The ATV Challenge
An Overview by Tim Clarke, Boulder Community Alliance, Executive Director.
Our region comprises some of the most outstanding scenic landscape in the country. Tourists travel from around the world to experience the stunning beauty of the Escalante canyons—the remoteness, the wildness, the peace and quiet, and the clear air, lakes and creeks, and starry skies. Such pristine qualities represent a priceless asset to visitors who cherish the quiet and solitude, and also to the various residents who have settled here and established livelihoods and businesses in the area.
There are increasing threats of commercialism which could rapidly compromise the unique qualities of this region and our local economy, the most alarming of which is the widespread promotion of motorized recreation. We seek to work collaboratively to evolve a tourism policy that focusses on the quieter forms of recreation which have thus far defined our region, and shaped our local businesses. Together with business owners, residents and landowners, we believe that the nationwide promotion of ATV / OHV tourism in the Escalante River basin region will prove to be a disastrous policy. We have researched many stories of other communities that are struggling with the many impacts of motorized tourism. There is evidence that it does not bring the economic benefits that are projected; rather it imposes a burden on local residents, stresses voluntary emergency services and enforcement personnel, compromises existing local businesses, creates physical damage to ranch lands, forests and wild lands without funding to restore them, and so on. As a Grand County Commissioner quoted in the 1980s, “We went fishing for a little tourism, and hooked a great white shark.”
ATV recreation has grown considerably in recent years, and is here to stay. Many of our local ranchers depend on ATVs to access gangland and irrigation ditches. We support that use, and likewise the responsible use of ATVs on designated trails by recreationists, hunters and fishermen. However the concentration of users, such as at jamborees, or in areas where motorized trails dominate non-motorized trails, can impose unmanageable impacts on scenic land and local communities.
The story so far .... there follows a summary of our engagement in both County and Dixie National Forest initiatives regarding motorized travel planning.
Garfield County ATV/OHV Mapping
In Spring 2006 the County released their ATV/OHV Route Maps showing ‘primary’ and other routes throughout the county, with the logo “Trails Headquarters, Garfield County, Utah. Three routes converge on Boulder: the Hell’s Backbone road, Road Draw (Garkane power plant road), and the (paved) Burr Trail. At present these routes are not connected through town, as UDOT prohibits ATV use on Highway 12.
The Town Council, local residents and business owners all responded with concerns about this one-size-fits-all promotion of motorized tourism countywide. Within 48 hours over 130 residents, property owners and friends of Boulder had signed on to a petition that we presented to the County Commissioners, who were surprised by the response—one staffer even asked who our PR consultants were !
Together with local residents we have been attending the monthly County Trails Committee to present our local concerns and ideas. Having mapped an extensive countywide motorized routes network, the Trails Committee is starting to consider mapping of non-motorized trails in collaboration with the public land agencies.
The ‘Basinheads’ appear on the scene !
The next chapter in the ATV story belongs to the ‘Basinheads’—The Alliance for the Escalante River Basin. In the summer of 2006, our Boulder efforts were reinforced by a strong contingent of concerned residents, property owners, and business owners from Escalante, although without formal Escalante City Council backing. As a result BCA is able to speak to ATV and other issues on behalf of many concerned residents of both Escalante and Boulder, and is continuing to allocate a significant portion of my time as Executive Director.
The Escalante River Basin comprises a vast ecological region encompassing three public land agencies - Escalante Ranger District of the Dixie National Forest, The Escalante Canyons of the Grand Staircase Escalante, and Glen Canyon NRA. It comprises some of the most pristine, remote and rugged country in the United States, and it offers a profound (and rare) recreation experience of quietness and solitude.
With Escalante and Boulder as the gateway towns to the Escalante River Basin, BCA sees a long range need for involvement in this critical ecosystem and stunning recreational area. However, like all such resources under increasing pressure, protecting and preserving it’s unique qualities will take vigilance and stewardship. None of us can afford to lose such a gem.
Basinheads unite!
Dixie National Forest Motorized Travel Plan
Meanwhile .... The Dixie National Forest (DNF) will shortly (projected December 8th) be releasing their proposed alternatives for the Motorized Travel Plan under an EIS process requiring NEPA evaluation. We have submitted a preliminary response with general comments prior to the start of the EIS scoping notice.
