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Second - Trail Defense
I'd like to take a moment to discuss the Travel Management document recently released in its final form by the US Forest Service (USFS) unit of the Department of Agriculture. The new Travel Management plan contains new rules for governing the use of off-highway vehicles like dirt bikes and ATVs on public land administered by the Forest Service.
The release of these new rules in a formalized document heralds the dawn of what I call the Era of Designation on all USFS lands.
In places where off-road travel was formerly far less regulated, the promulgation of a thick manual of new rules doesn't strike many off-roaders as a step in "the right direction," but I believe the opposite is the case. Designation has the potential to greatly improve all our opportunities to enjoy motorized recreation on national forest lands.
In the past, many riders were of the opinion federal land managers were disinclined to encourage off-roading in areas under their direction. I've heard some riders say they thought the federal rangers were, by and large, "just a bunch of bunny-huggers." This is, in my opinion, a false impression brought about by the nature of the responsibilities these federal officers must discharge.
Understand that land managers, whether they be federal, state, provincial or local, are all trained to work in government. In this kind of training, the emphasis is in doing things "by the book." When you work for government, your behavior and procedures are all scrutinized and your only protection is to make sure what you do fits into the guidelines you are given in your operating manuals, etc.
What this meant for rangers and others working on the national forests in the past - before the Era of Designation - was they didn't really have a "book" to go by. Thus, they were at a serious disadvantage when it came to dealing with the ever-growing throngs of off-roaders.
For every off-roader asking to use the forest, you see, there were at least two others from the anti-motorized side saying what the riders wanted to do was illegal, immoral, reprehensible and worse. This was the rock and the hard place the land managers found themselves between.
All this changes when these people are given clear direction - like those hopefully provided by the new Travel Management plan. Now the rangers can go by the new "book" in their dealings with trail users and this is eminently preferable to the old structure of doubt and confusion.
I've seen the difference already. I believe there are many if not most land managers in the US Forest Service who are genuinely interested in providing for the off-road interest. Now they have the tools to do it. It might be too early for rejoicing, but know this: The off-road community is in a much better position in the Era of Designation than we ever were before.
But let me give an example.
One issue coming to the surface in the designation debate is the policy future for what are called user-created trails. These are the trails that have come into existence simply through use by ATVs, dirt bikes and off-road trucks.
Sometimes these user created routes are old roads or rail grades once used by loggers or miners. Some are routes that came into being over the years as organized motorcycle and ATV clubs marked routes for events like rallies and enduros. Some are routes used by cabin owners and hunters and even by the wildlife that travels in the forest. Wherever they come from, these routes comprise the majority of the trail we've used in the national forests for decades.
Opponents of motorized recreation on public land complain that off-road riders have riddled the public lands with "renegade trails." But the facts are clearly otherwise.
First of all, nearly all user-created trails came into being during an era when travel was permitted anywhere in the forests. When it is legal to ride wherever you can find a path, any trails created through this use are not renegade trails, but legitimate effects of the legitimate pursuit of recreation.
But our opponents hate this idea. They want to create the impression these are outlaw trails that must be closed. They do not understand these trails, where they came from, where they go or how they function in an overall access pattern on public land.
This ignorance must be countered. Trail users must defend these routes as legitimate uses of the forest and work to assure their continued existence as part of the trail planning and designation process. Not all trails can be designated of course, but there are many, perhaps most, that deserve designation and should not be disregarded because some city lawyers call them "renegade."
There is precedent forming for support of user-created trails we are wise to heed. Recently the Forest Service announced new land management plans for four national forests in southern California under the new rules. Plans for the Angeles, Cleveland, Los Padres, and San Bernadino National Forests identify substantial areas where OHV use will be permitted, many on so-called user-created trails.
In comments to USFS during the planning phase, trail users noted that most of the routes proposed for trail designation already had some form of OHV use. The new plans address this and call for the user-created routes to be part of a final plan that will, where appropriate, add these routes to the system.
The time to establish a sound, realistic and workable policy for motorized recreation trails based in part on existing routes is now. Watch for designation news coming out of your local forest and save your favorite trails by being part of this crucial process.
