Motorized vehicles key concern in forest plan revisions

Managing access, whether by motor vehicle or human power, has become a hot topic as national forests revise their management plans for the first time in about 15 years.

The Nez Perce and Clearwater National Forests, as well as the Panhandle and Kootenai forests, list access management among the main topics to be addressed in plan revisions, along with topics such as weed and fire management.

Dale Bosworth, Forest Service chief, has identified unmanaged recreation, including the use of illegal off-highway vehicle trails, as one of the “four threats” facing the national forest system.

Bosworth said unmanaged off-highway vehicle use can have serious impacts including damage to wetlands and wetland species, severe soil erosion and spread of invasive species.

Forest supervisors for the Clearwater and Nez Perce National Forests said they, too, are concerned about the escalating adverse effects of off-highway vehicle use in the local area.

“The time has come to better manage the use of motorized vehicles,” Clearwater Supervisor Larry Dawson and Acting Nez Perce Supervisor Steve Williams said in a joint press release.

Current forest plans allow motorized use on more than 5,200 miles of designated roads and more than 1,800 miles of designated trails on the two forests.

Cross-country travel is also allowed on hundreds of thousands of acres, they said, noting some exceptions for important wildlife habitat, the Lolo Trail National Historic Landmark and designated wilderness.

According to Dawson and Williams, forest officials writing the current management plans in 1987 never envisioned the large increase in demand for motorized recreation opportunities, nor did they anticipate the range of the larger, more powerful off-highway vehicles and snowmobiles that are commonplace today.

Newer machines can traverse terrain considered inaccessible by motorized vehicles in 1987.

“In some cases this unforeseen access has resulted in increased damage to sensitive areas, such as meadows and wetlands; a proliferation of user-created trails; soil compaction and erosion; harassment of wildlife; and an increasing number of conflicts between motorized and non-motorized users,” the statement said.

The supervisors said that in revising the forest plans over the next year or two they plan to decide where motorized use, both winter and non-winter, should be allowed.

Dawson and Williams predicted difficulty in finding an acceptable solution.

“We are trying to strike a balance, caring for the land while providing desired motorized recreation opportunities for people,” Dawson and Williams said.

The public is encouraged to comment on where they believe motorized use is and isn’t appropriate. Comments in the first phase of planning for the Clearwater and Nez Perce forests will be accepted through Dec. 31.