Halsey Update

by Dan Nitzel

This year is going to be a hive of activity at the Nebraska National Forest, Bessey Ranger District near Halsey.  In the main camp ground, called the Bessey Recreation Complex, new water mains are being installed, work is being completed on the sewage system, and a new office building is planned to be constructed later this summer. 

Concerning the new water and sewer system, plans call for six hydrants to be located in the main camp ground.  Due to costs and laws that require the Forest Service to follow federal and state water standards, RV sites that had water last year will no longer have water.  Additionally, water will have to be chlorinated. 

Work on the new sewer system and lagoon is nearing completion.  The RV dump site will still be available, but as of this writing there is no water at the dump site and it is difficult to get to. 

Later this summer a new office building for forest and nursery offices will be constructed on the existing tennis court located in the Bessey Recreation Complex (main camp ground).  Ten existing RV camp sites will be closed along the Loup River.  There is talk that these sites will be re-located to a new spot, possibly east of the existing group camp ground. 

In other projects, a new bunk house for Forest Service employees has been built and should be ready soon.  A decision as to what to do with the swimming pool is being considered.  The pool has several large cracks in it and a lot of water is seeping out.  In order to keep it full of water, a lot of cold water is added every day.  This discourages people from using it, even on hot days.  Cost estimates to repair or replace it range from $250,000 to over $1,400,000.  If the Forest Service were to replace the pool, funds from other items will be used, and this includes trails.  If the local communities were to help fund improvements or a grant from outside the Forest Service were obtained, then maybe the pool could be saved. 

Thinning of trees and clearing of fuel on the floor of the tree plantations will continue this year.  Over the last two years, 3,000 acres have been thinned, and only 17,000 acres remain. 

The new travel plan for Bessey (near Halsey), McKelvie (near Valentine) and Pine Ridge (near Chadron) is on hold because of new forest management regulations passed by Congress in Washington.  Additionally, there are new management rules proposed by the Forest Service chiefs.  It going to take some time to sort all of this out, and that=s a good thing for us! Now that we=ve been working with the Forest Service on the old plan, we have a bit more experience on this stuff and we should be better prepared.

The main focus of a national plan will include a new rule that prohibits cross country riding and limits riding to designated routes.  Stiff fines will be assessed for off trail riding.  Existing enforcement rules for off road vehicles will be in force with increased penalties and new rules that make it easier to dispose of cases in Federal courts.  All infractions that occur on Federal lands are judged in Federal courts and are different from state laws.

It is widely known that uncontrolled motorized recreation from  ATVs and dirtbikes are considered to be one of the biggest threats to our national forests.  This is due primarily to the exploding numbers of ATVs and dirtbikes being sold across the nation.

             In some cases, national forest units that have a few existing trails will benefit from new Forest Service rules as they may end up with more miles of trails. I=ve seen numbers of miles in some National Forest units that had 30 or 40 miles of trails go to 500 to 900 miles of trails.  In our case and as is being done in other parts of the nation, most new trails will be developed from existing routes that riders have made on their own.  NOHVA is now in the process of obtaining a new GPS and mapping software to document existing routes at Bessey, and pursue new routes.  It is likely that a new plan at Bessey will designate many of the existing routes now in use.  However, there are concerns as to exactly how much ATV and dirtbike traffic the trails and facilities at Bessey can tolerate. 

It is clear that a trail use fee will come out of the plan.  However, there is some concern about how to collect the fees.  We=ve found that most riders are not voluntarily paying fees now, and this causes concern about how to collect fees in the future.  One proposal is to install collection booths will be installed at the forest entrances, and I think this is the fairest method of fee collection.  There is no word on how much the daily use and annual use fees will be. 

Steve Brown with Sand Hills RC & D visited out camp site during our inspection trip on April 1^st.  Steve and I talked about the positive economic impact that visiting ATV riders are having to the local economy.  After that I met with others interested in increasing economic activity to the area.  They are proposing to build a trail where ATVs and dirtbikes can travel into town.  NOHVA has offered it=s support, and they are discussing it with the Forest Service.  A trail like this was recently dedicated in Waynoka Oklahoma and business has increased in town.  More on this is featured in this newspaper.

According to an article in the Omaha World Herald, the Nebraska Sierra Club maybe proposing a new way to close land to the public along the southern border of the forest.  They are investigating a AWilderness River@ designation for the Dismal River.  I suspect that if such a designation is passed, it will eliminate ATV, dirtbike and most other human activities  within one to five miles from the river, and motor vehicle access to the Whitetail campground and sandy play area will be stopped.