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May. 12, 2011
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources has permanently closed three off-road vehicle (or ORV) trails. The Green Ridge, Chandler, and Poplar Lick trails had been temporarily closed pending the results of a forest certification audit. That audit, which was completed recently, was part of the state's effort to receive dual certification for all three western Maryland state forests—a move the DNR claims will protect the $950 million western Maryland forest products industry, and secure 9,200 jobs.
"The DNR has been looking closely at the sustainability of these ORV trails for the past few years. While it is unfortunate that these three trails must be closed, the decision is based on the results of environmental assessments conducted by the department and the results of our recent forest certification audit," said Steven Koehn, DNR state forester.
"These trails were built and sited decades ago and long before the current trend of riders and riding machine options," continued Koehn.
"The locations of the trails are not sustainable in their current configuration, and they cannot be reconfigured to protect the environmental features located on these lands. We came to fully understand these facts as we reviewed all of our state forest management activities in preparation for a statewide forest certification audit. We were not surprised that the forest audit confirmed these particular ORV trails were unsustainable."
Green Ridge trail is part of the Green Ridge State Forest; Poplar Lick trail is in the Savage River State Forest; and Chandler trail winds through the Pocomoke River State Forest. Walk-in access will still be permitted, including walk-in camping at Green Ridge and Poplar Lick trail camping areas.
The Green Ridge trail vehicle-access closure is effective in all sections of that trail, including the portion formerly open to licensed on-road vehicles.
"While it is unfortunate that these three trails must be closed, to do otherwise would be irresponsible," said John Griffin, DNR secretary.
"The good news is that this process has brought to light the need for us to more actively engage with the ORV community. Input from several hundred stakeholders has underscored the fact that this important community of outdoor enthusiasts deserves the opportunity to ride and is prepared to do so responsibly in partnership with DNR."
The DNR has stated that it recognizes ORV trails and riders as an important part of the Maryland outdoor recreation community and has pledged to identify new and improved trail locations.
Such options include several privately owned sites with "ready to ride" trail systems in place that could be purchased or leased by DNR, and/or its partners, to provide public ORV trail access. The DNR is also considering several existing public land locations for inclusion in this new trail evaluation process.
Read the full article here.
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