July 9, 2004 – Winter Wildlands Alliance, a national organization representing cross country skiers and snowshoers, joined other conservation and recreation groups today in calling proposed new rules issued by the USDA Forest Service for off-road vehicle use on America’s National Forest well-intentioned but largely ineffective. While the proposal is a small step forward, it totally ignores the growing impacts from unmanaged snowmobile use on all those who seek the quiet and solitude of winter landscapes and wintering wildlife.

“Winter Wildlands Alliance is particularly disappointed that the Forest
Service chose to ignore this growing conflict and the needs of 18 million
cross country skiers, snowshoers and backcountry skiers”, stated Sarah
Michael, President of Winter Wildlands Alliance. “On a daily basis in the
winter, we hear from cross country and backcountry skiers, and snowshoers
about serious safety concerns, the negative impacts from the noise and
exhaust of the machines, and the lost of traditional ski terrain to the
roar, speed and smoke of these machines.”

Winter Wildlands first learned that snowmobiles would probably be left out
of the proposed ATV reforms when Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth stated
in an interview that “the effects of snowmobiles is primarily user
conflicts and wildlife effects but I don’t have that sense of
urgency, myself, regarding snowmobiles.”

“Winter Wildlands Alliance and
our 15 grassroots groups worked very hard to convince the Forest Service
that there was ample evidence that snowmobiles were driving our members off
of public lands, that there is a major public safety issue, and that
snowmobiles need better control,” remarked Michael.

Unmanaged snowmobile use is also defining future wilderness boundaries.
Snowmobiles are able to access the highest alpine peaks, regardless of
steep terrain, in proposed wilderness areas. Despite the pristine nature
of the alpine lakes and peaks and the relatively few numbers of
snowmobilers who can access the dangerous mountainous landscape, the
motorized lobby is effective in killing future wilderness designation.

Although some of the proposed changes are positive for hikers and hunters,
they alone will not solve this growing problem. Oddly, while Forest Service
Chief Dale Bosworth has identified unmanaged off-road vehicle use as one of
the greatest threats to National Forests, the proposal frequently
highlights the importance of “enhancing ” opportunities for off-road
vehicle recreation rather than creating a better balance between this small
use and the many other uses of National Forests. To ensure necessary and
common-sense protections for public land, wildlife and other recreational
users, the Forest Service must include additional measures in the final
rule. Besides including snowmobiles, the most important of these include:

* Within two years, designating roads and routes that are
appropriate for off-road vehicle travel. At the end of this period, such
use could only occur on designated roads and routes;

* Designating roads and routes based on a full and public analysis
of the site-specific environmental impacts and user-conflicts;

* Immediately barring use of all unauthorized, renegade routes; and

* Authorizing off-road vehicle use only to the extent that effective
monitoring and enforcement are annually funded and implemented.

* Inclusion of a timeframe in regulation for completing route designation is
even more important in light of following statement in the proposal.

The Forest Service is proposing several policy changes that would be
beneficial if effectively implemented on the ground. These include:

* Prohibiting cross-country travel by motor vehicles except under
limited circumstances;

* Authorizing ATV and dirt bike use only on roads and off-road
vehicle routes specifically designated as open for such use; and

* Enabling law enforcement officers to issue citations more easily.

Last year, Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth identified unmanaged
recreation, particularly off-road vehicle use, as one of the greatest
threats to America’s National Forests. He described a litany of adverse
impacts to the land, wildlife and other visitors and highlighted the
proliferation of unplanned – or renegade – dirt bike and all-terrain
vehicle (ATV) routes that crisscross many National Forests. Since then,
Chief Bosworth has also stressed the urgent need to address this problem:
“This is not an easy issue to tackle, but if we wait a day, a week, or even
a year, the impact on the land and the issue surrounding this problem will
become even harder to deal with. We need to address the issue now.” 

The underlying legal framework for off-road vehicle management on federal
public lands is provided in Executive Orders issued by Presidents Richard
Nixon in 1972 and Jimmy Carter in 1977. President Nixon’s Order (number
11644) states that the purpose of federal off-road vehicle management is to
“ensure that the use of off-road vehicles on public lands will be
controlled and directed so as to protect the resources of those lands, to
promote the safety of all users of those lands, and to minimize conflicts
among the various uses of those lands.”  This Order further requires that
agencies “minimize  adverse impacts on natural resources, including
water, soils and vegetation, and wildlife and wildlife habitat, as well as
conflicts with other uses when designating routes for off-road vehicle use.”