Op-Ed by Dan Thompson
BlueRibbon Coalition
During a recent camping/fishing/hiking/riding trip in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, I came across two OHV
riders mud bogging in a beautiful little meadow. What a mess!! Naturally, I
accosted the fellows - both old enough to know better - and gave them my little
talking-to pointing out that what they were doing was strictly illegal, could
result in a substantial fine, and was damaging a valuable resource.
They professed ignorance that their activities were illegal,
promised to stay on the legal trail, and we amicably parted ways. Upon return
to the real world a few days later, I reported the damage to the appropriate
B-D District Office, emphasized that RCORUA would like to volunteer our
services to help them remediate the problem, and offered several suggestions
about how to block the lower end of the meadow to prevent further damage. The
Recreation Specialist I spoke with thanked me for the report, seemed delighted
that RCORUA was interested in being part of the solution, and promised to be in
touch soon. We'll keep you informed about how this develops.
As part of my little talk I give to OHV enthusiasts when I
encounter violators, I point out that not only are they breaking the law, but
also they are providing excuses to radical environmentalists and Federal
Agencies to pursue their exclusionary agendas. If a greenie were in possession
of the accompanying photograph, it would be splashed all over their websites,
provided to the press, and shown in Congressional hearings as evidence to
support the stereotype of OHV riders as crazed, beer guzzling, irresponsible
red necks intent on trashing public lands. It's like giving bullets to your
enemy and then being surprised when you get shot at.
RCORUA has always advocated for responsible uses of public
lands. Riding our OHVs on public lands is a privilege granted to us by the
public. Along with that privilege comes responsibilities, and those
responsibilities include staying on designated roads and trails: Off route
travel of wheeled vehicles is strictly forbidden on all public lands (with a
few exceptions such as dune areas), and it is our responsibility to comply with
that law. It is also in our best interests to raise the awareness of
non-members of what constitutes responsible and lawful behavior on public land.
We do so with our educational program (we reached 700 school kids this year!!),
setting a good role model by being responsible ourselves, being active in our
volunteer program, and with peer pressure. I'm quite certain that the two guys
I spoke to in the above example will think twice before they trash another
meadow.
On the other hand, it is also true that Federal Agencies
have failed miserably to provide adequate responsible opportunities for OHV
recreation. And that problem is getting worse with every Forest Plan and every
Travel Plan. Somehow, Federal Agencies have failed to get the message that one
of the keys to managing OHV recreation is to provide responsible, sustainable
opportunities to OHV enthusiasts that makes it possible for us to ride
responsibly. The implementation of the Travel Planning Rule (TMR) is
particularly counterproductive: The TMR directs Forests to designate, by
vehicle type and season of use, an adequate network of responsible OHV routes
on their Forest. Yet every Travel Plan
released so far closes about 50 percent of the currently available routes to
motorized travel! I wish someone would explain to me how the Forest Service
proposes to encourage responsible OHV behavior by closing half of the existing
OHV routes!! Clearly, under the influence of wealthy and litigious
environmental groups, the Travel Management Planning process has sadly morphed
into an exclusionary agenda. It is an alarming commentary on dysfunctional
processes in Washington, DC when environmental extremists through
influence, intimidation and endless lawsuits can pervert a well-intentioned
process such as Travel Management to serve their radical agendas.
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Dan Thompson is a member of the Ravalli County Off Road User
Association (RCORUA). RCORUA is a group of about 400 citizens who advocate
for public access to public lands. The entire RCORUA newsletter from which
this article is taken is available on the Association's website www.rcorua.org.
The BlueRibbon Coalition is a national recreation group that
champions responsible recreation, and encourages individual environmental
stewardship. With members in all 50 states, BRC is focused on building
enthusiast involvement with organizational efforts through membership,
outreach, education, and collaboration among recreationists. 1-800-BLUERIB
- http://www.sharetrails.org.