The national Travel Management Rule requires the FS to define motorized routes and non-motorized (hike, bike, horse) trails.
It is anticipated that DNF will present three alternative proposals: pro-motorized, pro-conservation, and somewhere between the two. Public meetings will be held during the 30-day scoping period, Escalante and Teasdale probably being the most local venues. This represents a major window of opportunity for public involvement in motorized travel policy, although it is unfortunate that the scoping period conflicts with the end of year holidays.
How are we directing our efforts ?
As a Boulder Town Councilor, and BCA Exec. Director, I have the responsibility of keeping the Council and residents updated on the DNF process, and I am encouraging the Town to make a strong response during the scoping period. As co-Chairs of the Alliance for the Escalante River Basin (AERB), myself and Steve Roberts, owner of Escalante Outfitters, are representing concerned citizens regarding local ATV issues.
We are on the mailing list for scoping notices regarding the Escalante Ranger District. Recent notices include the Griffin Springs Travel Management Project, and the Pockets Project Area.
We have also made contact with other groups working on national forest issues, most notably the Three Forests Coalition (TFC) which comprises 15 organizations monitoring the Dixie, Fishlake, and Manti La Sal forests. Our intention is to share their research and expertise where relevant to our goals, but not to adopt policies, such as restrictions on cattle grazing, that could be detrimental to local ranchers. Neither are we promoting an anti-ATV policy. As a local rancher said recently, our concern is about the abusers, not the users who do respect designated routes, non-motorized users, wildlife, and cattle. We believe that the widespread promotion of motorized recreation poses significantly greater impact threats than cattle grazing ever has or possibly could.
User-created routes are having serious impacts on vegetation, wildlife habitat, watershed integrity, non-motorized recreation, and cattle grazing. At the end of October we organized a monitoring training session with Diane Tracy, board member of Great Old Broads for Wilderness. Volunteers from Boulder and Escalante learnt how to use gps units, cameras, and report forms to monitor user-created ATV routes on Boulder Mountain. The extent of user-created routes is so extensive that the ‘roads’ network is likely to be double the 4,000 miles that was thought to be in the DNF region. Our volunteers have already contributed monitoring records of ATV abuse within the Escalante Ranger District, which we will be able to present as part of our response to the DNF scoping process. Although winter weather is making upper elevations inaccessible, we anticipate that monitoring will be an ongoing process within the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Our monitors have been enjoying the experience of collecting useful data while hiking and horse riding.
How can you help ?
Sign on to our contact list and I will keep you updated on our progress in this effort. We can use all the help we can get. When agencies are in decision mode, I will let you know and provide you with the requisite information, should you choose, to make an email response. As it is important that response topics are relevant and meaningful, we will be posting a list of suggested bullet points to assist you in framing your response. We will also have a sign-on letter and hope you will want to add your name to that.
Contact Information
Please contact me for further information at : 435-335-7305, email: tim@bouldercommunityalliance.org
Interested in more detail ?
County OHV/ATV Routes
Boulder Town Council letter: pdf file
Residents’ petition: pdf file
Business Owners’ letter: pdf file
County Trails website: www.utah-trails.com/utah-atv-trails.shtml
County OHV / ATV Brochure
County Travel Office contact: Garfield County Trails & Travel, 800-444-6689,
email: travgar@color-country.net
Dixie National Forest Motorized Travel Plan
DNF Motorized Travel Planning website: http://www.fs.fed.us/r4/dixie/projects/MTP/index.shtml
BCA Preliminary response letter
DNF Travel Management & Off-Highway Vehicle Program website: http://www.fs.fed.us/recreation/programs/ohv/
Transportation Management Rule policy primer, Wildlands CPR (see p. 10-11)
DNF Motorized Travel Plan Officer contact - Noelle Meier: nmeier@fs.fed.us
DNF Motorized Travel Plan responses email: comments_dixie_motorized_travel_plan@fs.fed.us
Three Forests Coalition website: http://www.threeforests.org
Great Old Broads OHV website: http://www.greatoldbroads.org/ohv.htm