Nebraska Off Highway Vehicle Association NOHVA
TBQ Sport Club, Incorporated
A Nebraska Not-For-Profit Association For All Terrain Vehicle and Off Road Motorcycle Users - Established 1987
Business Office: 2231 West 10th Street, Grand Island, Nebraska 68803
Web site: www.nohva.com Email: contact page
February 11, 2004
RE: Nebraska National
Forest Travel Plan Cut Off Date for Comments
Dear NOHVA Members and Interested Parties,
If you are interested in the new travel plan for the Nebraska National
Forest, please note that the final date for comments for submission to the
Forest Service is March 15th, 2004 (original date was in error). If you have not yet commented in
writing to the Forest Service about YOUR ideas concerning what the new travel
plan should involve, consider submitting your comments before the February
13th cut off date. After all the comments are received, the Forest Service
will make a finial decision on what trails and areas will remain open some
time this fall.
Download a
comment form here.
As many of you may recall, a series of meetings were held by officials of the
Nebraska National Forest. The meetings allowed the public to participate in
the new Travel Management Plan for areas under Forest Service management.
We will be submitting a plan to the Forest Service on
behalf of our organization and we will discuss “our plan” at length during the
NOHVA Annual Meeting in Grand Island on February 8th. The Annual Meeting will
be open to NOHVA members and will be held at the Conestoga Mall meeting room
located on the southeast side of the mall. The meeting will begin at 2 PM.
If the currently preferred travel plan is selected, 250,000 acres of land
near Halsey, Valentine and Chadron will be closed to open cross county travel.
This leaves about 80 acres of trails open, and at least 80% of roads and
trails currently open to ATV and dirtbike riders will be closed.
Currently, open travel is allowed on over 500 miles of trails by ATVs,
dirtbikes and other motorized vehicles. Additionally, open cross country
travel is allowed on nearly all 350,000 acres of the areas described above.
However, people using ATVs, dirtbikes and other motorized vehicles are ASKED
to stay on existing trails and not to make new trails.
The basic idea behind the new travel plan is to stop
ALL open cross county travel by ATVs, dirtbikes and other motorized vehicles.
Additionally, the Forest Service, with the help of the public, will designate
what trails ATV and dirtbike rider will be allowed to use, and what trails
will be closed to ATV and dirtbike riders. Horse back riders and hikers for
the most part will continue to be allowed un-restricted access to open land
and trails.
These are the areas that will be included in the new Travel Management
Plan:
Nebraska National Forest Bessey Ranger District near Halsey and Thedford
Nebraska - 91,000 acres
McKelvie National Forest near Valentine Nebraska - 115,000 acres
Nebraska National Forest, Pine Ridge District near Chadron and Crawford
Nebraska - 52,000 acres
Oglala National Grasslands north of Crawford Nebraska - 94,000 acres
The following alternatives are being proposed by the Forest Service.
Alternative One for all areas: Make no changes to current
ATV/dirtbike travel.
Alternative Two at the Bessey Ranger District near Halsey: No
open cross county travel anywhere except in two designated play areas. All
ATV, dirtbike and other motorized vehicle travel will be limited to designated
routes. Existing acres of cross country travel will be reduced from 91,000
acres to less than 30 acres. Miles of trails open to ATVs will be reduced
about 85% from about 250 miles to about 45 miles. All camp grounds may
restrict or stop direct access by ATV and dirtbike riders. This alternative is
the Forest Service’s preferred plan.
Alternative Two for Pine Ridge near Chadron: No open cross
county travel anywhere, all ATV, dirtbike and other motorized vehicle travel
will be limited to designated routes. Existing acres of cross country travel
will be reduced from 52,000 acres to zero acres. Miles of trails open to ATVs
will be only 12 miles. All camp grounds will cease to direct access by ATV and
dirtbike riders. The major cutbacks could halt the Pine Ridge Enduro. This
alternative is the Forest Service’s preferred plan.
Alternative Two for McKelvie National Forest: No open cross
county travel anywhere, all ATV, dirtbike and other motorized vehicle travel
will be limited to designated routes. Existing acres of cross country travel
will be reduced from 115,000 acres to zero acres. Miles of trails open to ATVs
will be about 71 miles. All camp grounds will cease direct access by ATV and
dirtbike riders. This alternative is the Forest Service’s preferred plan.
Alternative Two for Oglala National Grasslands: Unlimited cross
country off-road travel would be permitted on the Oglala National Grasslands
northwest of Crawford, but only from Jan. 12 to Aug. 14.
Alternative Three: All areas, ATV travel allowed on only a few
miles of trails. Possibly no dirtbike travel allowed.
It is important that ATV and dirtbike riders inform the
Forest Service that WE DO NOT THINK it is necessary to close these vast areas
and trails to our sport. SIGNIFICANT NUMBERS of ATV and dirtbike riders need
to submit their WRITTEN comments to the Forest Service concerning the Travel
Plan asking that more than the suggested amount of trails be left open to us.
At this point, no final decision has been made as to what the plan will be,
but we do have a good idea of what routes will be designated and left open. We
need to make sure that there are more designated routes left open than what
has been proposed, that existing play areas remain open, and that there is
considerable flexibility for future routes. Routes need to be flexible
particularly in the case of future Enduros or other events. Ideas need to be
presented that would help pay for upgrading current trails as they have
received little maintenance and for future maintenance.
