The Road-RIPorter

Bimonthly Newsletter of the Wildlands Center for Preventing Roads. March/April 2000. Volume 5 # 2

The Scourge of
Industrial Recreation
By Bethanie Walder

Industrial recreation
stinks . . .
It stinks of hydrocarbons, diesel
fuel and other foul emissions that
poison our air and water.

Industrial recreation
is ugly . . .
It is the eyesore of foot-deep
ruts from an off-road vehicle that
funnel sediment into bull trout
habitat. It is the vertical clearcuts
and resort development of Forest
Service ski areas. It is the slick of
oil from jetboats and jetskis on Snowmobilers roar through Yellowstone National Park, in an all-too-common scenario which
depicts the fundamental conflict between industrial recreation and wildlife protection. Photo
public rivers. It is the off-road
by Bethanie Walder.
vehicle manufacturers, ski area
developers and jet boat builders -
the recreation industry - jockeying for position to
open public lands to more and more high intensity
Industrial recreation is expensive . . .
recreation.
It costs a tremendous amount of money to
upgrade the infrastructure of parks and forests for
Industrial recreation is loud . . . convenience and drive-through recreation. It costs the
It sounds like the rowr-rowr-rowr of a two stroke Forest Service and Congress their autonomy, when
engine - a sound that destroys the super-sensitive they give away oversight of the public lands in
hearing of the kangaroo rat, so it can no longer hear, exchange for money from industry to improve or
and therefore escape, its predators. It is the sound of create recreational facilities and opportunities on
80 people getting out of their diesel-powered bus on public lands. Industrial recreation promotes the
the rim of Hell’s Canyon after you’ve just spent all highest income-generating recreation on public lands -
morning sweating and hiking to the top. It is the it promotes ecological destruction.
sound of the recreation lobby talking to their allies in
Congress, and then they, in turn, talking to the
agencies to maintain motorized recreational access. — continued on page 4 —
 From the Wildlands CPR Office... Wildlands
C
Center for
P
Preventing

I R
Roads
t’s President’s Day Weekend and the snowmobiles are roaring through
Yellowstone National Park, again raising the question about appropriate uses of
National Parks and all public lands. In this vein, our cover story focuses on the
mounting threat to public lands from recreation. We have written about these issues Main Office
before, but the recreation fee demonstration program and other insidious efforts to P.O. Box 7516
privatize public lands are actually gaining ground and it’s time to pull the rug out Missoula, MT 59807
from under them. Please pass along the information from the cover story to every- (406) 543-9551
WildlandsCPR@WildlandsCPR.org
one you know and help us keep the public lands public and non-motorized. www.wildrockies.org/WildCPR
Because we are including our 1999 Annual Report in this issue, we ran out of
space and could not fit a Legal Notes section. Look for Legal Notes to return in our Colorado Office
next issue. P.O. Box 2353
Boulder, CO 80306
(303) 247-0998
Welcome
Wildlands CPR is pleased to In this Issue prebles@indra.net

