For Immediate Release
For Further Information Contact: Jerry Abboud (303-378-3925), John
Martin (970-242-9495)
December 3, 2002
DENVER, CO. - Yesterday the Colorado Off-Highway Vehicle Coalition
(COHVCO) filed a notice of appeal
of a federal district court decision which allowed the U.S. Forest
Service to restrict motorized travel on 217,000 acres of the Routt
National Forest to designated roads and trails without first taking
an inventory and designating open trails. COHVCO's case, originally
filed in the district court in June of 1999, will now go up to the
Tenth Circuit Federal Court of Appeals in Denver.
At the district court, COHVCO argued that the Forest Service failed
to comply with the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and the National
Forest Management Act (NFMA) in its decisions to restrict motorized
travel to designated routes on the Parks and Yampa Ranger Districts
in the Routt National Forest. The Forest Service originally stated
that the restrictions were intended to close "illegally constructed
or maintained" user-created routes which had been created by
riders following the beaten paths of riders before them. After COHVCO
pointed out that no one had ever actually "constructed"
or "maintained" these routes, the Forest Service then stated
that the restrictions were necessary to mitigate "adverse impacts
to soil, water, and wildlife." However, the Forest Service never
pointed out just where on the ground these "adverse impacts"
were occurring.
"One of COHVCO's primary goals is to educate its members to
obey the law," says John Martin, President and Chairman of COHVCO,
"and that's why this decision drew our attention. When we pointed
out to the Forest Service that no one had actually done anything illegal,
they changed their tune and said that they were really just trying
to protect the soil, water, and wildlife. They never showed us where
any off-highway vehicle user had caused any unacceptable impacts,
though."
The Routt National Forest, located in northwestern Colorado just
east of Steamboat Springs, straddles the continental divide and covers
over 1.1 million acres. The Routt is immensely popular among all types
of recreational visitors due to its varied terrain, incredible beauty,
and ease of access from Denver, Ft. Collins, and other cities on the
Front Range. Motorized recreation has always been one of the Routt's
biggest draws.
This notice of appeal follows closely upon the filing of COHVCO's
most recent lawsuit over the closure of the Arapaho Ridge Trail, also
in the Routt National Forest, which was filed on October 22. "For
some reason we seem to have a lot of problems on the Routt, which
is a very popular place for people to ride," says Martin. "I
don't know why the Routt is managed differently than the other forests
in Colorado. One would almost think it's under a different set of
laws or regulations even though we know that isn't true."
COHVCO will ask the Tenth Circuit to review the September 30, 2002
decision of Judge John L. Kane, which said that the Forest Service
was not required to do a route inventory, and that use of off-highway
vehicles could be restricted whether or not the Forest Service could
prove past or current conflicts or resource impacts caused by such
use.
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COHVCO is a non-profit corporation formed in 1987
by a group of leaders from the four-wheel drive, motorcycle, snowmobile,
and all-terrain vehicle (ATV) communities to work toward the common
goals of off highway vehicle (OHV) recreationists in Colorado. COHVCO
works closely with federal, state and local governments to promote
regulation and legislation favorable to OHV recreation. COHVCO developed,
promoted, and assisted in the creation of the Colorado OHV Act registration
program, which collects fees and provides grants for local OHV groups
and individuals to maintain trails, erect positive signage, and educate
motorized users about responsible OHV use on public lands in the state.
Since its inception, this program has allocated over $5 million to
such local projects.
