Mr. John C. Oliver, Secretary
PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
RCSOB, 7th Floor
P.O. Box 8767
Harrisburg, PA 17105-8767

In response to many public questions raised about the use of All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) on State Forest lands the Conservation and Natural Resources Advisory Council (CNRAC) elected to focus on this issue over the past year. The following are the position statements taken by CNRAC as a result of this study:

Council is firmly committed to the principle of sustainable forestry in the management of our State Forests. In furthering this principle, we believe that the Department should administer all uses of the State Forest in a way that minimizes disruption and maintains the state forest ecosystem. Unfortunately, in the case of ATV usage, Council is concerned over mounting evidence that a growing population of ATV users is causing excessive environmental damage and abuse in areas of the State Forest system.

To its credit, the Department has already established among the recreational goals of the State Forest Resource Management Plan the provision of "healthful, low-density recreational opportunities that are compatible with maintaining the integrity of state forest ecosystems." We agree with this goal, and believe that legitimate questions can be raised as to whether or not ATV use is consistent with it. The Plan goes on to list definitive objectives to achieve this goal, one of which is the development of an "environmentally sensitive strategy to address the concerns of all-terrain vehicle users and develop a plan to identify and develop more areas where ATVs can ride legally, safely and with minimal degradation and conflicts with other users."

However, in light of the evidence of increasing numbers of ATVs and environmental impacts caused by ATVs, Council urges the Department to reassess and redouble its efforts to realize the goal of low-density recreational use, including consideration of the following additional recommendations.

Council's concerns regarding the use of motorized trail bikes on State Forest lands are the same as those for ATVs.

Although an ideal solution to this issue would be to provide ATV trail space and opportunity on lands apart from the State Forest and State Park system, we recognize that this is not feasible over the short term. In the meantime, there remains the need for maintenance of the existing trails. This obviously exceeds the capabilities of both existing forestry staff and volunteers. Accordingly, Council recommends that maintenance duties for these trails be contracted outside the Department.

Council advocates the development of an effective enforcement system on state lands. Presently, illegal operation of ATVs on State Forest land is the predominant enforcement problem for Bureau of Forestry (BOF) staff. There are an insufficient number of forest rangers available to patrol 2.1 million acres of State Forest land and the majority of present rangers are only employed part time. Council recommends that:

• the numbers of forest rangers be increased and that they be given full-time employment;
• all ATVs purchased in Pennsylvania be registered at the time of their purchase, and that pre-existing ATVs be given one year to register;
• each ATV has a clearly identifiable registration number on their vehicle; and
• the fine limits for illegal operation of ATVs be doubled from the presently set limits.

Council recognizes that the population of ATV users is increasing. It is unclear to Council what riding opportunities exist presently for Pennsylvania's ATV operators. An inventory of all existing ATV riding trails and/or data related to trails should be conducted by DCNR before any action is taken regarding the construction of additional trails on State Forest land. This inventory, when completed, can then be provided to ATV dealers to distribute as a service to their customers, and also distributed by DCNR as part of the registration process.

The ATV issue must be treated as a Commonwealth issue, not just as a Bureau of Forestry issue. The provision of recreational opportunities is addressed in a number of different ways and by a number of different bureaus within DCNR. Tourism and economic development, while tangentially related to some work of the Department, also falls into the programmatic purview of several other state agencies. If the Commonwealth is to take a comprehensive approach to providing recreational and tourism opportunities, then the entire Department plus other state agencies will need to participate in the discussion. Solutions to these issues may lie partly within the BOF and DCNR, but must also include other state agency and legislative participation and support.

DCNR should consider the potential financial support of publicly and/or privately owned and maintained lands for the provision of off-highway motorized vehicle use. We believe that ATV facilities can be developed in such a way as to assist economic development in some areas of the Commonwealth, while conforming with existing environmental regulations. Further investigation is needed into the possible use of state funds to provide alternatives to ATV riding on State Forest lands. Legislative change may be necessary to allow for the provision of these alternatives. Specific recommendations include:

• DCNR should interface with other state agencies in providing off-highway motorized vehicle parks as economic development opportunities. State partners could include the Departments of Community and Economic Development, Transportation, and Environmental Protection.
• Establish within DCNR a separate fund that solely serves ATV functions. Snowmobile and ATV funds should be separated.
• Investigate all potential funding options.
• Opportunities for accessing a portion of Pennsylvania's gas tax to be used for the acquisition of land, trail development, maintenance of trails, and development of educational, awareness and training programs should be researched.
• All ATV registrants should receive an annual report on how the ATV fund is being used.

Education and awareness should be key components in the use and maintenance of every existing trail on state forest lands. Council encourages the development of responsible statewide-motorized vehicle organizations. These organizations can assist in the promotion of training and ethical riding, the development of quality riding opportunities, maintenance of trails, enforcing riding regulations, and serving as a liaison between riders and government. Users of ATV trails should be encouraged to maintain these trails. Relationships with existing ATV organizations, and new ones should be developed, maintained or strengthened.

Council also recognizes the responsibility of DCNR to educate and provide training to ATV operators. This training at a minimum should address environmental impacts, safety training, and define locations for riding opportunities.

DCNR has an internal work group looking at this issue. The findings of the DCNR internal work group regarding ATV trails and usage should also be considered when making final determinations for future action regarding the use of ATVs on state forest lands.

It has been a challenging and enlightening experience for the Council to work on this issue. We have had extensive discussions with BOF and other DCNR staff, and representatives of motorized vehicle operators, environmental organizations, and from other states. We have traveled to view an existing ATV trail on State Forest land and have ridden ATVs there to experience first-hand the recreational experience. We have internally discussed the positive and negative aspects of motorized vehicle use on State Forest lands.

With this understanding, we hope that DCNR and other representatives of the Commonwealth accept these recommendations in a positive light and use these recommendations as a stepping stone for finding solutions to this growing recreational need.

Sincerely,

Dr. Paulette Johnson
Chair

cc:  John Plonski, Exec. Dep. Sec. for Parks and Forestry
      Richard Sprenkle, Dep. Sec. for Conservation and Engineering Services
      Karen Deklinski, Dep. Sec. for Administration
      Sally Just, Senior Advisor to the Secretary
      Frederick Carlson, DCNR Director of Policy
      Geralyn Umstead, DCNR Director of Community Relations
      William Shakely, DCNR Chief Counsel
      Joe Graci, DCNR Legislative Liaison
      Kurt Leitholf, CNRAC Executive Director
      Rep. Arthur Hershey, Majority Chair, House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee
      Rep. Camille "Bud" George, Minority Chair, House Environmental Resources and Energy
            Committee
      Sen. Mary Jo White, Majority Chair, Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee
      Sen. Raphael Musto, Minority Chair, Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee
      Governor's Office

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