welcome Marnie Criley as our new Wildlands Center for Preventing

Roads works to protect and restore
roads policy coordinator. Marnie wildland ecosystems by preventing
brings several years of experience Cover Story p. 1, 4-5 and removing roads and limiting
working in landscape restoration in motorized recreation. We are a
western Montana, prior to which she DePaving the Way, p. 3 national clearinghouse and network,
worked as an activist for Hells Canyon providing citizens with tools and
Bethanie Walder strategies to fight road
Preservation Council. Marnie will be construction, deter motorized
handling your road information recreation, and promote road
Odes to Roads, p. 6
requests, developing new road-fighting removal and revegetation.
Marion Hourdequin
resources, leading workshops and
Director
helping coordinate an environmental Bethanie Walder
response to the upcoming long-term Wildlands CPR
transportation policy. Feel free to e- Annual Report, p. 7-9 Development Director
Tom Youngblood-Petersen
mail her at: marnie@wildlandscpr.org
or to call her at our Missoula office if Regional Reports & Alerts, Office Manager
you have questions or need assistance p. 10-11 Cate Campbell
on road fights. Interim ORV Campaign
We are also pleased to welcome Bibliography Notes, p. 12-13 Coordinator
Karen Wood DiBari to the Wildlands Jennifer Ferenstein
Katherine Postelli
CPR Board. Karen has worked on
ORV Policy Coordinator
environmental issues in Alaska for New Resources for Road Rippers, Jacob Smith
many years and brings great experi-
p. 11, 14 Roads Policy Coordinator
ence and insight to Wildlands CPR.
Sadly, at the same time Cindy Shogan Marnie Criley
has left our board. We’ll miss you Newsletter
Cindy. We also welcome new interns Ethan Mace and Sarah Harris, graduate Jim Coefield, Dan Funsch
students from the Univ. of Montana, who will be working on legal analysis for us. Interns & Volunteers
Noelle Brigham, Jennifer Browne,
Thanks Sarah Harris, Chuck Irestone, Ethan
Thanks to all of you who have sent in donations or renewed your memberships Mace, Katherine Postelli, Scott
Thomas
to Wildlands CPR recently. These donations are a critical part of our funding and we
couldn’t do this good work without you. Thanks, too, to Marion Hourdequin. Her Board of Directors
three-year effort to develop a special section about the ecological effects of roads for Katie Alvord, Sidney Maddock,
Rod Mondt, Cara Nelson,
the journal Conservation Biology has finally come to fruition. With eight separate Mary O'Brien, Scott Stouder, Karen
articles on the ecological effects of roads, it is a most significant peer-reviewed Wood DiBari
consolidation of road science. Congratulations, Marion! (And thanks to the Moun-
taineers and Temper of the Times Foundations for helping fund the section.) Please Advisory Committee
Jasper Carlton, Libby Ellis,
see page 14 for information about the special section and how you can order a copy. Dave Foreman, Keith Hammer,
Timothy Hermach,
Upcoming events Marion Hourdequin, Lorin Lindner,
Andy Mahler, Robert McConnell,
Wildlands CPR is working with several other groups, including Friends of the Stephanie Mills, Reed Noss,
Earth, American Lands Alliance and The Wilderness Society, to host a national Michael Soulé, Dan Stotter,
conference about ORVs April 7-8 in Washington DC. Please call the office for Steve Trombulak, Louisa Willcox,
more information about the conference and how you can register. Bill Willers, Howie Wolke
c 2000 Wildlands CPR

