QWR’s trip today to the Stanislaus National Forest marks
the launch of its new “Adventure Bike” module that currently consists of a 2006
Triumph Tiger 955i. Our discussions
with agency staff centered on Subpart A of travel management and the impacts of
the Rim Fire to the trail and road network.
Adventure bike and dual-sport based recreation is a
growing segment of the OHV community.
Those interests deserve a seat at the table and we want to make sure
that opportunities continue to exist for those forms of motorized recreation on
public lands.
A March 29, 2012 letter from the Washington Office of the
Forest Service to all Regional Foresters stated the agency expects to maintain
an appropriately sized and environmentally sustainable road
system that is responsive to ecological, economic, and
social concerns. The National Forest Road
System of the future must continue to provide needed
access for recreation and resource
management, as well as support watershed restoration and
resource protection to sustain healthy ecosystems.
QWR wants to encourage both street legal and non-street
legal motorized trail and road users to be on the lookout for travel analysis reports
which are to be published by the end of FY2015. Those reports are supposed to
rank, identify, and/or map FS system roads (maintenance levels 1-5) according
to their ability to meet a unit’s resource and recreation goals.
Catastrophic wildfires such as the Rim Fire can often
cause the impacted area to be closed to all human activity (i.e. OHV, hunting,
hiking, fishing, etc.) for periods of a year or more. Also, those fire events can have a
devastating impact on the developed OHV recreation infrastructure such as engineered
trails and campgrounds.
QWR is excited about the addition of our adventure bike
module which joins our other vehicle programs that advocate for responsible SxS,
SUV, trail-bike, and dual-sport use on public roads, trails, and areas.
Link to March 29, 2012 FS Chief’s Subpart A Letter
*Thanks to all our sponsors and supporters who help keep us on the road or trail!
No comments:
Post a Comment