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Posted by: CrowleyOffroad
State should expand ATV trail network, study says
By PAULA TRACY
Union Leader Staff
The state can expect to see the number of registered all-terrain vehicles increase by 42 percent in the next five years, and must expand its 776 miles of trails by about 350 miles to provide for a corresponding increase in the level of traffic. * (Sounds logical, right?) *
However, an independent analysis of the state&39;s fastest growing form of outdoor recreation indicates it might not be practical to expect that sort of increase in trail miles, given public resistance and other issues facing the ATV user.
Following a yearlong study of the issue in the Legislature, the state Bureau of Trails hired Woodlot Alternatives Inc. of Topsham, Maine, to evaluate ATV use in the state and assist in putting together a five-year plan.
The 200-page report, which is essentially a road map of where the state should go with developing trails, was completed last month and is now available to be downloaded at www.nhtrails.org.
The study was developed after surveying clubs of ATV users and evaluating the conditions of the existing trail system.
The report shows that 22,000 in-state and 4,500 out-of-state ATVs are registered and the numbers are growing. But the trail network is limited and it is difficult to gauge the level of use.
According to the New Hampshire Department of Resources and Economic Development, ATV registrations in the state are growing by 15 to 20 percent annually yet the number of trails has not increased correspondingly. Compared to the more than 6,000 miles of snowmobile trails, which were developed over 30 years, ATVs have fewer than 800 miles of open trail, and more than 60 percent of those are on private land. Much of the trails available are in the North Country while the registrants are primarily from the south.
Unlike snowmobiles, ATVs can be used year-round and consequently can damage land far more easily.
“This is a controversial topic in New England,” said Woodlot Vice President and Project Manager Steve Pelletier, who was commissioned to develop the study. “It comes down to a classic conflict between available recreational resources, private property rights, and the impacts of use.”
As a trained ecologist, a native of Rumford, Maine, and a former logger, Pelletier said he uses an ATV for remote field work and regularly observes both the obvious and more obscure effects of these machines on the landscape.
Resistance to developing trails is not only a problem on private land, because landowners are fearful of damage, but on public lands as well, which were acquired for multiple use recreation.
The report cites efforts by the state at Bear Brook State Park in Allenstown. The park was identified as having potential for developing wheeled recreation access because it is a vast land area, it is in the south and has other recreational features. But the idea has met with strong opposition.
“Citizens fear that their community resources, primarily law enforcement, emergency response and pollution cleanup, will be severely impacted by the effects associated with ATV use,” the report states.
Another aspect of identifying potential ATV trails deals with the ecological conditions of the land. Use of a coarse and fine filter system to evaluate sites as either suitable or unsuitable can also reduce the locations.
State Rep. John Alger, R-Rumney, who chaired the study committee on ATV use, said he has just received his copy of the report and is in the process of analyzing it.
He noted recent efforts around the state to locate ATV trails have often met with significant resistance and controversy.
“It&39;s a thorny issue,” he said.
Environmental groups declined to comment until they had a chance to read the report and its recommendations.
The law which guides ATV policy in the state, RSA 215-A, states that four state agencies need to develop a vision for a mature network of trails. The four that need to “come to consensus, though not necessarily agreement” are the Department of Environmental Services, Fish and Game, Department of Transportation and The Department of Resources and Economic Development&39;s Bureau of Trails. By law, it is the bureau of trails that administers public recreation of ATVs on state, federal and private lands. The bureau works with ATV clubs to develop and maintain trails.
“We assessed the potential impacts of ATV and trail bikes on certain kinds of habitats and natural communities, including wetlands and forested areas, as a way of hopefully eliminating conflicts before they start,” said Pelletier.
While not naming specific trails, the report suggests the idea of looking at possible connecting trails and to be wary of potential development that could lead to illegal trespass to get from one trail to another.
It also stresses the need to maintain the existing framework for trails and to work with the clubs on the need to monitor and repair trail damage.
http://www.theunionleader.com/articles_showa.html?article=33755
Posted by: blakey2002400ex
Check these links out they are for the NH and Maines Atv Trail plan..Nh atv PlanMaines final report
If they do as they say and put the plan in effect. it would be a great thing