Let’s not forget that there is a wide range of other
forest users who would like to see recreational ATV and dirtbike use
eliminated on Nebraska National Forests. Unfortunately, ATV and dirtbike
riders usually don’t squawk much until a decision has been made to close their
favorite trail. By then, it’s too late!
If you want to preserve your privilege to ride at the Nebraska National
Forest, I encourage you to make your best effort to get your comments to the
Forest Service. Even if you have never been to any of these National Forest
areas, try to submit a pro-motorized recreation comment! You never can tell,
if you ever decide to go ride there, make sure it’s still there!
If you have any questions, I can be reached in Grand Island at
contact page .
Send your WELL THOUGHT OUT LETTERS AND CIVIL COMMENTS to:
Email:
comments-rocky-mountain-nebraska@fs.fed.us or
write to:
USDA Forest Service
Attn: Nebraska Travel Plan
125 N. Main Street
Chadron, NE 69337
Download Comment
Form
Sincerely,
Dan Nitzel, Business Manager and Co-founder
Nebraska Off Highway Vehicle Association
More Information...........
Current Problems
According to U.S. Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth, un-controlled ATV and dirtbike use is one of the four biggest problems facing our public lands.
The main complaint by horse back riders, hunters, hikers, bicycle riders,
allotment holders (ranchers who pay a low fee to graze cattle on public lands)
and by land managers involve uncontrolled ATV and dirtbike riders at the
Forest. Some local ranchers think that the numbers of ATVs
and dirtbikes on Forest Service lands are too large, and the land cannot
support ATV and dirtbike use. Numbers of ATVs
and dirtbikes are expected to increase and could cause even more damage to the
resources.
Nebraska State officials have been threatening actions against the Forest Service if ATV and dirtbike recreation is allowed to continue.
While there are complaints about both ATV and dirtbike use at the Forest,
people generally think dirtbike riders pose a much bigger problem. Even
though dirtbike riders are greatly out numbered by ATV riders, they are
observed leaving established trails much more often and are perceived as
causing more damage to the land.
There are complaints about conflicts with other forest users. Horse back riders are by far the most vocal against ATV and dirtbike riders. Others who want ATVs and dirtbikes eliminated on forest service lands include hunters, hikers, bird watchers and ranchers complain about the noise that dirtbike and ATV riders make. They believe riders often have loud pipes and travel too fast. Horse back riders report that ATVs and dirtbikes often startle them on the trails. Ranchers complain about the damage ATVs and dirtbikes cause to the land, complain about fences being cut by riders, riders leaving gates open and chasing cattle for fun. (However, cattle grazing is by far the most destructive use of Forest Service lands.)
There are complaints from people in the picnic and camp grounds about people who ride ATVs and dirtbikes in the camp grounds. Most non-riding campers do not think we should be allowed in any camp grounds because of the noise from ATVs and dirtbikes is too much for them to handle.
Points to Bring Up At the Meetings and in Letters
# We depend upon the U. S. Forest Service to help provide lands in Nebraska where ATV and dirtbike riders can recreate responsibly. There are only four areas in Nebraska with over 30 acres to ride, three of which will be effected by this travel plan.
# The State of Nebraska and State Senators see no need to help Nebraska’s family based recreational ATV and dirtbike riders. Right now, lands managed by the U.S. Forest Service are really our ONLY hope for places to ride!
# We would like to see ALL the trails now open to ATV and dirtbike riders to continue to stay open!
# We would like a couple areas of open land to be designated for cross country ATV and dirtbike riding.
# We need new trail loops added in the Grouse and Coyote allotments.
# We need one-way loops to complement the Dismal River trail in the Porcupine and Camp 4 allotments. A connecting trail from the 4-H camp to the existing trail system would be great.
# Some National Forests in the western states have added a moto-cross style tracks to a multi-use area. This could be a big benefit at Bessey.
# The Hill Climb area and White Tail play area should be improved through maintenance and fenced boundaries.
# To address the noise problems, consider supporting a 96 dB noise limit. It will be the national sound limit soon.
# Concerning the current state of trails, the Forest Service, with the co-operation of ATV and dirtbike user groups, could do a better job of maintaining eroding trails. Federal trail funds are available for this and volunteers are waiting to help.
# Bessey Ranger District management has greatly improved the management of ATV and dirtbike riders beginning in 2002. Forest Service employees have made an outstanding effort to contact riders and talk to them about responsible trail use in a one-on-one basis. This is the best possible solution to control problems and educate riders and needs to be continued.
# Let them know IF you support a reasonable annual or day trail use fee to help fund maintenance, staffing and new trails and facilities.
# Mention that ATV riders have been very active over the years to help with trails at Halsey. We deserve more consideration as we have been one of the few user groups who have worked in partnership with the Forest Service.
# ATV and dirtbike riders have been addressing and helping with protecting natural resources at Bessey. In 2003, NOHVA spent about $5,000 of NOHVA memberships fee’s and NOHVA members have volunteered hundreds of hours of labor to block un-authorized trails, restore damage made by ATV and dirtbike riders, and provide signing for trails requesting that riders to stay on established trails.
# There is a lot of room for all land users at the Bessey Ranger District, over 91,000 acres!
# While we appreciate the that over the years the Forest Service has tolerated our sport and have been good partners with ATV and dirtbike user groups, we need them to continue to be understanding toward our need for recreation in Nebraska.
2003 TBQ Sport Club, Inc. / d.b.a. Nebraska Off Highway Vehicle Association
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