For Immediate Release

August 20, 2007

Conservation Group Appeals Motocross Trail in Roadless Area

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LARAMIE –Biodiversity Conservation Alliance filed an Administrative Appeal last Friday against the Forest Service’s decision to open part of the Middle Fork Roadless Area to motorbike traffic under the Eastern Snowy Range Travel Management Plan. Prompting the appeal was the Forest Service notice of a rare, 2 part, split-decision that will dramatically increase motorized recreation impacts to almost six miles of trails and 422 acres of the Middle Fork Roadless Area, currently managed for nonmotorized summer recreation. The negative effects of noise, pollution, and wildlife disturbance will extend far beyond the actual borders of the 422+ acres.

“We deserve to have unique areas in the Med Bows set aside for quiet enjoyment,” said Bob Needles, owner of All-Terrain Sports in Laramie. “Wyoming already caters to motorized vehicles in many other parts of the state. The Medicine Bow Forest Service should resist giving in to the will of the outspoken groups who lobby for more access to off-road vehicles.”

The newly approved motorbike trail would degrade the wilderness quality of the Middle Fork Roadless Area, and introduce increased soil erosion and stream sedimentation, vegetation loss and the introduction of invasive, non-native plants (weeds), create chronic disturbance to wildlife, and destroy the quiet solitude sought by hikers, skiers, hunters, fisherman, birders, photographers, and a host of other quiet use, low impact forest visitors.

Jim Furnish, former Deputy Chief of the U.S. Forest Service, compares the effects of noise and commotion created by motorized recreation to second-hand smoke stating, “I liken this debate to that of smoking, which is no longer a "right" in our society but a privilege to be exercised in deference to hard-fought insistence of non-smokers. Similarly, ATV users greatly impact human-powered recreationists, but the reverse is not true. ATVs have no right to take over Green Mountain National Forest.” (See at: http://www.vermontwilderness.org/jim_furnish_opinion.php) Furnish’s statement could just have appropriately ended with Medicine Bow National Forest.

Biodiversity Conservation Alliance Wild Species Program Director, Duane Short, agreed with the retired Deputy Forest Chief and added, “The Forest Service is trying shoehorn motorized recreation into one of the few areas that the Forest Plan earmarked for quiet recreation. They could have easily accommodated motorbike use a few miles to the west in lands outside the roadless area as the travel management plan originally proposed.”

Adding to the controversy of forcing motorized recreation in a non-motorized roadless area is the fact that the Forest Service amended the Forest Plan in the middle of the process and failed to adequately seek public input on the major change to a Forest Plan that was very controversial with regard to the small amount of land it designated for non-motorized recreation. This failure to allow and seek public input on an action that will decrease the level of forest protection in the Middle Fork Roadless Area prescriptions in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act, according to the appeal.

Perhaps most importantly, the Forest failed to perform an Environmental Impact Statement even though the motorbike trail is going to have major impacts on quiet recreation and wildlife in the area and instead opted to do only an Environmental Analysis which is to be used only when an action does not cause significant impacts.

“The Service often cites the Multiple Use Sustained Yield Act as a mandate to motorize the Forest to meet demand,” Short added, “but not every acre of forest must meet the need for every demand placed upon it.” This law states that if demands for a given use of public land can be met on private or otherwise more suitable areas, land managers must consider and act according to those possibilities. “In short, the Multiple Use Sustained Yield Act does not obligate the Forest Service to meet every demand presented to it by recreation or other interests,” added Short.

Perhaps best expressing the sentiments of most forest visitors Chuck Mollica, a quiet use, low impact, and frequent visitor of the Medicine Bow National Forest stated, “Many of us get all the motor noise and fumes we need in our home towns. We need National Forests to maintain the roadless areas as a commons for low impact and health oriented activities. Mollica added, “We don't propose quiet parks for the commercial corridors of towns, so why should the reverse be true? The Medicine Bow NF should stand by its commitments and resist higher impact activity proponents.”