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SirFuego
01-23-2009, 06:13 PM
OK, so I'm trying to be more cognizant of land use issues across the US. I know that a number of states have rather extensive OHV trail networks open to the public and am sort of interested in compiling a list of various organizations that are responsible for maintaining the trails and dealing with land use issues. At this point, geographic location is irrelevant as I'm mainly interested in how these organizations operate how they address certain issues.

I am aware of some of the Colorado and CA ones like Stay the Trail, FOJV and FOTR, but am looking for a more comprehensive list.

Who maintains the public trails in Ontario?

Ken L
01-23-2009, 06:28 PM
There is only one public trail in Wisconsin, and that's the Pipeline Recreational Corridor. It's about a 5 mile stretch of land in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. It's maintained by the Wisconsin Off-Highway Vehicle Association in conjunction with the Forest Service. We meet with the Forest Service several times each year to see what maintenance and improvements need to be done.

We're working on more access, but it's a long process.

I'm WOHVA's Land Use chairman.

BigDaveZJ
01-23-2009, 06:43 PM
There's a lot of them out there, maybe even too many some might say.

There's national organizations, regional, state, local, whole bunch of them out there.

Blue Ribbon Coalition and United 4WD Association are probably the two biggest on a national (for the US anyways) level.

SirFuego
01-24-2009, 12:38 PM
I'm WOHVA's Land Use chairman.
Thanks for the info! Now has that 5 mile stretch been open for a while? Or was it something you guys fought to get open? In my research and talking to others, pretty much only snowmobiles are the only motorized vehicles with public trails in NY. Ideally I'd like that to get changed, so any similar case studies would be awesome.

ATL ZJ
01-24-2009, 02:06 PM
SFWDA- Southern Four Wheel Drive Association. Our major public land battle here in the Southeast now is still Tellico. SFWDA plays a big part in fighting for Tellico's access rights in legislative and legal arenas, but the Forest Service is the organization that actually does the maintenance and upkeep on the trails. Of course SFWDA sponsors volunteer clean up and maintenance days as well, that don't come out of the FS budget. Even with the dedication of SFWDA, Tellico has gone from year-round access to seasonal closures to seasonal closures+year-round closures on some trails. This is largely due to a lawsuit against the FS from Trout Unlimited, dealing with runoff from the OHV system potentially affecting nearby stream water quality. There is a Forest Service decision coming out on February 1st that I will post up about. There may be another comment period that will need your overwhelming support.

Ken L
01-26-2009, 11:51 AM
Thanks for the info! Now has that 5 mile stretch been open for a while? Or was it something you guys fought to get open? In my research and talking to others, pretty much only snowmobiles are the only motorized vehicles with public trails in NY. Ideally I'd like that to get changed, so any similar case studies would be awesome.

The trail has been open for a while. In the beginning, it was not monitored or anything by the Forest Service, and of late it has become a law enforcement nightmare. We've been working to keep it open, and to gain more access in Wisconsin. A 5 mile trail is not significant at all and doesn't provide quality recreation opportunities.

Shoot me a PM with your email and I can help you get started.

SirFuego
01-26-2009, 05:21 PM
SFWDA- Southern Four Wheel Drive Association. Our major public land battle here in the Southeast now is still Tellico. SFWDA plays a big part in fighting for Tellico's access rights in legislative and legal arenas, but the Forest Service is the organization that actually does the maintenance and upkeep on the trails. Of course SFWDA sponsors volunteer clean up and maintenance days as well, that don't come out of the FS budget. Even with the dedication of SFWDA, Tellico has gone from year-round access to seasonal closures to seasonal closures+year-round closures on some trails. This is largely due to a lawsuit against the FS from Trout Unlimited, dealing with runoff from the OHV system potentially affecting nearby stream water quality. There is a Forest Service decision coming out on February 1st that I will post up about. There may be another comment period that will need your overwhelming support.
Thanks. That's one of things I've been interested in -- in how the soil erosion really affects the environment and if there are any known good mitigation strategies with proper maintenance.


The trail has been open for a while. In the beginning, it was not monitored or anything by the Forest Service, and of late it has become a law enforcement nightmare. We've been working to keep it open, and to gain more access in Wisconsin. A 5 mile trail is not significant at all and doesn't provide quality recreation opportunities.

Shoot me a PM with your email and I can help you get started.
PM will be sent shortly...