Sierra Club
Redwood Chapter Newsletter
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New Forest Service Regulations Fall Short of Protecting America's National Forests from Off-Road Vehicle Abuse Karl Forsgaard | |
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The Forest Service released new regulations for off-road vehicle use on America's National Forests today which fail to adequately address urgent threats posed by unauthorized, renegade and destructive off-road vehicle routes in America's forests. We applaud the Forest Service for recognizing the problem, but under the plan released today, routes carved by ATVs, dirt bikes, jeeps and other off-road vehicles will remain unmanageable and unenforceable. Without a solid timeline and dedicated funding for designating, monitoring and enforcing vehicle routes as well as non-motorized trails, unmanaged off-road vehicle use will continue to adversely affect wildlife habitat, clean water, quiet recreation, and private landowners. |
The rules released today would actually weaken the agency's ability to oversee and protect America's National Forests. Encouraging agency rank and file on the ground to actively limit uncontrolled off-road vehicle use is a positive step forward. But this vision will succeed only if it is effectively implemented on the ground and not if it is undermined by a lack of a timeline and resources to do the job right. The Bush administration has already identified unmanaged recreation, particularly off-road vehicle use, as one of the greatest threats to America's National Forests. We need strong measures that will limit destructive off-road vehicle use and protect these special places. |