ATV Opponents Question Enforcement
By Raam Wong, Staff Writer, Albuquerque Journal, August 13, 2008
Opponents of all-terrain vehicles expressed skepticism Tuesday that the Santa Fe National Forest has the resources to keep motorists on designated
trails and out of sensitive areas.
Forest Service officials last month unveiled a proposal that would cut in half the road mileage available for motorized travel.
That's fine and good, several participants at a public meeting in Santa Fe said Tuesday, but how will the cash-strapped Forest Service enforce the
rules?
“Don't enact something unless you plan to enforce it,” read one of the comments written on index cards before the meeting.
Forest officials acknowledged that enforcement across the 1.6 million-acre forest will be a challenge, and they're still trying to identify a
solution.
“We will have law enforcement out there,” said Pecos/Las Vegas District ranger Steve Romero. “Is it enough? Probably not.”
Forest Service officer Michael Frazier said the Carson National Forest has had some success with its so-called travel management rule by hiring an ATV
ranger to focus on hot spots. Frazier said developing motorized vehicles rules is a necessary first step.
“We're still better off with something to enforce than nothing to enforce,” Frazier said.
The main enforcement tool with be a free map showing motorized vehicle enthusiasts where they can ride.
But critics fear the map will only draw more off-roaders to their communities, while others say a map makes a lousy enforcement tool.
One proposed version of that map, released last month, would reduce the amount of road mileage available for motorcycles, ATVs and the like from 4,477
miles to 2,309 miles. Motorized trails would decrease from 591 miles to 241 miles. The proposal would pretty much bar motorized travel from the
designated roads and trails.
The nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity based in Tucson originally gave the proposal a good review. But group advocate Cyndi Tuell said a closer
look at the maps showed that many routes go through sensitive species habitat, while road densities in the Jemez Mountains were too high.
“We are also seeing quite a few illegal routes being proposed that to us seem to reward illegal behavior,” she wrote in an e-mail to the Journal.
The Forest Service also heard from several motorized vehicle fans. Some complained that suggested routes had been left out of the proposal, while
others challenged Forest Service assertions that the number of motorized vehicle users is increasing.
“What exactly is the problem?” read one of the written questions.
The use of questions on index cards allowed for a less-contentious meeting than one held a year ago, when those who opposed the vehicles shot verbal
darts at forest officials.
About 150 people packed the meeting at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Santa Fe, the ninth of 13 such public meetings the Forest Service is
hosting. The meetings, part of a 45-day public comment period, are a chance to weigh in on the scope of major issues that should be considered in an
environmental impact analysis of the proposed rules.
Comments will continue to be accepted during the eight to 12 months during which a draft environmental impact statement will be developed, followed by
another 45-day public comment period.
Forest Service officials stressed that the proposed maps, which are available to view online, are far from being a done deal. Fans of the forest are
encouraged to submit comments about what trails they'd like to see open or closed to particular uses, officials said.
“We don't have any illusion that we got this perfect,” Frazier said.
The next public meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday at Fuller Lodge in Los Alamos.
For more information, visit, www.fs.fed.us/r3/sfe/travelmgt.
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