Contacts
Brian Hawthorne, BRC Public Lands Policy Director
- Phone: 208-237-1008 (x102)
- Fax: 208-237-9424
- Email: brbrian@sharetrails.org
- Webpage: http://www.sharetrails.org/staff/#BrianH
Date: 01/30/2009
ACKSON, MS (January 30) -- Recreationists are encouraged by a recent Forest Service decision which withdrew the Travel Management Project for Mississippi National Forests. The decision came following administrative appeals filed by various groups, including the Memphis Motorcycle Club (MMC) and the BlueRibbon Coalition (BRC) with support from the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA). The decision simply stated the agency was "withdrawing the decision to allow consideration of additional analysis to be documented in the project record."
The Forest Service sought to implement the direction of the national 2005 Travel Management Rule, which requires units of the National Forest System to transition to a managed system of vehicle use on designated roads, trails and areas. The September 2008 Mississippi Forests' travel plan decision designated approximately 127 miles of roads for off-highway vehicle (OHV) use, as well as approximately 144 miles of motorized trails, but refused to even consider for official designation the hundreds of miles of trails that have previously been created and traveled under prior "open" Forest management but never included in the Forests' formal transportation system.
"This is what we asked for in our appeals, and we hope to be able to seize the opportunity of a new process to defend our historical access to previously undesignated trails in these Forests," stated Mark Story with the MMC. "We appreciate the difficulty of the Forests' task and the effort they put forth, but felt that it was important that at least some of these routes be considered in a viable decision option. As the Rule itself states, a few of these routes provide valuable recreation opportunities while enhancing the agency's ability to create a well-designed and manageable network of sustainable trails that will minimize potential adverse effects to the environment," Story concluded.
"The OHV community supports limiting motorized vehicles to designated routes and areas. We understand that not every route open today will remain open. But what we do not support is the Forest Service refusing to even consider designating the existing routes that are so popular with Forest visitors," added Brian Hawthorne, Public Lands Policy Director for BRC. Royce Wood, Government Affairs Manager for AMA, added, "Our groups are committed to helping the Forest Service designate travel networks that can be actively and effectively managed to provide for diverse recreation opportunities while conserving the physical environment. We hope the Forest Service will consider us a resource to effectively manage this popular activity."
The Mississippi units include the Bienville, De Soto, Homochitto, Delta, Holly Springs and Tombigee National Forests. Collectively, they comprise 1.2 million acres of public land and include the states most beautiful landscapes and opportunities for recreational activities, such as hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, horseback riding, driving for pleasure and simply enjoying the outdoors.
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Founded in 1928, the Memphis Motorcycle Club (MMC) is an organization of 300 trail bike riders throughout the Mid-South Region that promotes responsible recreational uses of federally managed lands and promotes family events and fun rides. MMC is a diverse group of riders who range in age from ~10 to some who are well into their 70s.
The BlueRibbon Coalition is a national recreation group that champions responsible recreation, and encourages individual environmental stewardship. It represents over 10,000 individual members and 1,200 organization and business members, for a combined total of over 600,000 recreationists nationwide. 1-800-258-3742. www.sharetrails.org
Link
Brian Hawthorne, BRC Public Lands Policy Director
- Phone: 208-237-1008 (x102)
- Fax: 208-237-9424
- Email: brbrian@sharetrails.org
- Webpage: http://www.sharetrails.org/staff/#BrianH
Date: 01/30/2009
ACKSON, MS (January 30) -- Recreationists are encouraged by a recent Forest Service decision which withdrew the Travel Management Project for Mississippi National Forests. The decision came following administrative appeals filed by various groups, including the Memphis Motorcycle Club (MMC) and the BlueRibbon Coalition (BRC) with support from the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA). The decision simply stated the agency was "withdrawing the decision to allow consideration of additional analysis to be documented in the project record."
The Forest Service sought to implement the direction of the national 2005 Travel Management Rule, which requires units of the National Forest System to transition to a managed system of vehicle use on designated roads, trails and areas. The September 2008 Mississippi Forests' travel plan decision designated approximately 127 miles of roads for off-highway vehicle (OHV) use, as well as approximately 144 miles of motorized trails, but refused to even consider for official designation the hundreds of miles of trails that have previously been created and traveled under prior "open" Forest management but never included in the Forests' formal transportation system.
"This is what we asked for in our appeals, and we hope to be able to seize the opportunity of a new process to defend our historical access to previously undesignated trails in these Forests," stated Mark Story with the MMC. "We appreciate the difficulty of the Forests' task and the effort they put forth, but felt that it was important that at least some of these routes be considered in a viable decision option. As the Rule itself states, a few of these routes provide valuable recreation opportunities while enhancing the agency's ability to create a well-designed and manageable network of sustainable trails that will minimize potential adverse effects to the environment," Story concluded.
"The OHV community supports limiting motorized vehicles to designated routes and areas. We understand that not every route open today will remain open. But what we do not support is the Forest Service refusing to even consider designating the existing routes that are so popular with Forest visitors," added Brian Hawthorne, Public Lands Policy Director for BRC. Royce Wood, Government Affairs Manager for AMA, added, "Our groups are committed to helping the Forest Service designate travel networks that can be actively and effectively managed to provide for diverse recreation opportunities while conserving the physical environment. We hope the Forest Service will consider us a resource to effectively manage this popular activity."
The Mississippi units include the Bienville, De Soto, Homochitto, Delta, Holly Springs and Tombigee National Forests. Collectively, they comprise 1.2 million acres of public land and include the states most beautiful landscapes and opportunities for recreational activities, such as hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, horseback riding, driving for pleasure and simply enjoying the outdoors.
# # #
Founded in 1928, the Memphis Motorcycle Club (MMC) is an organization of 300 trail bike riders throughout the Mid-South Region that promotes responsible recreational uses of federally managed lands and promotes family events and fun rides. MMC is a diverse group of riders who range in age from ~10 to some who are well into their 70s.
The BlueRibbon Coalition is a national recreation group that champions responsible recreation, and encourages individual environmental stewardship. It represents over 10,000 individual members and 1,200 organization and business members, for a combined total of over 600,000 recreationists nationwide. 1-800-258-3742. www.sharetrails.org
Link