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ATV damage investigated: Officials say illegal vehicle use hurting Shawnee forest
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS - Recent site damage could lend support to a proposed forest management plan that calls for the outright banning of all-terrain vehicle use in the Shawnee National Forest. Law enforcement for the forest are currently investigating a number of reports, including damage caused by illegal vehicle use in the Turkey Bayou Campground in the Jonesboro-Murphysboro district.
Forest service personnel said scofflaws are going around gates that were installed to prevent roads and trails from being damaged during the seasonal closure or during times when areas are vulnerable to damage by use of vehicles.
At Turkey Bayou, the disturbance "will not only affect the species of vegetation growing in the campground, but it will also diminish the recreational experience of the campers, picnickers and hikers using this area," said Jeff Seefeldt, district ranger.
Although ATV use in the Shawnee is permitted in the current forest plan, a lawsuit resulted in an injunction that effectively banned the controversial vehicles altogether. As required by the 1976 National Forest
Management Act, the forest service must prepare a new forest management plan every 15 years that considers public input and the latest scientific advances.
Shawnee officials released their draft 2005 forest plan last week. The newly proposed plan would ban the use of ATVs and off-highway vehicles for as long as the plan would remain in effect, about 10 to 15 years, said Becky Banker, public affairs officer for the forest.
Forest service officials call for a ban of ATV usage in the proposed plan, Banker said, because "It basically gets down to manpower and budget. We are working on getting designated trails for equestrian use and given the budget and manpower situation, we can't take on both issues (ATVs and equestrian usage) at one time. We're dealing with the equestrian usage for now."
Equestrians currently have access to about 95 percent of the forest for any type of riding, but the proposed plan would limit that access to designated trails only.
Banker said the proposed ban on ATVs and OHVs should not be considered an indictment of those who use the vehicles. "Much like any other forest user group, the vast majority of ATVers are highly ethical and do things the way they should be done. Just a small number of riders don't and it's not fair that they give the whole group a bad name. But our proposal is not a response to those few bad apples. It's about how much, given our budget, we can take on at one time. The forest service would not let one small minority affect land usage in the forest," she said.
Critics of ATV use in the Shawnee say the vehicles cause a number of problems to the forest, including erosion and loss of soil productivity, damage to vegetation and disturbance to the habitat of creeks, streams and lakes.
Barbara McKasson of the Sierra Club's Shawnee Group said ATVs are simply incompatible with the forest. "They don't stay on the trails and they tear up the ground tremendously. Even when illegal, they've gone into some of the most sensitive parts of the forest and torn things up," she said.
The ATVs also cause pollution, both environmental and noise, she said. One important value of the forest is as a recharging area for clean water, McKasson said, and that value is lessened by erosion and leaking fuel from ATVs.
Noise pollution affects another important use of the forest, that as a place to go for peace and quiet, she said. "ATVs ruin that restful-to-the-soul quality and the ability to take a quiet walk in the woods. ATVs can be heard up to a mile away and they greatly affect wildlife, too," McKasson said. "Their use is just inappropriate in the forest."
McKasson said there is not enough monitoring or enforcement of the forest to guard against illegal ATV use now. "Even if they allowed ATV trails, with the inadequate enforcement, they (ATV riders) would just tear up the forest even more," she said.
James Towns of Pope County said horses cause more damage to the forest than ATVs. "Sure, there are some idiots that ride and make a big mess, but I don't think ATVs do as much damage as the horses do, and I've got both. I can show you horse trails where the water is standing a foot deep and the soil is damaged by the horses," Towns said.
Towns and his friends and family are currently limited to riding on old county roads and private farmland, he said. "It's pitiful that families can't enjoy riding together in the forest. We just want a place to ride and we'd be willing to volunteer to help clean up or fix any damage caused by ATVs," he said.
The forest service will hold three open house meetings to explain the proposed plan and take public comment. Those meetings will be held in Marion on April 19, fromn;3-7 p.m. at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 100 Columbus Drive; Belleville on April 20, from 3-7 p.m. at Fischer's Restaurant, 2100 W. Main St.; and in Vienna on April 21, from 3-7 p.m. at the Vienna High School Commons, 601 N. First St.
Copies of the proposed plan and Draft Environmental Impact Statement or a summary are available at the Forest Supervisor's Office, 50 Highway 145 South, Harrisburg, at many local libraries or at the forest service Web site at www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/shawnee.
