I live in a small (>2,000 folks) town in the sierra’s and enjoy the use of the private and public land the surrounds me. I hike with my children, cut firewood for winter heat, mt. bike, hunt/fish, camp… the list goes. I also ride a dirtbike. I was raised by a tree feller, and to this day have never met anyone who understood our local outdoor environment better than my dad. He went to work out there every day. He salveged cut timber and also clear cut it. He understood the consequences of messing up our land. And understood the need for a practical management. I’ve been through sections of bublic land that has been harvested by machine. The total destruction that this equipment (skidders and bunchers mainley) does to the groung and underbresh is depressing to fathom. I can say that a skidder operator will do 100 times more damage in an 8 hour shift than I will do in a lifetime of riding my dirtbike. Why do we allow skidders to operate? It’s industry. Well what about the industry of recreating. We are the hardest working country in the world, we need outlets. Our land is vast, there is plenty of room for all sorts of activities. The Gov. needs to put a value on the importance of all recreation. We seem to be at the mercy of an agenda by the folks who were hired to manage our land that’s bent on ristricting certian activities because it does’nt fit thier definition of “sustainable” or “green”. My local forest service branch is filled with granola eaters and bird lovers and tree huggers. Got nothing agianst those types, belive me. I appreciate the love they have for there hobbies and thier passions. But they dont speak for everyone, and that’s who owns this land is everyone.

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Enough with the group classifications- “I’m a hiker and YOUR OHV is ruining My land”, “I’m a rider and YOU already have too much space to hike on”. What it really boils down to is the fact that WE are ALL AMERICAN. We live in America, we want to ENJOY our American soil. The term Enjoy is subjective, YOU can do whatever pleases YOU. What is really at stake in all this banter is Peaceful Interaction among citizens. Let’s stop fighting over who’s activity is more eco-friendly than the other’s and let’s start thinkin’ up plans, mapping out ideas of how to share the land, how to make it accessable to EVERY CITIZEN! Different parts of the country are designated for different activities because thats just how it is! The land was created before the people; now as much as some OHV rider wants the same land use privilages as a local Hiker, fact is that maybe you just aren’t meant to ride on that land- its not safe, or its not large enough, or its harmful to wildlife. So what if you miss out on one area, that can just be the ‘hiking/ walking/ nature observation area’ and another space used mostly for riding can be the ‘trail riding/ open riding area’, and leave it be! As long as WE cohesively fight for ALL land use/ recreational use then NO ONE LOSES!

I am an active ‘off-roader’ and I’m all about keeping the land open for riding; I live in San Diego and drive about 2 1/2 hours away to the desert to ride because there are no open, SAFE places to ride out here and whatever small areas were open for use are now closed off. Still, I’m not about to sit here and argue with some person in Middle or Eastern America about how “My rights” are more just than theirs, or to prove how valid “My Sport” is. Truth of the matter is that we don’t all experince the same things because we live in DIFFERENT parts of ONE country- sorry if a rude rider disturbed your hike in Michigan (for example) and scared you for life, but DON’T JUDGE me as a delinquent because I ride a four-wheeler out in California! Even more true is that WE don’t all stay commited to ONE activity; maybe one day I want to experience a quiet stroll through a park, and another day my family and I want to ride through a noisy desert filled with other riders, and maybe the next time me and my boyfriend want to experiecne a challenging but rewarding hike through a woodland area…the opportunities are endless!!

& that’s what WE should DEMAND from the America’s Great Outdoors innitiative- OPPORTUNITIES TO ENJOY AMERICAN SOIL THE WAY WE CHOSE TO ON ANY GIVEN DAY.

AMEN.

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Im sorry I have to respond to Mrs. Voss’s comment that bikes are destroying trails that she so enjoys. I think she thinks like, the vast majority of the hiking community as a whole does.
I can tell you for a fact that the most popular and pristine hiking trails in the U.S. are open to just hikers and not open to bikes or off road vehicles of any kind. More and more trails are being closed each year to bikes and off road vehicles. Even though this community helps pay for the maintenance of these trails with their OHV dues. Trails are routinely damaged and destroyed as she calls it by the hikers she puts at the top of the outdoor users chain.

