Open houses set for Chequamegon-Nicolet road plans
U.S. Forest Service personnel are still busy determining which roads and trails in national parks should be open and closed to motorized users. In Wisconsin, the Travel Management Rule process mostly affects the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forests.
The Travel Management Rule – which will move the national forest to a designated system of roads and trails for off-highway vehicle (OHV) use – prohibits cross-country travel.
“This does not mean that OHVs are not allowed in the forest,” Chequamegon-Nicolet Forest Supervisor Jeanne Higgins said. “In fact, in the right places and managed carefully, OHV recreation is an appropriate use of the national forest. The Travel Management Rule provides that OHVs are to be operated on roads and trails that allow for that use.”
The Chequamegon Area Mountain Biking Association (CAMBA) is rightly concerned about ATV trails that already cross or dead end at mountain bike trails, thereby inviting ATV abuse of carefully constructed singletrack.
CAMBA oversees a regional mountain bike trail system of over 300 miles around the towns of Cable, Delta, Drummond, Hayward, Namakagon and Seeley, in national and county forests and on some private land.
The Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest will be hosting five open houses October 4-16. Drafts of the road and trail maps for the forests (based on previous meeting input) will be on display and park service employees will answer questions. Comments and suggestions regarding designations for motorized vehicle will be welcome.
The open houses are as scheduled:
• Thur., Oct. 4: Best Western Crandon Inn, Crandon
• Wed., Oct. 10: Phillips High School, Phillips
• Thur, Oct. 11: Lincoln Town Hall, Eagle River
• Mon, Oct. 15: Lakewoods Resort, Cable
• Tues., October 16: Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center, Ashland
The scheduled open houses will start with formal presentations at 6 p.m. and will continue, from 6:45 p.m. to 8 p.m., with opportunities to view the maps and talk to park officials.
In early October, the maps will be available at district offices and on the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest website. For additional information on the Open Houses, call Joan Marburger at 715/762-5178 or BJ Johnson at 715/362-1335.