Excellent news: DNR Secretary opposes ATVs in the

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? We won! County board votes to keep ATVs off the Seymour-New London TrailExcellent news: DNR Secretary opposes ATVs in the NH-AL
Wisconsin DNR Secretary Matt Frank is recommending against the development of ANY ATV trails in the Northern Highland-American Legion State Forest.

In a memo to the Natural Resources Board released this afternoon, Frank said his reasons included:

? the negative impact ATV trails would have on many of the 2 million nonmotorized NH-AL visitors every year,

? the “very strong opposition to ATVs on public land,” particularly in Vilas County,

? “the potential for adverse ecological impact” from ATV trail development,

? and the high cost of ATV trail development, on-going maintenence and law enforcement.

Frank’s recommendation comes in advance of the April 23 meeting of the Natural Resources Board (NRB), at which a final decision will be made whether to permit ATV trails in the NH-AL.

The Frank memo is an excellent sign that common sense and good public land management will prevail. And the recommendation was not unexpected by anyone that read Frank’s February memo, discussed here.

No one should assume, however, that the NRB will agree with Frank and vote to prohibit ATVs in the NH-AL. Chances are they will, but I, for one, won’t plan to attend any parties until after the votes are cast and counted.

As stated in an email by Sue Drum, a leading opponent of ATVs in the NH-AL, “Now we need people, more than ever, to come to Madison for the April 23 meeting to show the NRB that this recommendation has many supporters. When we are winning, it is not the time to pull back.”

In order to speak at the meeting on the 23rd, you must call NRB liasion Laurie Ross at 608/267-7420 by this Friday, April 18, at 4 p.m. Testimony will likely begin at 1:15 p.m., according to the NRB meeting agenda.