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Media Release: F.S. DRAFT OHV REGS GENERALLY ON THE RIGHT TRACK, BUT THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS
Contact: Brian Hawthorne
       Phone: 208-237-1008
       Fax: 208-237-9424
       E-mail: brbrian@sharetrails.org
       Webpage: www.sharetrails.org
Date: July 9, 2004

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POCATELLO, IDAHO (July 9) -- The US Forest Service recently released draft regulations concerning the use of motorized vehicles on National Forest Lands. These regulations will restrict motorized vehicles to designated roads, trails, and areas, and will require each National Forest to inventory roads and trails, and then after involving the public in the inventory and analysis of the inventory, to eventually designate roads, trails, and areas for motorized vehicle use, and eliminate cross-country travel. The BlueRibbon Coalition supports the concept of restricting use of motorized vehicles to designated roads, trails, and areas, but we have serious concerns about some of the details of the draft regulations, as well as questions about implementation of the regulations.

Motorized recreation has grown dramatically in the last 30 years, and it is appropriate that the Forest Service restrict indiscriminate cross-country travel by wheeled vehicles, except in certain, specific areas where such use may be appropriate. The BlueRibbon Coalition also supports making motorized recreation management a higher priority of the agency to sustain existing opportunities, as well as working to enhance and expand opportunities when and where appropriate. After reviewing the draft regulations, we have the following concerns about the regulations and how they will be implemented:

With no additional funding, we question the ability of the agency to complete the process in a timely and thorough manner.
Base inventories must be comprehensive, and include all routes. Sacrificing accuracy for expediency is unacceptable
The public should be involved in the inventory process as early as possible
Consumer GPS data and maps provided by the public must be considered
Designation of all unpaved roads should be automatic
No arbitrary timelines should be applied.
Implementing this process should be done at landscape levels smaller than a Ranger District to facilitate faster progress.
Efforts should focus first on areas with high levels of use, and move towards areas with low use or minimal issues.

"We are pleased to see the Forest Service elevate OHV management through this regulation process, and we will work to energize our members to engage in the process at the local level" commented BlueRibbon Coalition Executive Director Bill Dart. "This is a watershed moment for OHV recreation, but there is tremendous potential for loss of opportunity if the process is not thorough or the public doesn't participate" Dart added.

"We are still analyzing the proposed regulations, and we will be providing detailed comments in the coming weeks to the Forest Service planning team as well as our membership" stated BlueRibbon Coalition Public Lands Director Brian Hawthorne. "The agency is undertaking a major project without any new commitment of resources, and this concerns us greatly" Hawthorne added. "The stakes are high for the American public, but the Forest Service doesn't seem to have recognized that when they propose to complete this major job using existing resources. The message we get is they are not serious about doing a thorough job." Hawthorne concluded.

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The BlueRibbon Coalition is a national non-profit organization dedicated to promoting responsible recreation, equal opportunity and recreation access to all. The BlueRibbon Coalition works to "Preserve our natural resources FOR the public instead of FROM the public," and to promote cooperation among the various user-groups.