Motorized vehicle state recreation area to be considered

MADISON – The potential creation of a state recreation area for motorized vehicles such as all terrain vehicles (ATVs) and off-highway vehicles (OHVs) will be discussed by the state Natural Resources Board at its June 28 meeting in River Falls.

Department of Natural Resources officials say a motorized state recreation area would address a growing demand for places to operate ATVs and OHVs. DNR staff will ask the board to consider approving the development of a plan for such a facility.

“All terrain and off-highway vehicle ownership has increased enormously in recent years,” said Bill Morrissey, director of DNR’s Bureau of Parks and Recreation. “There are almost 300,000 ATVs registered in Wisconsin – that’s more registrations than snowmobiles.”

Along with the increase in ownership has come an increase in requests to use the vehicles on state-owned lands and other public lands in the state, say officials.

Currently, ATVs are permitted on the Richard I. Bong State Recreation Area, two state forests and seven state trails including Buffalo River, Cattail, Nicolet, Pecatonica, Saunders, Tuscobia and Wild River. In addition to existing ATV opportunities, a citizen's advisory group currently is working to evaluate appropriate and sustainable all terrain vehicle use on the Northern Highland-American Legion State Forest. The advisory group was created to implement a directive in the forest's master plan approved by the state Natural Resources Board last October.

There is also limited winter ATV use on some other state trails and a planning process is underway to determine if any yet-to-be-abandoned railroad rights of way might be suitable for motorized recreation.

With the board’s approval, DNR staff would work with user groups and local governments to find a new site large enough to offer terrain and features sought by riders while providing adequate environmental protections and buffers from surrounding lands. The agency and user groups would also need to identify new sources of funding for acquisition, development, maintenance and operations.

There are successful examples of similar developments in other states and such a site offers a potential economic benefit to area businesses in the form of tourism spending and local services, according to Morrissey.

“Any new development of this kind must meet local approval and provide adequate environmental safeguards,” says Morrissey. “A facility of this kind has to be something local governments and the neighboring landowners want. We realize there are many points of view on any project of this kind and we want to be sure everyone has a chance to be heard in this discussion.”

A lack of places to ride these machines has resulted in problems of trespass, environmental damage, noise and enforcement in Wisconsin and in other states, say officials. Other states already have areas of this type including the Iron Range Off-Highway Recreation Area, at Gilbert, Minn. Missouri, Michigan and New Hampshire also have sites in operation or under development.

Morrissey said most Wisconsin state properties are not suited for ATV/OHV use due to established traditional uses, natural and cultural resources and the size of the properties, but creating a new property dedicated to ATV and OHW use would address the need.

“The development of a motorized recreation area would not solve all of the issues,” explains Morrissey, “but it could be one part of the motorized recreation picture.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Bill Morrissey - (608) 266-2185