Plan to tighten off-road rules faces public scrutiny

Published online on Wednesday, Apr. 29, 2009

A plan that could impose severe restrictions on off-road driving in the mountains north and east of Fresno is being unveiled after a lengthy delay.

Anticipating a flood of opinion, Sierra National Forest officials have scheduled a series of public meetings and drop-in sessions to discuss the Motorized Travel Management Draft Environmental Impact Statement. The first meeting is Tuesday night in Oakhurst.

Made available this week, the document is sure to be as controversial as it is complex. The original proposed action elicited 10,000 public comments after it was published in September 2007 and drew criticism from pro-access and environmental groups alike.

“This is one of the biggest issues we’ve dealt with in a long time in terms of public interest,” Sierra National Forest spokeswoman Sue Exline said.

For decades, off-road vehicle use in the Sierra National Forest has been almost completely unregulated. Even cross-country travel — motorists driving wherever they wanted — was permitted, except in wilderness areas.

This virtual free-for-all in the 1.3 million-acre national forest, which includes parts of Fresno, Madera and Mariposa counties, has resulted in dozens of unplanned roads and trails, as well as watershed and habitat degradation, officials said.

It isn’t just a local issue. All 155 national forests in the U.S. must comply with the Motorized Travel Management Project. The goal is to develop a sustainable system of roads, trails and areas for access and recreation while protecting natural and cultural resources.

The Sierra National Forest contains about 70 miles of designated four-wheel drive routes, including popular trails such as Dusy-Ershim and Shuteye Peak. Over the decades, users created another 558 miles of trails that didn’t exist in any official capacity until they were inventoried and mapped in 2005.

The Draft Environmental Impact Statement contains five alternatives, including a “no action” alternative that would keep things the way they are.The other four alternatives prohibit cross-country travel as well as add between zero and 86 miles of user-created trails to the designated system.

Of the 558 miles of user-created routes, the public asked the forest service to survey 280 miles of them in the hope they would be added to the designated system, Exline said. A portion of the 280 miles was surveyed last summer. Others were removed from consideration without being surveyed because they crossed environmentally or culturally sensitive lands; led directly to designated wilderness or roadless areas, where motorized travel is prohibited; or were deemed redundant.

Following the second comment period, Sierra National Forest supervisor Ed Cole will decide which alternative to adopt. He also has the option of combining parts of different alternatives.

Cole’s final decision is expected by September with new maps to be issued in December.

Because these are high-elevation roads, no changes will take effect on the ground until the summer of 2010.

“We’ll have a printed map and ask people to stay on the designated system,” Exline said. “We’re not going to go out and physically block off the unauthorized routes.”

The DEIS will be available for public comment and review through June 15.