White River National Forest Adds Insult to Injury September 27, 2002 D. Andrew Wight COHVCO Attorney As many of you know, the White River National Forest recently completed a revision of its forest plan. This is a big deal, because forest plans are usually revised only once every ten or fifteen years. This new plan for the White River, then, will determine where we can and cannot ride for the foreseeable future. COHVCO, joined by the Colorado 500, with the assistance of the White River Forest Alliance, filed an appeal of the revised forest plan because the plan cuts motorized areas by about 25% for no good reason. The plan reduces open acreage by more than 200,000 acres for summertime riding, and by more than 300,000 acres for wintertime riding. The COHVCO/CO-500 appeal sits in Washington, D.C., awaiting a decision by the Chief of the Forest Service. Meanwhile, the bureaucrats in charge at the White River National Forest headquarters in Glenwood Springs decided that the forest should start its travel management process, even though the COHVCO/CO-500 appeal will, in all likelihood, force the Forest Service to make significant changes to the areas where motorized recreation will be allowed. The travel management process, for those unfamiliar with how these things work, is the actual on-ground route designation, while the forest plan is the equivalent of zoning. COHVCO has demanded that the travel management process must stop for now and await the resolution of the COHVCO/CO-500 appeal. However, the White River bureaucrats just won't listen, and are determined to go forward with route designation. What can you do? Talk to your clubs. Ask if anyone knows of motorized roads and trails in the White River National Forest that should be designated to stay open. This includes routes that have no designations now. Write letters to the White River (see the address below), telling the Forest Service, in as much detail as possible, about your favorite trails (or, indeed, any trails you've ever ridden in the White River) and demanding that those trails stay open to motorized use. If everyone contributes, we can keep off-highway travel alive in the White River. The deadline for comments to the Forest Service is October 31, 2002. Letters should be sent to: Dottie Bell, White River NF, PO Box 948, Glenwood Springs, CO 81602.