Letter to Dennis Leith

Mr. Leith;
Again, I want to congratulate the DNR on the work it has done on the Master Plan. In reading over the plan, my appreciation for the work you do has grown considerably.
I want to strongly support you in your plan to naturally allow more of the forest to grow back into presettlement forest types. I would have preferred even more of an emphasis on restoring white pine, but I understand that there are competing interests at work, and you have done a good job on planning a diversity of forest types.
I want to also strongly support the plan to increase holdings to the north.
And finally, as I have discussed with you, I want to strongly oppose the development of an experimental or showcase ATV trail in the Northern Highland State Forest.
I want to just summarize a few of my reasons:
1. A "showcase trail" is not a scientific valid measurement of the potential impact of an ATV trail system in the NHAL forest. The fact that it is a "showcase trail" actually precludes it being a scientifically valid measure of what a real trail would do. (We have plenty of real trails in the state in which impact can be assessed)
2. The issue of compliance will be very important at a time when the DNR does NOT have the staff to adequately monitor compliance. We can assume that snowmobile noise would be a good analogy here. Snowmobile noise is basically unregulated, as there is no reasonable enforcement mechanism for enforcing sound restrictions, and snowmobile clubs have fought reasonable restrictions. We are being asked to assume that ATV users will police themselves better than snowmobilers do now. On what basis should we make that assumption? 3. People spend a great deal of money buying an All TERRAIN vehicle. They will then be asked (on their honor)to use it only on trails (an activity that probably could be done with an improvised golf cart). It is highly unrealistic to assume that a significant percentage of people, given the opportunity, won't try to use their vehicle to do what it was advertized to do and go off the trail.
4. Quiet itself is a forest resource. We have only now begun to talk about this, even though most people who come to use the forest, or live in its boundaries, hope to encounter this resource. Snowmobiles have effectely decimated silence for a large part of the winter forest. There is a great danger that ATV's will do the same in the summer. Until we can actively monitor, evaluate, educate, and enforce methods to protect this resource, we need to be very careful about letting new motorized sports into the forest.
Thank you again for taking these points into account in finalizing your Master plan
Mark Haag5949 Oswego Fishtrap RoadBoulder Junction, WI 54512