I am a long time multi sport outdoor user who has seen switchbacks on hiking only trails “destroyed”as she says, extensively.” This happens because the hiker is tired of hiking and just wants to get back to camp or the car. Trail work is done to repair the cut trail time and time again. Hikers are not the only lovers of nature. It is closed minded people like Ms Voss that don’t see that hikers damage trails also by leaving trash ,cutting trails, not to mention costing the government millions of dollars in search and rescue costs when a hiker becomes lost.
I have been blessed to recreate all over the world by hiking, trail running, backpacking,adventure racing and biking. Nature on its own, changes the trails from year to year. What hikers call damage occurs from rain,wind,fire,earthquakes etc. . The planet is very resiliant and is not botherd by these normal occuring events.

Americans need to be more excepting of other people who want to enjoy the outdoors by their chosen means. We fight all the time for the rights of the disabled. These people enjoy the outdoors also and the only way for them to enjoy them is from an offroad vehicle.

It is so sad that we have so many closed minded people. Their chosen hobby/sport is the only one that matters. We all pay taxes but some sports pay more (OHV fees). What really matters is that for generations to come we ALL get to enjoy the beautiful country we live in, not just one community (hikers)!
We must stop fighting and get back to respecting all those who want to enjoy the outdoors,and by doing that we all can create more recreational oppurtunities which is the whole point of the” Greatoutdoors” effort.

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It is always the same argument from the orv/ohv crowd that wants more access. Truth is more ohv access actually decreases uses in that area for others like hikers, backpackers and equestrians. Although they like to claim they are courteous every year people who enjoy hiking, backpacking and equestrian riding are injured from ohv users while others are harassed to the point that they no longer return to those areas. I myself have fallen victim to harassment twice and no longer recreate in those areas.

As has been mentioned it is also highly destructive to the environment, it pollutes the ground water and the air, destroys the trails and scares if not kills wildlife. Also since so many ohv users do not follow the laws they tend to destroy streams, meadows and trespass on “hiking only” trails destroying or in the least damaging those as well. And of course there is the noise problem which is particularly bothersome to people who enjoy the peace and quiet nature can provide.

Of course these people seldom take responsibility for their actions as you can tell from their comments so it continues to happen time and time again which is a large reason they are losing access in so many areas.

Not all ohv users are bad people and they do deserve some areas to recreate but they do not deserve any more than they already have and there are certain areas that do need to be closed to them immediately. To grant them further access or increased access will only decrease the amount of people who enjoy other forms of recreation and will decrease the amount of people that get to enjoy the great outdoors.

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In my local area there is a National Forest with substantial recreational opportunities for most, if not all, interested users. What I find interesting is that the greatest usage is concentrated on less than 20% of the available trail. That small percentage is the only trail where ORV’s are permitted. All the trails are open to hiking, most are also open to equestrian and human-power (bicycles) as well. It appears that in this case the largest sub-group of users are being overlooked to some extent. It would not be appropriate to open all the trails to ORV’s no matter how large a majority of the total users that might be, but by the same token it is wrong to actively discriminate against the majority of active users. By the way, I am a disabled military veteran and personally have no use for the hundred plus miles of hiking trail in the nearby National Forest.

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Its not just the trails motorized vehicles compact and tear up, it is also the noise they create. It is very disruptive to wildlife. I live on a busy road and can easily tune out car sounds, but motorcycles/mopeds, etc are always so much louder and jarring, even among the other traffic sounds. Imagine hearing that in the middle of the woods where it is otherwise quiet? I want to note that I ride so I am not hating on motorcycles, just that there is a time and place. I understand the fun of it, and in some areas I think for the sake of conservation and public health everywhere it should be allowed but it certainly should be limited. Besides, how much of the outdoors can you really take in, keeping your eyes on the trail and scaring all the animals away vs hiking on foot? I think a lot of the mentality behind off-road motorcycles is more the conquest of nature, not necessarily the peaceful admiring of it.

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Need more access to public lands for dirt bikes, etc… while still protecting it and maintaing it.

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I love to ride off road motorcycles in the CO high country with friends and family. Great stress reliever and exercise- my wife will tell me when I need to go for a ride!
Occasionally we will cross paths with equine or mountain bike riders and we try to courteously share the trail. Very seldom will we ever meet hikers as most motorized legal trails are way off access and tough to traverse by foot- not to mention the plethora of available hiking trails.
Why do cyclists keep losing more and more trail access?
It just doesn’t make any sense to me that the largest growing group of recreators keep getting squeezed down into smaller and smaller areas.
Thank you!

