ATV proposal contradicts public’s
priorities
The Idaho Department of Parks and
Recreation has extended the comment period on its proposal for a rambling
all-terrain vehicle trail through the Big Lost and Little Lost valleys. It has
hastily scheduled three more public hearings. One is set for March 20 at Wood
River High School Auditorium in Hailey from 7-9 p.m.
IDPR was wise to extend the comment period
on a proposal that was virtually unknown until recently. Yet, it’s fair to
wonder whether IDPR will take any negative comments on the proposal seriously.
Finances in the rest of state government
are so desperate the Idaho Legislature is considering a budget that would force
state prisons to release convicted felons. In stark contrast, IDPR has money
burning a hole in its pocket.
IDPR collects $600,000 a year from ATV
users for its Off-Highway Vehicle Fund. The money is talking.
Yet, the talk isn’t in line with where the
public wants IDPR to walk.
In 2002, IDPR surveyed 1,015 randomly
selected residents and asked them to list their recreation priorities. Given
IDPR’s obvious enthusiasm for the ATV trail, the results were surprising.
Of 19 priorities listed in the 2002 Idaho
Outdoor Recreation Survey, the public ranked providing designated ATV trails as
17th. Ranked lower were providing cross-country skiing and snowmobile
trail systems.
The No. 1 priority for Parks and Rec as
seen by Idahoans? Protecting water quality. Protecting existing access to public
lands ranked second. Protecting natural resources on public lands ranked third.
At number six, even weed control ranked
far higher in the public’s mind than a new ATV trail. (The survey results are
available online at
www.idahoparks.org.)
IDPR representatives argue that an ATV
trail will protect water quality and natural resources, supposedly by confining
ATVs to designated trails.
It’s a specious argument given that the
machines’ drivers are impossible to confine and that a designated trail will be
a magnet that attracts users from all over the country.
More ATVs will bring more outdoor
devastation—the opposite of what the majority of Idahoans want.
As one of his first acts, newly appointed
IDPR board member and Sun Valley City Councilman Latham Williams should insist
that the state agency get its priorities straight.
Money or no money, it should not ignore
its own survey.