I would like to commend Rachel Odell for her recent
story about snowmobiler and skier conflict on public lands (HCN,
1/19/04: A moment of truth for user fees). The national forests,
like the national parks, should take a stand on this issue sooner,
rather than later, if they wish to head off serious resource
degradation and dangerous encounters between the groups.
In my home area, the Logan Ranger District of the Wasatch-Cache
National Forest, talks have broken down and snowmobilers are openly
violating a newly created 7,500-acre winter nonmotorized area, as
well as the adjacent Naomi Wilderness, on a daily basis. Recently,
a backcountry skier was charged and narrowly missed by a
snowmobiler while attempting to photograph the illegal motorized
use in the nonmotorized area. At the same time, motorized
lawbreakers and part-time thugs — who have threatened skiers
and vandalized their vehicles — are asking Congressman Rod
Bishop to broker a “compromise” to the recently completed Forest
Travel Plan.
The Forest Service must enforce its own
policies. And we should not be forced to compromise with local
terrorizers and criminals. Just like summer ORV users, winter ORVs
should not be able to travel anywhere without regulation. Our
forests and forest users are paying a big price for this type of
thrill riding by a few.
Paul
Rogers
Logan, Utah
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline It’s a winter recreation crisis.
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