The U.S. Forest Service has announced that the use of off-road vehicles will be curtailed partially on some trails through a popular section of the Ouachita National Forest.
Forest Service administrators released a draft decision notice for the Wolf Pen Gap Project - a project that will alter, reroute or obliterate about 40 miles of trails designed for “off-highway vehicles” commonly known as ATVs or four-wheelers.
The Wolf Pen Gap area, about 10 miles east of Mena, consists of more than 16,000 acres. About 80 percent of it is on National Forest land.
Tim Oosterhous, district ranger for the Mena-Oden Ranger District, said the area typically receives 13,000 to 14,000 visitors each year. Although hunting is allowed in the area, most visitors use Wolf Pen Gap for recreational riding, Oosterhous said.
The overall miles of available trails will remain about the same - about 40 miles. But year-round access to about 18 miles of off-highway-vehicle routes will be eliminated and replaced with seasonal access to about 23 miles of trails. Each year, access to the off-highway-vehicle routes will be allowed from the second Friday of March until Oct. 31; from three days before Thanksgiving Day to two days after that holiday; and from Dec. 25 through Jan. 2 each year.
The draft decision is the result of a multiyear study that began after the U.S. Agriculture Department issued its “Final Rule for Travel Management” in 2005, requiring the designation of roads and trails that are open to motor vehicles. In 2010, the Ouachita National Forest conducted an environmental assessment and issued a decision notice regarding its Travel Management Project and began conducting an environmental assessment of the area.
Oosterhous said the Travel Management Project identified Wolf Pen Gap as an “area of concern.”
“We identified some resource concerns related to water quality,” Oosterhous said. “And downstream of Wolf Pen, there are some threatened and endangered species in the Ouachita River that we need to minimize any impact [on].”
The species include three kinds of freshwater mussels - the Arkansas fatmucket, the spectacle case and the rabbitsfoot. Bill Posey, a malacologist for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, said the Arkansas fatmucket is found only in Arkansas and that populations of all three are declining.
Posey said sediment entering streams - often an effect of soil compaction and displacement associated with off-road vehicle use in natural areas - is a big threat to aquatic animals.
Also, the notice said National Forest personnel will monitor trail conditions during rains and will restrict trail access during those times in keeping with the agency’s Wet Weather Management Plan.
The 2010 environmental assessment included nine suggested alternatives to the current trail configuration in the Wolf Pen Gap area. Oosterhous said the Forest Service had worked closely with several local-level entities - including the Ouachita ATV Club and the Mena Chamber of Commerce - before deciding how to proceed in the area.
Oosterhous said he didn’t think the change to seasonal-only access at Wolf Pen Gap would have a big negative effect on local communities.
“Overall, [the plan] provides the most balanced approach for ensuring that we have environmental protection while still allowing responsible use of the area as an ATV trail system,” Oosterhous said. “It’s a balanced approach that’s not going to be 100 percent amenable to everyone involved, but it’s a good middle ground for us.”
In addition to reducing access to the trails, the draft decision outlines some planned reroutes of the trails among the area’s four main trail heads, almost 270 stream-crossing improvements and 15 gate installations.
Oosterhous said the estimated cost of the improvements listed in the report is $3 million. He said his office expects to receive its annual budget this month, at which time administrators will be able to identify any budget shortfalls and begin appealing for outside funding, if necessary.
Publication of the draft decision notice on April 8 began a 45-day public comment period, during which comments and complaints can be lodged with the Forest Service. Written objections can be emailed, faxed, mailed or hand-delivered to the U.S. Forest Service’s Hot Springs office. People also can contact the Forest Service about the Wolf Pen Gap Project at fs.usda.gov/ouachita.
Arkansas, Pages 19 on 04/20/2014