OHV MANAGEMENT WORKSHOP TAKES AN UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL LOOK AT TRAIL ISSUES

Land managers in Montana get two days inside and two days out in the field

     Nearly 50 OHV managers, mostly from the western states, participated in the four-day NOHVCC OHV Management Workshop which was held at the Charles Russell Museum in Great Falls, Montana July 13-16. The participants included folks from the National Forest Service, state forests and parks, BLM, DNR and several other land management agencies. The agenda included two full days in the conference room and two field days. The first day was set aside for land managers who wished to take the MSF dirt bike or ATV riding course at a ranch just outside of town. That day also featured a Tread Lightly! Trainer Course held in town, whereas participants would learn to put on their own Tread Lightly! programs.

     "There are so many aspects to these workshops," reports NOHVCC Communications Director Steve Casper. "We cover everything from the current laws and regulations regarding OHVs, to trail planning, building, and maintenance, and how to improve working relationships between local, state and federal land management agencies and the OHV community. What has really been getting special attention at our workshops over the last couple of years are the needs and desires of the OHV public. Basically, we've found that most riders simply want a quality day of trail riding with challenges, scenery and neat destination rides. We've found that if they get all of the above, troubles with rules-breaking and off-trail riding decrease. If the land managers and decision makers get a better understanding of this from our workshops, then half our battle is done."

      Day two found many different presentations in the conference room including talks on OHV demographics, how OHVs affect wildlife, fisheries, and the spread of invasive (weed) species, sound issues, multiple-use trails, and trail planning, construction, and maintenance. Later in the afternoon there were talks on route inventory and GPS mapping.

      Day three was out in the field where all participants got their choice of riding a dirt bike or an ATV in the Lewis and Clark National Forest. Everyone traveled in a group with planned stops to look at and discuss specific trail issues, environmental concerns, trailhead facilities, enforcement issues, and mixed traffic use roads.

      "To actually go out and see many of the things that we talk about in our management workshops is a big plus," reports NOHVCC Executive Director Russ Ehnes. "We're very fortunate that the trail system we used for our field day ride had a lot of good examples for us to see and talk about."

      Lunch up on top of a beautiful Montana mountain in the middle of summer was a great reward for the morning's work. The day also included a demonstration of field sound testing and a discussion on the various muffler systems and the engine types currently found on OHVs.

      The final day focused on topics such as hunting and ATVs (which happens to be a very contentious situation on many public lands these days), Tread Lightly! education and materials, building partnerships with communities, building collaborations to reduce conflict, and state and federal trail funding programs.

      "So much information is disseminated at these workshops that we worry about folks getting overwhelmed," says Casper. "Luckily, we hand out a big notebook ahead of time which outlines virtually everything we will be discussing and we hope that the participants keep this notebook as a future resource for their OHV work."

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