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For Immediate Release: October 23, 2002 Contact: David Heflick, 509-775-2667 KETTLE RANGE CONSERVATION GROUP Report Critical of Forest Service ORV Management According to a new report, the Colville and Okanogan National Forests are out of compliance with federal laws and regulations regarding the use of off-road vehicles (ORVs) on public land. The document, produced by the Kettle Range Conservation Group (KRCG), gives the Forest Service low marks for analysis and monitoring of the impacts of ORVs, signing of ORV-use areas, development and enforcement of a forest-wide ORV policy, and updating of recreation-zoning maps. Executive Orders signed in the 1970’s by Presidents Nixon and Carter make it mandatory for federal land managers to take these and other steps to protect forest resources from the adverse impacts off-road motorized recreation. ORVs have the potential to degrade water and air quality, spread invasive weed species, erode soils, harass wildlife, and reduce wild and roadless areas by pioneering new roads that penetrate further into remote areas of the forest. According to KRCG Executive Director Tim Coleman, the intent of the report is not to stop all ORV use on the Colville and Okanogan National Forests but to find a balance between motorized and non-motorized recreation. "We do not oppose ORVs, but rather their expansion into wild areas." The report comes amidst increasing popularity of ORVs and escalating controversy over their impacts. Nationwide, the number of ORVs in use rose from an estimated 5 million in 1972 to over 38 million in 1993. In Washington State, snowmobile registrations have increased 10-fold since 1972. In the last three years, environmental organizations have filed numerous appeals challenging decisions by the Okanogan National Forests to approve permits for increasing guided snowmobiling and heliskiing near the Pasayten Wilderness. The appeals cite failure to meet legal requirements regarding analysis of impacts to threatened wildlife such as lynx, conflicts with non-motorized recreation, and forest-wide failure to monitor the impacts of ORVs. Appeals filed in 2001 were upheld by the USFS Regional Office. Decisions regarding appeals filed this fall are pending. On the Colville National Forest, there is a long history of user conflict and ORV trespass in non-motorized recreations zones adjacent to motorized zones near Sherman Pass. In the northeastern portion of the Forest, near the Salmo-Priest Wilderness, Biologist James Bergdahl—a contributor to the KRCG report—has concerns about the impacts of ORVs on endangered species such as woodland caribou and grizzly bear. KRCG Forest Watch Director, David Heflick, is hopeful is that the report will lead to increased public awareness of the impacts of ORVs and greater agency compliance with federal regulations. "The concern is that very soon, there will be no solitude left in our forests," Heflick said. "That not only change the very nature of the way people relate to nature, but will quite likely lead to the demise of lynx, grizzly bear and caribou." An electronic version of the report is available at www.kettlerange.org/orvreport. Hard copy versions are available from KRCG, 509-775-2667. |