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I find this a bit odd. Here they are trying to encourage use of public lands (which I applaud) but in Colorado the government is closing down access to those lands by shutting down trails. One of the largest user groups are off highway vehicle users but they discourage use of federal lands by shutting down tails. Where the trails are shut down, nobody goes and fewer people enjoy the outdoors. If they want more people enjoying the outdoors then provide more access.

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As I read the comments above I am struck by the seeming disconnect between the “ownership” feelings and the “stewardship” responsibilities. Everyone wants to save the ability to enjoy the outdoors. Very few however take the time to see and understand what the natural world (outdoors) is all about.
We have enough land for everyone to enjoy “their” favorite activity, BUT, we don’t have enough land for everyone to enjoy their favorite activity anywhere they want.
We also need to remember; There are no free lunches. In order to preserve our wonderful outdoors our individual use must have minimal impact plus we all owe some give back when required to maintain “our” outdoors.

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‘FALL’ in love with the North Country Trail!
Introduction:
We as a society are becoming less and less in touch with our natural surroundings. We increasingly spend our leisure time inside and usually doing something inactive. Our health is generally decreasing, “Life expectancy is growing but so is the prevalence of obesity; we may be living longer but we are also suffering poor health for longer…” (Allen, 2008). The author of this report, Daniel Allen, in a 2008 article from the journal ‘Mental Health Practice’, states that the simplest answer to this decrease in general health is “…numerous studies (summarized) in the report (affirm) that people with access to nearby nature are generally healthier than those without…” Citizens in the Western U.P. are extremely lucky; we are surrounded by some of the most beautiful places in the whole Northwoods. Mary Claire Mason (2009) reassures us that “contact with nature has been shown to improve people’s physical and mental health–it increases physical activity, reduces stress and strengthens communities.” The fact that we are surrounded by Parks, National Forests, and other wild places, makes us better able to take advantage of these resources. “The bottom line is that children–and adults–need places where they can be outdoors and physically active on a regular basis, close to home.” (Vaira, 2009)
Our chapter of the N.C.T.A. is made up of a great group of individuals who have tremendous enthusiasm to enjoy the great outdoors and help others to do the same. Ultimately that is our reason to have this event, but there are also many secondary benefits to participation for the public. The community building, stress reduction, physical exercise, local exposure and knowledge increase, are all valid and true benefits to this event. This event guarantees people of all abilities exposure to the pristine beauty of the Black River National Scenic Byway, the Ottawa National Forest as well as Copper Peak, the Black River Harbor and The North Country Trail. We hope that by increased exposure more people will develop interest in the N.C.T., and the local area in general. With added interest we hope the greater goals of continued community development, as well as increased community health can be initiated by this event.
Proposal:
Who:
Our target audience for this behavioral intervention is the local community members who have not been to the places where we will have the event, as well as people who have recently moved here and also have not experienced what there is to do in the area. Specifically the Cities of Ironwood, Bessemer, Wakefield, and Hurley as well as their surrounding townships and municipalities will be targeted.
What:
Our day of fun and adventure begins at Copper Peak Ski Flying Hill. Copper Peak is the largest man-made ski flying facility in the western hemisphere. Hop aboard the 800-foot chairlift for a ride to the crest of the hill. An elevator takes you 18 stories to the observation deck. From here some visitors elect to walk the final 8 stories to the very top starting gates. Either way, these vantage points provide the highest, most awesome unobstructed vista in the Midwest, overlooking more than 2500 square miles including parts of Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. This view is one of the best ways to try and take in the full beauty of the Northwoods in fall color from a bird’s-eye view, at your leisure.
Returning to terra firma you will have a short drive thru the Ottawa National Forest to Black River Harbor (one of only two harbors within the National Forest System) where a unique suspension bridge crosses the river, leading to a natural breakwater and beach. During your lunch break in the pavilion, or outside weather permitting, the Ottawa Forest staff will present a short history of the Forest, the Harbor and the North Country Trail. After lunch there are multiple hikes on portions of the North Country National Scenic Trail through some of the most pristine and scenic old growth forest around.
How:
We hope to spread the word about our event through a three tier approach. First of all through the local papers, one of our members already writes a weekly column in which she will promote the event. We will also take out a series of ads, as well as notifications in the ‘local happenings’ section. The second part of the promotion would be putting up flyers at local businesses and other places such as churches, schools, parks etc. This is an example of something to have a graphic artist turn into a poster:
