Post by chevit on Sept 13, 2006 16:35:16 GMT -5
Skid Marks, Wildlands CPR’s monthly e-mail newsletter, reports on activist efforts to challenge roads and motorized recreation nationwide. Skid Marks shares instructive and precedent-setting successes and failures in the campaign to halt motorized abuse of wildland systems.
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1. PARK SERVICE TO EMPHASIZE CONSERVATION OVER RECREATION
2. UTAH LAWSUIT AGAINST OFF-ROAD VEHICLE ACCESS UPHELD
3. MONTANA FORESTS CONSIDER REDUCED MOTORIZED USE
4. NATIONAL MONUMENT PROPOSED IN NEW MEXICO
5. NEW TRAVEL PLAN IN NEW MEXICO MAY EXPAND OFF-ROAD USE
6. OPEN VEHICLE ACCESS PROPOSED IN NEW MEXICO’S VALLES CALDERA
7. UTAH’S FACTORY BUTTE CONSIDERED FOR OFF-ROAD REGULATION
8. MINNESOTA COUNTY REJECTS NEW OFF-ROAD VEHICLE ROUTE
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1. PARK SERVICE TO EMPHASIZE CONSERVATION OVER RECREATION
Signaling the end of a yearlong debate over its management philosophy, the National Park Service has announced its decision to adopt a new guiding policy, which will value conservation of natural and cultural resources over recreation when the two conflict. The decision came as a surprise from the generally conservative, industry-friendly Department of the Interior under Secretary Dirk Kempthorne.
The new policy rejects proposals that would have paved the way for jet-skiing, snowmobiling, off-road vehicle recreation, and other motorized park use. Development such as mining and the construction of cell-phone towers in parks will remain difficult. The new rules also restore the ability of the Park Service to pressure the Environmental Protection Agency to act when parks are ecologically threatened.
The policy makes a few concessions to the recreation industry, including ensuring that “gateway” communities such as West Yellowstone, MT – close neighbors to large national parks that draw tens of thousands of visitors every year – have a role in park managers’ decision-making.
Andrea Keller, spokesperson for the National Parks Conservation Association, said the new regulations “reinforce the agency’s commitment to protect park resources such as air quality, and ensure that visitors this year and for generations to come will be welcomed to our parks and offered a memorable, inspiring experience.”
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2. UTAH LAWSUIT AGAINST OFF-ROAD VEHICLE ACCESS UPHELD
A federal judge in Utah has struck down an attempt by Kane County to dismiss the Wilderness Society and Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance’s lawsuit challenging a county ordinance that allows off-road vehicle use in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. This is the latest development in a controversial case whose eventual outcome is seen as symbolic by environmental and recreation groups alike.
Previously, the roads were closed by the Bureau of Land Management due to damage inflicted by motorized vehicles. Officials in Kane County have claimed road ownership under RS 2477, and plan to open the roads to motorized use. However, the judge ruled that the county has not demonstrated sufficient proof of ownership. Kane County will now have to provide documented evidence that it owns the roads when the case goes to trial.
The decision comes on the heels of a district court ruling that dismissed SUWA’s decade-old suit against the BLM, alleging that it did not enforce trespass violations against Kane and other Utah counties for unauthorized road construction in another part of the monument. A district judge ruled that because the BLM and the counties had agreed to drop the dispute, a conflict no longer existed. That case eventually led to a court decision last fall that redefined standards for claims under RS 2477.
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3. MONTANA FORESTS CONSIDER REDUCED MOTORIZED USE
In compliance with a national directive, Montana’s National Forests are in the process of identifying and designating roads which are available for motorized recreation. Many are also reviewing their travel plans, based in part on analysis of the volume of motorized use in the forest. Several Montana forests are expected to produce controversial new travel plans which decrease the overall number of road miles available to motorized use, largely by closing unused logging roads and those that have been created illegally.
One area of particular contention between off-road enthusiasts and conservation groups is the Lewis and Clark National Forest, which contains much of the Little Belt Mountains. There are currently 1,200 miles of bladed road in the Little Belts, and 500 miles of roads are open to some form of motorized use. The area contains only 62 miles of trails that are available exclusively to non-motorized recreation.
Environmental groups have criticized the Forest Service for not providing balance when considering appropriate forest uses, and point out that most forests historically have been wide open to vehicle use. In the time that has elapsed since most Montana forest plans were created, vehicle technology has changed, producing heavier, faster machines capable of more damage to ecosystems. Environmental laws have changed, and new species have been added to threatened or endangered lists. Additionally, budgets have been stretched, and the National Forest system is funded at less than 20% of what is needed to maintain the current road system.
