Roadless Court Decision - Greens and Court Validate OHV Recreation

RDR (left), FS (center), The General (right) on Trail Planning Project Review

The Recreation HQ has received a number of private emails asking what it thinks about the recent 10th Circuit Court of Appeals Ruling regarding suits filed against the Clinton Roadless Rule.

BRC News Release on Court Ruling
http://www.sharetrails.org/news/2011/10/24/recreation-groups-respond-roadless-rule-decision

AP Article on Roadless Ruling
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/oct/21/nation/la-na-forest-roadless-20111022

HQ’s missive today is not an endorsement of the court’s decision that negatively restricts the agency’s ability to do resource management of federal timber in inventoried roadless areas.

Our view from a strictly trail-based recreation perspective is that the court decision validates the appropriateness of OHV recreation in IRAs. Unlike the early days of the roadless battle where you had some Forests closing jeep routes in IRAs because they interpreted the Clinton Roadless Rule as a closure directive, you now have green groups, FS, and the court supporting the designation of OHV routes in IRAs.

Blog on Green Groups Supporting OHV Routes in IRAs
http://thegeneralsrecreationden.blogspot.com/2009/08/green-groups-defend-ohv-trails-in.html


HQ believes the commitment of BRC and other OHV groups to challenge the Clinton Roadless Rule in numerous legal venues over the last 10 years has been of great value because those fights have resulted in the greens and courts validating and supporting the designation of OHV routes in IRAs.


HQ agrees with BRC’s hope that users and the Forest Service can now redirect efforts and energy from court battles to going out on the ground and doing post subpart B project level trail planning.

BRC Example of Recent Project Level Planning Trip on the Shasta Trinity NF
http://www.sharetrails.org/uploads/Beegum_Project_20110001.pdf

Trail Planning in WA
http://www.sharetrails.org/alerts/2011/10/19/washington---olympic-nf-hosts-public-meeting-regarding-orv-riding-in-calawah-watershed

HQ believes post subpart B project level trail planning is what users and the agency should be focused on. It will require a lot of hard work by both parties, but the end result will be worth it.