Motorized Use on National Forests

Most people who visit National Forest lands seek peace, quiet, and a connection to the natural world. National Forests are well-loved and visited, and everyone has the right to enjoy them. But no one has the right to abuse them. Growing numbers, noise and pollution of off-road vehicles takes away our right to enjoy the forest in peace and quiet. People who hike, fish, camp, hunt and ride horses want to protect large areas of national forests from the noise and pollution of these machines through reasonable measures.

Forty years ago, motorized recreation looked very different than it does today.  The earliest dirtbikes and ATVs were small, low-powered machines, and there were very few of them.  When forest managers opened a number of non-motorized trails to these vehicles, they created a system in which hikers and other quiet recreationists would encounter precious few of these machines, mostly piloted by folks headed to fishing spots.  

They could not have imagined the changes that increased use and more powerful machines would bring.  Today, many quiet trails that hikers treasured for decades, including the Upper Mad River Trail, have been essentially ceded to motorcycles during prime hiking season.  A system of user built routes, cross country off-trail riding and “mudding” has increased dramatically, as has the landscape damage associated with these activities.  Even as the sales of dirtbikes and ATVs has leveled off in the past four years, many trails have already been lost to hikers and quiet recreationists, and thousands of National Forest acres have been severely damaged.

The Forest Service is in the process of examining its management of motorized trails. For now, the only places it is illegal to use ORVs are in designated Wilderness, or on non-motorized trails. It is also illegal to use ORVs in such a way that causes resource damage.  Because “resource damage” is somewhat ill-defined, it’s hard to enforce. Generally speaking, if you see an ORV destroying a meadow, tearing the bark off a tree or causing excessive siltation in a stream, you’re looking at resource damage at some level.

Washington Trails Association's Position

Washington Trails Association believes that there is a place for off-road vehicles, but these machines do not belong everywhere. Motorized use on National Forests must be managed in a balanced way that protects our National Forests and keeps them quiet and free of pollution. 

WTA is working towards these goals:

• A clearly designated motorized trail system on our public lands; this framework should include the ban of cross country off-trail riding and the closure of unsanctioned user built trails;
• Motorized trails should be separate from designated Wilderness and roadless areas—particularly roadless areas adjacent to Wilderness—and  should be prohibited on fragile ecosystems; and
• Adequate funding for enforcement.

 What You Can Do:

Remember, everyone has the right to enjoy our National Forests, but no one has the right to abuse them. You can help protect our National Forest trails from noise, pollution, and damage from off-road and off-terrain vehicles, and ensure they are quiet for people who hike,c amp, fish, hunt and ride horses  for years to come. 

• Speak out. National Forest land managers are currently deciding which ORV routes they’re going to keep open, which they’ll close and where they’ll add new opportunities.  When they’ve finished, they’ll .close existing illegal routes and ban cross-country travel by ORVs. Make your voice heard during this travel management process. 
• Report motorized incursions. WTA has created an on-line reporting system to help land managers better track illegal motorized activity in the backcountry.  If you’re considering reporting ORV use that causes resource damage, take photos and pass them along to land managers, along with information about the precise spot that you saw the damage occur.  Make sure to let WTA know about it as well, and we’ll go examine and document the damage.
• Join WTA on an activist outing. Get  a first-hand look at trails we are working to protect.  For more information contact Jonathan Guzzo, WTA's advocacy director.
  
• Donate now to help continue our work to protect and maintain trails.