FALL in love with the North Country Trail
Who would like to add an injection of nature’s awe and beauty into your own life? Who needs to be a little healthier, and is sick of forcing yourself to exercise? Who would like to know a little more about the natural places in your own backyard and history of those places? If you have answered yes to any or all of these questions, Ni-Miikanaake (which means “I make a trail” in Ojibwa), the local chapter of the North Country Trail Association has planned a FREE to the public event: “FALL in love with the North Country Trail” just for you. In the last weekend of September we are sponsoring, along with the National Parks, and the National Forest Service, a day of exploration, sight-seeing, and hiking, as well as getting to know what the N.C.T. (North Country Trail) is and our mission as certified Chapter of the N.C.T.A. (North Country Trail Association).
The day will begin at Copper Peak Ski Flying Hill. The view from the top is breath taking and the 2,500 sq. mi. view of the fall colors is unparalleled. After the invigorating ride to the top we will continue north to Black River harbor for lunch that is being provided. There will be a representative of the Ottawa National Forest who will give a presentation on the local area and its history. After lunch several hikes will be offered depending on your own experience and abilities. Some of the most beautiful areas are wheelchair and handicapped accessible, so people of all abilities are guaranteed a great time.
The final and probably most effective part of the interest generation portion of our event would be to get the addresses of the residents in the local municipalities and do a mass mailer of a flyer promoting our event. We could possibly get the municipalities to include our flyer in one of their normal resident mailers. This flyer must not be just a copied page of text on a colored sheet of paper. The flyer must hint at the quality of the experience by the quality of the promotion, meaning a professionally designed and printed document.
We (as a chapter) have put an event very similar to this on for a different audience previously, Members of the North Country Trail Association so we know what seemed to work well, as well as the things that did not get much enthusiasm the last time. Last summer the N.C.T.A. had its annual conference in Ashland, WI. One of the featured hikes for the weekend was exactly the same day that we have planned again for our locals. In fact most of the ‘what’ section is the description from the 2010 N.C.T. Conference Program. As far as who will do the leg work, we have formed a committee to help oversee the event and its promotion.
Where:
As previously stated the locations would be:
1. Copper Peak Ski Flying Hill
2. Black River Corridor and Harbor
3. The Ottawa National Forrest
4. The North Country Trail
When:
We have been brain storming about an event like this for some time; we imagine that it will take at least 2-3 months of promotion to have a good chance of success. We are researching costs of Copper Peak as well as cost to provide lunches. Other costs of event include graphic designer, printer, newspaper ad, postage for mailer, perhaps some kind of gift to participants. After all costs are estimated a grant application will be submitted by the end of March. Once grant is approved progress will continue. The date of event is last weekend in September.
Evaluation:
When we ran the hike last summer there was no formal evaluation, we did however hear from participants throughout the day about what they liked, the beautiful views of rushing water falls framed by deep greens and also the fiery colors of autumn. Sometimes they told us what they did not like as well, one of the hike leaders asked if anyone wanted to hike ‘off trail’ most people in the group wanted to but the few who didn’t want to were kind of forced to do a very hard and technical hike that they were not planning for.. Their suggestions have already been incorporated into this event. There is much room for improvement as to how we can collect information about what people valued and enjoyed as well as what they disliked. One option is a brief exit interview or survey. Each “guide” could be responsible for interviewing or collecting the survey. Another way to get peoples feedback as to whether they will continue to visit is a take home questionnaire, postage paid of course. Things that may be addressed in a survey or questionnaire would be probability of a return visit, other places person may visit for comparable activity, also what they enjoyed most about the day as well as what was disliked or less enjoyable. A final option might be to put up a few waterproof log books along the trail and ask hikers to simply state their reasons for coming to hike the N.C.T., as well as how often.
Conclusion:
As stated in the introduction, longevity may be increasing but general health is decreasing across the country. A very effective as well as inexpensive way to help people become more active and healthy is to get outside and simply hike. We are extremely blessed in the Western U.P. to have places like the Black River Corridor and Harbor, Copper Peak, the North Country Trail, and the Ottawa National Forest very close by. We just have to expose people to the beauty and joy of being in such a serene natural setting, a baptism into the area and what it has to offer. Once people see how moving with and within nature refreshes the mind and body they will be intrinsically motivated to repeat the behavior. We will model for them the enthusiasm and joy that we take in working so that others might have a better experience in a place that we love to be. Hopefully we will be contagious. We are asking for your support in this community improvement project!

