At Issue:

On July 7 the U.S. Forest Service announced plans to specify which roads and trails are open to off-highway vehicles. The future of our National Forests and the values they represent are threatened by growing and uncontrolled use of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), dirt bikes and other off-road vehicles (ORVs), also known as off-highway vehicles (OHVs). As written, the proposed rules will not protect our National Forests. Your comments can help ensure that meaningful regulations are adopted.

Your Action Needed:

Please ask the Forest Service to improve its proposed off-road vehicle rule to better protect public lands and wildlife. Comments must be received by September 13, 2004. Comments can be easily submitted through the "Take Action" page of Sierra Club's website, by clicking on this url:

http://whistler.sierraclub.org/action/?alid=339

Comments can ALSO be submitted by traditional mail, electronic mail or fax through U.S. Mail by Sept 9, to be received by Sept 13.

Proposed Rule for Designated Routes and

Areas for Motor Vehicle Use

c/o Content Analysis Team

P.O. Box 221150

Salt Lake City, UT 84122-1150

Email (by Sept 13): trvman@fs.fed.us

Fax (by Sept 13): 801-517-1014

For More Information:

Sierra Club website: http://www.sierraclub.org/wildlands/orv/

NTWC website: http://www.naturaltrails.org/

Forest Service website: http://www.fs.fed.us/recreation/programs/ohv/

What to include in your Message:

[If possible, it is good to begin with your personal knowledge, naming specific places that you care about in National Forests that are damaged and/or threatened by unmanaged off-road vehicles.]

As a Sierra Club member, I strongly urge the Forest Service to include additional measures in the final rule on national off-highway vehicle policy to ensure basic protections for public land, wildlife and other types of recreation. These would include:

* Complete off-road vehicle route designations within 2 years of the effective date of the rule;

* Designate roads and routes, including any unauthorized renegade route, for off-road use only after public participation and site-specific analysis of environmental impacts and user-conflicts;

* Immediately end use of all unauthorized renegade ATV and dirt bike routes pending site-specific study and official designation;

* Remove R.S. 2477 references as they are overly broad and potentially violate the Congressional moratorium; and

* Ensure that roads and routes designated for off-road vehicle use can be maintained, monitored, managed and enforced.