FOR ANYONE Quantity of copies to be pickied up at The Herald Journal at $2995 Quantity to be shipped at Total copies' Total lS) - 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