Thank you,

Ni-Miikanaake,

Ironwood, MI chapter of the North Country Trail Association

 
Works Cited
Allen, Daniel. “A breath of fresh air: it’s official, fresh air is good for you, according to a new report from the Sustainable Development Commission.” Mental Health Practice 11.10 (2008): 8+. Academic OneFile. Web. 8 Feb. 2011.
Mason, Mary Claire. “Walk on the wild side: the key to a healthier lifestyle could be as simple as engaging in regular outdoor activity in open spaces.” Nursing Standard 23.42 (2009): 20+. Academic OneFile. Web. 9 Feb. 2011.
Vaira, Douglas. “Health and the outdoors: exploring the mechanics behind a generally held belief: play in the out of doors is a good thing.” Parks & Recreation Oct. 2009: 29+. Educator’s Reference Complete. Web. 10 Feb. 2011.

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I went to the national meetings the governement had and their adgenda was to get more pepole to go to the great outdoors and wanted to know how to accomplish that. However the meetings were nothing more than groups wanting money for their group or wanting money to take more land from private owners and to get more money to support the existing park because there was not enough money spent on existing parks but other want more parks????????

I would just like to take my family dirt bike riding but the government massivly restrict that.

The Government need to get back the business of keeping us safe from outside threats, infrastructure, police and fire. Stop wasting billions of our hard earned money to try and make us do something many don’t want to do. The government has no business wasting our money on this crap.

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Outdoors where? The kids don’t even play in the woods in our neighborhood any more! I wonder how many have so much as even grabbed a tree branch in the last decade – much less climbed the whole tree!

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There are definitely two sides to the conservation/preservation issue, but they are on the same coin. We need places preserved for the sake of human health, that humans and their machines can’t despoil….wilderness.

However, I supervise a recreational trail crew for the USFS, and we snicker at all the flatlanders that will never experience the beauty that is America’s wild places. We joke that the only people who use the trails, that we work our butts off on, are other Forest Service employees that understand the incredible resource this country provides (yes this is a bit of hyperbole). We very, very rarely see people further in the back country than 2-3 miles. Outfitters are the exception, but they are typically confined to the hunting season and use pack animals to get in any distance.
Personally, from this perspective, we have enough wilderness in Montana. What is needed are green recreation corridors connecting the areas that people rarely use, and green belts surrounding our urban areas that border upon these green corridors. This strategy kills many birds with one stone.
1) Local, green “accessible” recreation areas that cater to multi-use. Jack, above would have more places to ride, but they wouldn’t be in the middle of a grizzly bear recovery area.
2) Reduction in urban interface environmental problems. Floods, wildfires, etc. The green corridors and surrounding urban green belts are not zoned commercial or residential and provide a buffer against areas proven to be sensitive to environmental frequent natural environmental disturbance. This saves tax payer dollars, lowers insurance premiums and federal disaster bailouts.
3) Enhances biological diversity by allowing species the ability to move between low density areas of human habitation.

This is a great starting point President Obama…lets continue the dialog about how to “win the future”. There is no future without a healthy planet & healthy urban environments for our children.

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Whats the real agenda here?
The way I connect with the great outdoor was with trail riding on a dirt bike. But here in California in the past 10yrs I’ve watched attack after attack on this form of recreation. By BLM, EPA, and the forest service. I’ve watch closers of my favorite riding area’s in what seems like an attempt to do away with the sport all together.
I need to know if by joining this that it supports my right to use the great outdoors the way I see fit. Or if it supports taking away my rights to public lands.

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It doesn’t help when state and local governments like VA Fish and Wildlife decide to support one version of recreation at the expense of others. Why is kayaking outlawed in Burke Lake (Burke, VA)?

Or Anne Arundel County (MD) decides to give away access to the Chesapeake Bay (Contee’s Wharf) when there is already very limited public launch access.

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How interesting, Connecting to the Great Outdoors when all the tree huggers and conservatives have done their best to close areas that were actually recreated on by young people, seniors and the disabled. Hard to “connect” when their is no place to go. Our tax dollars at work.

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I am not sure what the point of this site is. It looks like it is a general information portal. What kind of comments are you looking for? Will there be surveys, or controversial topics?

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