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Shrinking space, more vehicles squeeze off-road recreationAgencies struggle to designate routes for riders, enforce limits on trails' useBY STACEY SHEPARD, Californian staff writere-mail: sshepard@bakersfield.com | Saturday, Jun 2 2007 9:05 PM Last Updated: Saturday, Jun 2 2007 9:08 PMAt the same time off-highway vehicle ownership in the state has soared, Bakersfield's sprawling development has left local riders few places to use their four-wheeled toys. As a result, nearby public lands owned by the Bureau of Land Management and Sequoia National Forest have been inundated with off-highway vehicles. Motorized recreation is allowed in many of these areas, but the surge in riders has agencies scrambling to designate routes, enforce rules and prevent the spread of trails into ecologically sensitive areas."We definitely feel the pressure," said Cheryl Bauer, a recreation manager for the Sequoia National Forest.Riders flocking to the southern part of the forest in the Piute and Greenhorn mountains near Lake Isabella have carved more than 600 miles of new trails in recent years. During that time, riders were allowed to off-road throughout the 150,000 acres in that part of the forest, meaning they weren't required to stay on specific routes and could blaze their own trails. But the massive proliferation of new trails came as a shock to forest managers, who have since clamped down on riding. Riders can no longer wander off trails. And the forest service is drafting a plan to decide which routes will stay open and which will be closed off because they traverse habitats for endangered species or run through sensitive streambeds.The BLM faces similar problems on 7,000 acres in Keyesville near Lake Isabella and on 30,000 acres near Taft.Ever since the bluffs in northeast Bakersfield were closed to off-road vehicles several years ago, riding in these areas has spiked, said Steve Larson, assistant field manager for resources at BLM's Bakersfield office.Riding is allowed only on designated routes on local BLM lands, but Larson admits a lack of signage makes it difficult for riders to know which routes are open. Riders often veer off course, creating new trails that tear up plants, cut across archeological sites or cause erosion, he said.Several years ago, BLM undertook an effort to restore some unauthorized trails with new vegetation. But much of the work has since been destroyed because what little signage exists gets torn down, Larson said.He estimated the agency would need about $30,000 to properly sign all the routes. Last year, it spent just $5,000 on signage.While off-roading on public lands is legitimate recreation, officials said, agencies must also protect animals, land and archeological sites and allow hikers, campers and others to enjoy the natural surroundings free of noise and dust."Motorcycles are built to displace dirt, and they're a legitimate use in the national forest, but that type of sport requires they're ridden on a trail built to standards," Bauer said. "Otherwise, you have (environmental) concerns, or you have conflicts with a guy on a motorcycle and someone on a horse."The impacts of increased off-roading on public lands was one of the main arguments for building a local off-highway vehicle park when the vehicles were banned from the bluffs, said Jack Patterson, vice president of the Kern Off-Highway Vehicle Association, which has 500 active members."If you close down a section of a highway from three lanes to one lane, that one lane is going to get a lot more use," Patterson said. "You haven't changed the amount of people who use the vehicles locally, you've just reduced the number of places they have to ride."For now, land agencies are taking trail inventories and investing in better signage. But the long-term issue of enforcing rules seems insurmountable. The Sequoia National Forest spends about $21,000 to hire off-highway vehicle patrols in the summer months, but "it's a matter of being in the right place in the right time," Bauer said.The Bakersfield BLM office has just three rangers to patrol more than 600,000 acres in eight counties. Even if a ranger spots a rider in an unauthorized area, "if someone is on a motorcycle it's just about impossible to catch them," Larson said.BLM spends about $50,000 annually on local off-highway vehicle enforcement. But it would require about triple that amount to do it effectively, Larson said.Larson and Bauer agree that a local off-highway vehicle park is sorely needed."We would support an OHV park located somewhere in the Bakersfield area because it would alleviate pressure put on the public land," Bauer said.
I like a tight box myself...now back to your regularly scheduled program
cutting forest and park service funds for a decade, each year it gets worse. Like the article mentioned, there are 3 rangers for more than 600,000 acres of land. He claimed it was just "easier" for them to gate areas off and close trails down because there was no way to enforce it with his measly staff.
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Topic: Less Area Means More Squeezed into a tighter Box..... ah-duh (Read 2050 times)
