Stakeholder's meeting: from Sue Drum...

Hi everyone,

Alan and I attended a DNR stakeholders meeting, Saturday, Sept 17 in Wausau and represented Northwoods Citizens for Responsible Stewardship. There were about 22 participants, 8 of which represented silent sports and the environment. Of course Randy Hardin, Wisconsin ATV Asso., was there and several advocates for OHV recreation which includes 4-wheel drive trucks, cars and motorcycles.

Tim Miller officiated the meeting and did a good job keeping focus on important topics. Tim gave us the new ATV manual code that provides specific criteria for designing ATV trails on Department land. The code covers trail siting, maintainence and detailed trail design. Each ATV trail request must have public input and evaluation of impacts on the natural resource. These criteria apply only to state lands, not county or national forests. They also apply whenever DNR funds are used.

The DNR can not ignore the demands of ATV groups for several reasons.
1. State statues mandate that the DNR "encourage and support" a system of ATV trails. Randy Hardin, you can be sure, gets together with state legislatures, like Mark Pettis, to promote ATV desires without any input from silent sport or environmental groups.
2. The DNR collects ATV registration fees (currently $30/2 yrs. for public use and $15 as a one time payment for agricultural and private land use.
3. A portion of the state gasoline excise tax also goes to the DNR for ATV use. The amount is based on a formula that allots 25 gallons of gas per year per registered ATV. Randy Hardin wants the gas allotment raised to $65 - $75/yr./ATV.

The DNR then distributes ATV dollars to counties and municiplaities as grants for trail building and maintainance.

ATV people claim that their numbers are growing rapidly. 1985 = 27,000 registered ATVs with 1200 miles of trail.
2004 = over 200,000 registered ATVs with only 1700 miles of trail.
In reality the Wisconsin Dept. of Tourism lists 5,555 miles of state funded trails; 1559 open in summer and 3996 in Winter.
At the meeting, Randy Hardin failed to mention that his Wis. ATV Asso. purchased 10,000 copies of a new digitized map, produced by U.S. Trailmaps of Wausau, showing over 9,000 miles of ATV trails and routes in Wisconsin for summer use.
You can order a copy of the DVD map and become a member of Wis.ATV Asso. for just $56.65 www.ustrailmaps.com

Brook Waalen said that the president and CEO of Polaris, located in Polk County, told him that 2/3 of ATVs sold were used for utility work, not primarily trail riding. With that many trails available and with connections to the U.P., are more trails really needed? Has a study been done to determine if the present 9,000 miles of trails and routes is overcrowded?

Tim Miller channeled discussion to an intensive use area. ATV people would like a 2000 acre intensive use area with campgrounds. When asked if such an area would relieve pressure for more trails in the north they quickly said YES.

Ideas for intensive use area.
1. Pick a site in central or southern Wisconsin near population centers to save gas used in hauling.
2. A large fenced in area would allow better control of off trail riding; make it easier to educate and give safety information to users; make it easier for staff to enforce rules
3. Let ATV users help design the area
4. Fenced area would separate ATVs from snowmobiles and non-motorized users
5. Sizeable user fee could go toward maintainance of area
6. This could ease the need to fragment public lands and disturb natural habitat.

Negative Points: the park would concentrate noise, dust and ATV crowds; It would be difficult to find 2000 acres that people would be willing to sacrifice and live near plus it would be expensive to build.
Perhaps ATV manufacturers, like Polaris and Yamaha, would help fund the sport that they created and work so hard to promote.
I don't trust ATV advocates to stop pushing for more trails. Is there some way we can work a compromise deal? We help them build their park and they help us sustain priceless natural resources.

Mike McFadzen, Representative on the Governor's State Trails Council, feels the state has a responsibility to guide the next generation of forest users. The state should be in favor of fossil fuel conservation, exercise to combat current obesity and health problems and most of all, respect for our natural resources.

One of the wardens present made the comment, "no generation has been granted permission to degrade land for the next generation." It is not a good trade off, he said, to accept tourist dollars for land destruction. That was a good note on which to end.

Sue Drum