Group says too much forest terrain is open for snowmobiling

Snowmobile riders are on a "collision course" with backcountry skiers and snowshoers as more and more people crowd Western forests for winter recreation, a new report by a conservation group contends.

Snowmobile riders are on a "collision course" with backcountry skiers and snowshoers as more and more people crowd Western forests for winter recreation, a new report by a conservation group contends.

And the Winter Wildlands Alliance argues in its analysis of winter recreation in 11 Western states that the U.S. Forest Service should close significantly more terrain to snowmobiles to ensure adequate opportunities for quiet winter recreation.

Organized snowmobilers counter they've lost enough areas where they can pursue their sport while Forest Service officials say they're trying to strike a balance and that there's enough land for everyone.

These are among the perspectives voiced in the debate about sometimes conflicting winter sports at increasingly busy national forests across the West.

"As the population of the West grows and as snowmobiles grow more and more powerful, we ask (the Forest Service) to act now to correct this imbalance and make sure all Americans have quiet, natural places for winter enjoyment," said Mark Menlove, executive director of the Winter Wildlands Alliance. "Everyone has a right to enjoy our national forests, but no minority has a right to shatter the peace, quiet and fun of the majority."

"We've lost significant opportunities in recent years," said Brian Hawthorne, public lands director of the BlueRibbon Coalition, a motorized sports advocacy group. "Less and less areas are open to motorized use."

Greg McKay, past central region director of the California Nevada Snowmobile Association, estimated that there are about 3,000 to 4,000 snowmobilers in the Lake Tahoe basin. There's easily over 5,000 snowmobilers in the Reno area, McKay said.

Ben Hatchett, an avid backcountry skier from Tahoe City, agrees conflicting winter sports will become "more and more of an issue," but he is optimistic people can work through the problem.

"Whichever side you're on, you have to be respectful of the other guy," said Hatchett, 23. "I see it as an issue that has a bright future for being worked out.

"We're all out there for the same reason."

Local compromises

Conflicting winter sports have already surfaced as an issue in the Reno area. Citing increasing problems between snowmobile riders, skiers and snow-shoers, the Forest Service in 2001 banned snowmobiles from about three-quarters of the Tahoe Meadows, a popular snow play area between Reno and Lake Tahoe.

"Hopefully, it's a decision everybody can live with," District Ranger Gary Schiff said then of what he characterized as a particularly difficult decision.

"It's one of those situations where there's no easy 'right' answer," Schiff said.

As soon as next month, the Forest Service could announce a similar compromise regarding winter recreation in Alpine County, Calif., south of the lake. Conflicts between snowmobilers and skiers have already resulted in a long-simmering legal battle over recreation access in that area.

In its report, compiled with data obtained from federal Freedom of Information Act requests to national forests in 11 states, the Winter Wildlands Alliance points to what it calls an imbalance in the government's regulation of land used for winter sports.

Of 116 million acres analyzed, the group found 70 percent open to snowmobiles and that 90 percent of groomed trails are designated for the machines.

In Nevada's Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, 5.3 million of 6.3 million acres are open to snowmobiles while 46 miles of 48 miles of groomed trails are used by snowmobiles, the report said.

And with newer snowmobiles increasingly able to reach more remote areas, the situation is becoming "critical," the report contends. It estimates that

11.9 million people now use snowmobiles, up from 5.3 million in the early 1980s. Over the same period, the number of skiers and snowshoers has increased from 5.3 million to 12.3 million, according to the report.

"Snowmobiles have their place, but right now, they take more than their fair share," argues Gail Ferrell, a Reno resident and a member of the alliance who led the push to ban snowmobiles from much of the Tahoe Meadows.

"We need to restore some balance so all families have the opportunity to enjoy the natural peace and quiet of a winter forest," Ferrell said.

Numbers questioned

Members of the BlueRibbon Coalition and Forest Service officials both took issue with aspects of the report. Much of the landscape of the Humboldt-Toiyabe is so low in elevation that it is generally not usable for either snowmobiling or skiing, making the comparison of winter recreation opportunities across that landscape relatively meaningless, said Forest Supervisor Ed Monig.

And the high percentage of groomed trails for snowmobiles makes sense because the trails are groomed by snowmobile groups for their sport, both Monig and Hawthorne said. The Forest Service does not groom trails, but Monig said if ski groups want to do so, his agency would be receptive.

Monig said he's uncomfortable with the notion that significantly more portions of the forest should be closed to snowmobiles. In problem areas, compromises like the one crafted for Tahoe Meadows and being contemplated in Alpine County make more sense, Monig said.

"I'm not inclined to make a unilateral decision that would exclude a particular group," Monig said, adding that in his view, the Tahoe Meadows arrangement has worked "very well" in resolving conflicts there.

"We have been and will continue to work with user groups to provide for various recreation," Monig said. "We are trying to work on ways to fairly distribute the resources out there and sometimes that does involve segregating those uses."

While snowmobilers are reluctant to lose any more land for their sport, increased dialog between different groups is becoming more important, Hawthorne said.

"All forms of recreation are growing exponentially," Hawthorne said. "We're going to have to set aside some lands for non-motorized. We're going to have to preserve some for motorized and the stuff in between we're going to have to share."

"We've got to resolve to get along rather than continue this vitriolic carping."