November 27, 2011 in Outdoors

Plan gives OHV riders legal access to more routes

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Colville National Forest law enforcement officer Mike Mumford, center, instructs ATV riders on road closures.
(Full-size photo)

Off-highway vehicle riders have more routes for legally riding their ATVs and motorcycles on the Colville National Forest, according to a plan approved this month.

Forest Supervisor Laura Jo West signed the South End Motor Vehicle Management Plan, which designates roads and trails that create quality loops, connect communities and provide access, camping and parking.

The plan, two years in the making, designates motorized routes between U.S. Highway 395 and State Highway 20, including the Tacoma, Chewelah and Calispell drainages.

The decision allows riders in existing OHV areas to travel from Calispell Creek all the way to Ruby Creek, West said. From there, existing routes lead to the Heritage Lake area.

About 160 miles of multiuse routes have been designated, allowing OHVers to ride county and national forest roads from near Cusick to Chewelah. That trip will be facilitated by a new OHV trailhead to be developed in the North Fork Chewelah Creek, she said.

However, the forest plans to monitor OHV use on roads they share with standard motor vehicles. The plan allows routes to be reconsidered if major safety issues arise.

National Forest rules prohibit motorized travel except on designated routes or areas.

The Colville Forest decision adopts some trails that were illegally developed in the past by OHV riders.

“Concerns were expressed that this action rewards the irresponsible and illegal behavior of creating unauthorized motorized routes by designating and adopting them,” West said. However, the routes were selected “because they provide critical pieces that either connect or create loop roads,” she said.

“Not all unauthorized routes were adopted. No play areas were adopted. Roads that currently have issues with illegal travel were not included.”

The plan retains about 130 of the 175 dispersed campsites along 47 miles of Forest Service and county roads.

The plan closes 40 campsites and allows the development of 20 new campsites.

Volunteers are being sought for an OHV Ambassador Program with the help of the Eastern Washington ATV Association and the Tri-County Motorized Recreation Association. Emphasis will be on helping educate riders of the new rules and how reduce environmental impacts.

One comment on this story so far. Add yours!

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  willwork4elk on November 30 at 2:20 p.m.

  I think it’s great that the forest service is looking at giving legal riders a better ATV system that makes sense and actually goes to places most folks want to go instead of to dead end roads and gates that entice people to break the law and damage resources. The whole area covered under this project has been a mess of illegal trails, ruts, and vandalism for years, and I’m not sure how the forest plans to protect the rights of the law abiders without giving a green light to more trashing of the forest by those who feel they’re above the law and don’t respect the land or the rules. Where’s the additional enforcement going to come from? The Colville has done a pretty good job trying to get a handle on cleaning up and closing many of the illegal trails in the Calispell Cr. area, but the last time I checked the Tacoma Creek side was still a mess with outlaw ATV trails. Who is going to pay for fixing all that damage? Oh yeah, all of us taxpayers. Until the forest service can get a handle on this, all of us who play by the rules will continue to pay the price.