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June 20, 2007

Conservation Group Praises Laramie Peak
Travel Management Plan Decision

Decision Reduces Motorized Impacts to Public Land and Wildlife

LARAMIE –Biodiversity Conservation Alliance announced its support today of the Laramie Peak Travel Management Plan. The Forest Service’s decision will reduce motorized impacts to the 180,454-acre Laramie Peak Unit of the Medicine Bow National Forest.

Over 100 miles of user-created motorized roads will be closed, including more than 20 miles of motorized roads and trails to be closed or designated non-motorized due to damage to soils or sensitive vegetation, or wildlife disturbance. Nearly 32 miles of trails will have seasonal closures to minimize impacts to soil and winter migration patterns.

The feasibility of allowing a 300 foot off-trail/road exception for limited dispersed camping and game retrieval will be evaluated at least once annually. According to the Decision, if plant damage (all plants included) is significant, the 300 foot exception will be eliminated.

Duane Short, Native Species Program Director, for Biodiversity Conservation Alliance stated, "The out-of-control nature of motorized recreation is widely recognized by the general public and by professional land managers, and the new Forest Service plan addresses this problem.”

Under the Laramie Peak Travel Management Plan, motorized travel is allowed only on roads and trails clearly marked as open to motorized travel. Biodiversity Conservation Alliance applauds this approach to regulating motorized travel. The Forest's "motorized where signed only" approach will help eliminate the destruction of Forest Service regulatory signage and leaves violators no excuses for their trespass.

Riparian areas, those generally wooded and more densely vegetated areas along streams, will be protected from motorized activity with a 100 foot "no go" buffer zone. Stream crossings will be perpendicular to streams and approaches will be hardened with natural materials to minimize erosion and protect wildlife.

Boreal toad, wood frog, and leopard frog habitats and populations will be monitored annually for effects of motorized impacts. Forest Service biologists have determined impacts to several endangered, threatened, sensitive and rare plant and animal species will not be significant "due to project design criteria." The plan includes annual evaluations to assess impacts to listed species.

The Decision also includes socially sound management practices as well. Private landowners often agree that the most troubling social aspect of motorized recreation is the frequent trespass onto private property to access public lands. The Decision promises to help reduce incidences of trespass, noise, and property destruction by clearly signing roads and trails and by seeking right-of-ways from willing parties. The Decision also addresses human safety issues. Analyses of motorized and non-motorized road and trail design will be done to minimize user conflicts and to assure the safety of quiet use (non-motorized) forest visitors, such as hikers, skiers, anglers and photographers.

The following is from the transcript of Former Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth’s testimony before The United States House of Representatives Committee on Resources Concerning Forest Management Challenges on July 2, 2003 in Seeley Lake, Montana.
“The issue is this: Back when we had light recreational use, we didn’t need to manage it; but now that it’s heavier, we do. At one time, we didn’t manage the use of off-highway vehicles, either. OHVs are a great way to experience the outdoors, and only a tiny fraction of the users leave lasting traces by going cross-country. But the number of people who own OHVs has just exploded in recent years. …Each year, we get hundreds of miles of what we euphemistically refer to as unplanned roads and trails” …We’re seeing more and more erosion, water degradation, and habitat destruction. We’re seeing more conflicts between users. We’re seeing more damage to cultural sites and more violation of sites sacred to American Indians. And those are just some of the impacts. We’re going to have to manage that by restricting OHV use to designated roads, trails, and areas.”

National studies support Former Chief Bosworth’s comments. For example, in June 2005, the Forest Service was presented a report titled, Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation in the United States, Regions and States: A National Report from the National Survey on Recreation and the Environment (NSRE) Off-Highway Vehicle Issues.

The report stated, “…. As public land managers are tasked with the responsibility of examining and implementing clear and consistent agency policy, understanding who the OHV recreationists are has become ever more important. Currently there is considerable concern about cross-country travel by motorized vehicles on the National Forests and on other public lands of this country. Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth has noted that unmanaged recreation, including OHV use, is one of the top four threats to the health of national forests. The growing use of motor vehicles is prompting the Forest Service to revise its management of this use so that the agency can continue to provide opportunities desired by the public, while sustaining National Forest System lands.”

Jim Thompson, retired UW professor and former board member of Wyoming Outdoor Council stated, “I am pleased that the Laramie Peak Unit of MBNF has taken these steps to better manage motorized recreation on the Forest. As we all know, motorized recreation is one of the biggest problems facing our forest managers.  But the situation won't improve until motorized recreationists take more responsibility to police their fellow recreationists."

Deputy District Ranger, Hays' Laramie Peak Travel Management Project Decision addresses concerns expressed by Biodiversity Conservation Alliance, citizens, and state agencies such as Wyoming Fish and Game. It proposes to reduce motorized recreation impacts that cause soil displacement and erosion, stream sedimentation and pollution, wetland destruction, wildlife disturbance, winter migration problems, and quiet use recreation conflicts. In accordance with federal laws and regulations, the Forest will close user-created roads and trails and improve forest system road and trail location and design features.