Forest officials have stated their intention to employ collaborative decision-making for the new plans, with stakeholders from all sides involved in the same discussion. However, Lewis and Clark National Forest Supervisor Spike Thompson says, “We just haven’t been able to find the right setting or conditions to sit down and talk this out…If both sides keep looking at the quantity of miles and not the opportunity to enhance the quality of an experience, I think that might hinder our ability to work something out.”
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4. NATIONAL MONUMENT PROPOSED IN NEW MEXICO
A new national monument site has been proposed in New Mexico’s Las Cruces area to preserve fossils, including fossil footprints, in a 290-million-year-old rock layer. The boundaries of the potential site include areas popular with off-road vehicle users.
Supporters of the designation have said that fossils are being pillaged, despite existing protections from the Bureau of Land Management. Keith Whelpley, a local member of the Paleozoic Trackways Foundation, said, “It’s obvious that since the time the special designation has been put into place, there have been few if any improvements…We feel a higher designation is in order, one that would allow us to create attractions for visitors.” There is some debate as to whether the fossils could be easily exposed for public viewing, as is customary at a national monument site.
The BLM has already established 700 acres as a natural research area, and the agency is considering expanding that to 2,000 acres. A bill has also been introduced in the Senate proposing a monument in the area. That measure makes a provision to continue the Chile Challenge, an off-road event held within the boundaries of the proposed national monument.
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5. NEW TRAVEL PLAN IN NEW MEXICO MAY EXPAND OFF-ROAD USE
The Bureau of Land Management is in the process of rewriting the management plan for its Taos field office. The plan could call for expanded, unmanaged off-road vehicle recreation, particularly in an area known as El Palacio Fun Valley, which is already a haven for motorized use.
Opponents of increased motorized use say off-roaders are already cutting fences along the area’s boundary and trespassing on private land, leaving trash, increasing erosion and robbing archaeological sites. “They have no regard for fences or private property, much less archaeological sites,” said John Chavez, a Truchas native and board member of two land-grant associations. Area farmers claim that erosion in the valley is worsening, and some have accused the BLM of not enforcing existing off-road vehicle rules in the valley.
Many local residents who already use off-road vehicles in the area think the valley should be kept as it is, without adding more roads. The area is also popular with hikers, joggers, and horse riders. The Bureau is expected to produce a draft revised management plan sometime in 2007.
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6. OPEN VEHICLE ACCESS PROPOSED IN NEW MEXICO’S VALLES CALDERA
On August 26, a part of the Jemez Mountain National Preserve in New Mexico known as Valles Caldera was opened to unrestricted vehicle access for the preserve’s “Drive and Discover” day. Fifteen hundred cars and trucks filled the area, as visitors got a rare look inside the dormant volcanic caldera. The event has sparked debate about public access to the area, and officials are considering making changes.
Previously, the number of motorists allowed in the area was kept small with user fees, and a reservation and lottery system. The opportunity for free vehicle access created a gridlock of hopeful visitors within hours, and countless vehicles were turned away. The roads to the caldera are in need of maintenance, and sections washed out during the event. Unlike a national park, the preserve does not have the infrastructure, such as parking areas, to handle a large volume of vehicles, according to Jeffrey Cross, executive director of the preserve.
Conservationists are concerned that any unrestricted motorized access to the area, which has been described as the Yellowstone Park of New Mexico, will cause severe erosion and disruption. Park managers have stated that they will consider potential environmental impacts as they decide whether to open the park more often.
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7. UTAH’S FACTORY BUTTE CONSIDERED FOR OFF-ROAD REGULATION
The Bureau of Land Management is considering imposing restrictions on motorized recreation in Utah’s Factory Butte area. The proposed changes are part of an effort to protect two endangered species of cacti, the Wright fishhook and the Winkler cactus, which have recently been discovered living in the Factory Butte region. New regulations could be in place by fall of 2006.
The scenic badlands location currently experiences heavy off-road vehicle use, and for years environmental groups have pressured officials to curb local motorized recreation. The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance has pushed for the inclusion of Factory Butte in a larger wilderness complex.
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8. MINNESOTA COUNTY REJECTS NEW OFF-ROAD VEHICLE ROUTE
Minnesota’s Becker County has rejected a proposed 70-mile off-road vehicle route in a region that is home to Itasca State Park, the headwaters of the Missouri River. Becker County already contains over 100 miles of illegal off-road vehicle routes, which have caused severe ecological damage.
The Minnesota State Legislature previously appropriated funds for the construction of a new off-road vehicle road somewhere in the state. It remains to be seen whether the route will be built elsewhere in Minnesota.
A local group of concerned citizens worked for months to defeat the proposed route, and protested at the courthouse on the day of the vote.
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“Skid Marks” comes to you compliments of Wildlands CPR. We’re a non-profit conservation organization working to protect and restore wildland ecosystems by promoting road removal, preventing new wildland road construction, and limiting motorized recreation.