An Exchange On The WTA Site:

[Grumpy]

The purpose?
Posted by Nathan Freytag at May 05, 2009 11:48 PM
What is being accomplished by taking nova funds and closing down O.H.V. trails. I am a part of Pierce County Search and Rescue. I love to hike but I also have another hobby and that is using my O.H.V. Now I have question for you why not educate instead of taking privileges. If you start closing trails your going to have more destruction and less regulation I.E. If you close a trial does it still need to be monitored? The answer is no Because no one is supposed to be on it well if there is no one governing it that leaves the curious youth to tear up the precious wild land. Most of the organizations that participate in o.h.v govern themselves and other o.h.v users very well in the last 6 years there has been a huge interest in preserving and educating. The people who are responsible for the misconduct that WTA is worried about are being handled as we find them there is know a standard protocol that all wheelers go by know as soon as we see someone off the trail or littering we start taking pictures and they get submitted to the local authorities It has been working well I just ask that WTA helps us and does not continue to try and close us down we could learn allot from each other even help each other out. Just think about how you’re decisions have an affect on others.

V/R
Nathan Freytag
Member of:
B.L.A.S.T 4x4 CLUB
OPERATION TRAIL WATCH
THE4X4NETWORK.com
PNW4WDA
trails
Posted by Stick at May 06, 2009 06:00 PM
I believe as hikers we should get along, and love nature. We should admire, and understand all of the creatures in the environments that we explore. This does not mean that we should covet the land. There is room for all of us. I have a disabled relative who needs ORV trails to get away from it all. People, and their inventions are a natural part of this world, and I think it is disingenuous of us to presume this kind of person should have no place in our wilderness.
ORV and Hikers
Posted by WashingtonNative64 at May 06, 2009 07:46 PM
I’ve hiked the Olympic Crest Trail as well as portions of the Cascade Crest Trail and have marveled at nature’s beauty quite often in my life.
At present there are far more hiking trails than there is motorized access to our gorgeous wilderness. While you are still young and able to hike, be sure and enjoy it. Because if the current trend continues, once you get to an age you are no longer able to do so, getting out to the woods in a motorized vehicle will not be an option. If it continues even further your grandchildren and great grandchildren won’t even be able to hike because the wilderness will be off limits to everyone. Be careful what you wish for, the woods should be there for all to enjoy.
We can all get along and we all can enjoy the wilderness, banning motorized use is not the answer.

WTA's position on motorized trail use
Posted by Jonathan Guzzo at May 07, 2009 09:00 AM
I'm Jonathan Guzzo, WTA's Advocacy Director. I appreciate the comments that everyone has made to the blog post. And I'm glad that you love the Okanogan-Wenatchee as much as I do. Our National Forests are there for everyone to enjoy and appreciate. I just want to be clear that we're not interested in banning motorized use. While we're concerned about some of the places where motorized trail users are currently allowed and worry about the long term effects of increasing motorized use in some specific areas, we're not opposed to motorized trail use.

We think there are ways for the Forest Service and DNR to manage for motorized trails in a way that is environmentally and economically sustainable and does not impact non-motorized trail users, and we don't have problems with most of the motorized trails on the Okanogan-Wenatchee. We just want to make sure that, as the Forest goes through their travel management process, they're keeping in mind the long-term impacts of motorized recreation on the health of the Forest and its mission to serve everyone.

[Grumpy]

ANYBODY WANT TO ATTEND

(Please note the sentence marked with > < on each end!)


WTA's Annual Wenatchee Potluck
Posted by Jonathan Guzzo at May 01, 2009 05:45 PM | Permalink
Filed under: Action for Trails


Hikers in Whistling Pig Meadow, by Karl Forsgaard. We're holding our annual Hiker Potluck in Wenatchee on May 6 at 6:30 PM. This year, we've scheduled our potluck to coincide with the Okanogan-Wenatchee Travel Management Plan. The deadline for the current round of comments on the Travel Management Plan is May 7, so this will be an opportune time to get your voice heard on a very important issue for hikers. If you'd like to attend, give Kindra Ramos a call at 206.625.1367, or email her at kindra@wta.org.

The goal of Travel Management is to define the Okanogan-Wenatchee's system of ORV routes, >then close the Forest to cross-country travel by ORVs.< While we appreciate the work that the Forest has put into developing maps, we're concerned that they've missed a number of important opportunities and are in the process of creating serious enforcement challenges for themselves.

Among their missed opportunities is a hard look at their current motorized system. Across the Forest, but particularly in the Cle Elum and Naches Ranger Districts, motorized routes intersect with non-motorized trails, and parallel or dead-end in Wilderness. Allowing motorized recreation in areas like these invites dirtbikers, ATV users and 4X4 enthusiasts to enter Wilderness or ride on non-motorized trails.

From an enforcement perspective, a dramatic increase in the miles of road open to dirtbikes and ATVs means more encounters between passenger vehicles, logging trucks, and motorized users. And adding miles to both the trail and road system means that more opportunities exist to ride in inappropriate areas or cause serious resource damage. In light of the Forest Service's still-skeletal but improving budget, we think that's a short-sighted approach.

We hope to see you at the potluck. Even if you can't make it there to comment, please take a moment and go to the link above. You'll find all you need there to make your voice heard by the Okanogan-Wenatchee.

[Grumpy]

Aw nuts, we missed it I didn't look at the dates close enough

[TJDave]

I wonder what they were smoking at that potluck.