Off-roaders may be tied to trails

July 8, 2004

BY BILL THOMPSON
STAFF WRITER

OCALA - Federal foresters proposed a new regulation on Wednesday for off-highway vehicles in national forests and grasslands in an effort to cut down on habitat destruction caused by outlaw trail riders.

The proposed regulation will force 176 federal recreation areas around the country to identify individual systems of designated trails, roads and areas where motor vehicles will be allowed to travel.

The bottom line for off-highway vehicle enthusiasts is that "cross country travel won't be allowed once this rule becomes final," said Jack Troyer, regional forester for the U.S. Forest Service's Intermountain Region and leader of the agency team that developed the new rule.

Troyer and other officials who participated in a nationwide conference call announcing the rule on Wednesday acknowledged that the agency's attempt to establish something that now doesn't exist - a consistent policy regarding off-highway vehicles, or OHVs, that puts the Forest Service on the same page across the country - might create a ruckus in some areas where OHVs can travel cross-country unfettered.

But the announcement seems to hold little impact on Florida, home to three national forests, including the nearly 400,000-acre Ocala National Forest.

That's because OHV trail networks were already in the works for them. Roberta Moltzen, deputy regional forester for 13 states across the South, said agency staff in Florida will simply "keep on with what they've been doing" in defining those areas.

Denise Raines, Forest Service spokeswoman in Tallahassee, said environmental-impact guidelines, including for OHV use, have already been set for the Osceola National Forest near Lake City.

A similar document for the Ocala National Forest is expected to be completed next month, although it will cover only about half of the forest. The review of the rest of the forest should be finished next year.

The Forest Service has already banned some OHV activity in the Ocala National Forest. In January, a rule went into effect limiting unlicensed OHVs to daylight use only, defined as 90 minutes or less before sunrise and not later than 90 minutes after sunset.

Overall, the 155 national forests and 21 federal grasslands already have guidelines pertaining to OHV use, officials said. But those rules vary as widely as the areas they serve.

The purpose of the new proposal is to protect federal lands by preventing the proliferation of impromptu "user-created" roads and trails left by the small percentage of outlaw visitors taking part in the explosion of OHV use on federal lands, Troyer said.

While OHV users made up only 5 percent of the total number of visitors to national forests and grasslands in 2002, their overall numbers had swollen from 5 million in 1972 to 36 million in 2000.

OHVs include motor vehicles designed or retrofitted primarily for recreational use off road, such as minibikes, amphibious vehicles, snowmobiles, motorcycles, go-carts, motorized trail bikes and dune buggies. It also includes sport utility vehicles and all-terrain vehicles.

Troyer acknowledged that enforcement will be a problem, largely because of constraints on the agency's $4 billion annual budget. But the Forest Service will rely on volunteers and other users to help report violators.

Raines said the current "spaghetti system of trails" in the Ocala National Forest needs to be straightened out and structured to protect animal habitat and environmentally sensitive areas and to help other visitors who seek tranquility to enjoy the forest.

The public has 60 days to comment on the proposed rule. Such comments may be sent to: Proposed Rule for Designated Routes and Areas for Motor Vehicle Use, Content Analysis Team, P.O. Box 221150, Salt Lake City, UT 84122-1150. Remarks will be accepted by e-mail to trvman@fs.fed.us or by fax to (801) 517-1014.

Troyer said the individual forests and grasslands will each develop a "user map," which will become the governing document of OHV use in those areas. While some may finish defining their OHV areas in as little as a year, others could take up to four years. And the public will be allowed to make its input known for each one.

"Designated routes, local decision-making is really at the heart of what we're trying to do," Troyer said.

Bill Thompson covers county government and can be reached at 867-4117 or bill.thompson@starbanner.com.

The purpose of the new proposal is to protect federal lands by preventing the proliferation of "user-created" roads and trails left by outlaw visitors taking part in the explosion of OHV use on federal lands.

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