2 The Road-RIPorter March/April 2000

Science as Knowledge, Science as Advocacy
By Bethanie Walder

F
or the first time ever, a collection of peer-reviewed articles on the cures of these devastating diseases? These activists
ecological effects of roads has appeared in a leading scientific had their personal health or the health of their loved
journal. 1 The February 2000 issue of Conservation Biology ones at stake. Isn’t the health of the planet and all
includes an 8-article special section on the ecological effects of roads, who live upon it equally important?
comprising nearly one-third of the 300-plus page journal. The issue is less one of who is asking the
Articles like these are critical to environmental advocates fighting questions, or even who is funding the research, but
roads. Good peer-reviewed science is one of the best tools activists have what questions are they asking, what methodology
to defend wild lands against continued resource extraction and destruc- are they using, and is the data available to the public.
tion. And while new science is coming out every day, it is rarely As environmental advocates, we have the following
consolidated and coordinated. Since our inception, Wildlands CPR has obligations:
tried to connect activists, scientists and lawyers, and we’ve been 1. Help generate the funds to ask important
successful. But as we come to understand the impacts of roads and public interest questions;
ORVs on ecological systems, we realize how much more research is 2. Conduct replicable, objective research by:
needed. a. working with citizens to collect prelimi
Several years ago, Mary O’Brien, a nary data through monitoring and ground-
public interest scientist (and also board truthing, and
member of Wildlands CPR), wrote an b. working with universities, scientific
article called, “Being a Scientist Means societies and federal agencies to conduct
Taking Sides.” Her premise was that all short and long-term research on public
science is inherently value-based, interest science issues (e.g. developing and
because choosing questions to ask (or not disseminating lists of crucially important
ask) is value-based. But, as she noted, masters and PhD dissertation topics); and
once a researcher asks a question, the 3. Publicize and utilize results of these scientific
scientific method must be followed studies, regardless of whether their results
stringently and objectively. It is critical (if validly arrived at) agree with our previous
that the environmental community hunches.
improve its connection with the scientific
community and offer input on the types If the environmental community fails to assist
of questions that researchers are asking. either in finding funding for public interest research,
For example, the 1998 annual or in posing critical questions, then we fail to develop
conference of the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) included a an appropriate foundation for our advocacy.
two-panel symposium on road removal, and their 1999 conference Whether or not the results of this research favor
included one session on road removal. But those same conferences particular elements of our advocacy, they will
included dozens of panels on many different aspects of forest restora- influence it, and they will help us to advocate for the
tion other than road removal. The contrast highlighted the dearth of best possible protection and restoration options for
information about the ecological benefits and drawbacks of road wild lands. While the recent special issue of Conser-
removal and the different techniques and levels at which road removal vation Biology adds to an already large body of
can and should be researched. knowledge about the ecological effects of roads
Perhaps, ten years from now, there will be as many road removal themselves, we have much opportunity to increase
sessions as there are sessions on other aspects of forest restoration at our knowledge about roads, off-road vehicles, and
the annual SER meeting. The Society for Ecological Restoration and the appropriate and inappropriate methods of wildland
Society for Conservation Biology present two clear opportunities to restoration through road removal.
promote scientific research on wildland restoration by removing roads
and limiting off-road vehicles. But more opportunities must be created,
and as the environmental community we are ideally situated to do so.
For example, the timber, mining and grazing industries may have footnote
the funding and clearly have the financial incentive to conduct research 1. While not peer-reviewed, the proceedings from the 1996, 1998 and 1999
proceedings from the International Conference on Wildlife Ecology and
that answers particular questions. Environmentalists can work with Transportation, by the Florida Department of Transportation and others, are an
charitable foundations and public officials to identify funding to answer invaluable resource on the wildlife impacts of roads for activists, transporta-
tion planners, wildlife biologists and others. These articles, however, focus
questions that are at the heart of social debates in our society. Some more on how to mitigate the effects of roads on wildlife, than on the effects
may argue that activists should not promote or fund scientific research, themselves.
Similarly, the recently released “End of the Road,” report by Ayesha Ercelawn
but this is absolutely not the case. Where would breast cancer or of Natural Resources Defense Council (see RIPorter 4:6), provides an excellent
Alzheimer’s knowledge be today if activists hadn’t pushed, cajoled and annotated bibliography on the science of the effects of roads. This report
differs from the Conservation Biology special section in that it is an analysis of
strongly lobbied for federal funding into researching the causes and existing science, rather than a release of new science.

The Road-RIPorter March/April 2000 3

The Scourge of Industrial Recreation
— continued from page 1 —

O
utdoor recreation became a national past-time in the National motorization may be the most evident connection,
Parks and National Forests of the United States around the turn commercialization and privatization are more
of the century, but especially so between World Wars I and II. insidious, and more difficult to challenge. Below is a
Henry Ford had invented the Model A and as the cars rolled off the line, brief introduction to the these three issues.
they rolled into the woods. The National Parks and Forests both began
catering to auto-recreation, with many of the roads originally built for Commercialization
recreational access, not logging. Many conservation organizations were The recreation fee demonstration program is the
initially formed (most notably The Wilderness Society (see RIPorter 1:7)) clearest example of the commercialization of public
to fight recreational impacts rather than resource extraction. lands. This program (see RIPorter 2.6) was started in
1996 and has grown exponentially since. Simply
put, it requires people to pay to recreate on public
lands. Prior to fee-demo, the fees that could be
charged for recreational use of public lands were
restricted to campgrounds, boat launches, National
Parks & Monuments, etc.
Fee-Demo was an idea born in private meetings
between wreckreation interests and federal land
managers, and it eliminated the restrictions on the
types of fees that could be charged. Perhaps most
importantly, passing the Fee-Demo program (as a
rider) repealed the section of the Land & Water
Conservation Fund Act that prohibited charging
recreation fees.
While most recreation fees collected remain
where they were generated, the Forest Service uses
questionable economics to try to prove that their
revenues exceed the costs. Even more importantly,
the US Congress has cut recreation appropriations at
Industrial recreation is the latest product of the government-private enterprise
partnership. File photo. a level commensurate with the revenue generated by
the fee demonstration program. This provides public
lands with the same amount of revenue, but creates a
For example, in 1921, Aldo Leopold said “recreational development perverse incentive (without enough visitors to an
is a job not of building roads into wild places, but of building receptivity area, managers can’t afford to maintain it). It also
into the still unlovely human mind.” Leopold’s words are as relevant leads to the commodification of nature. Once the
today as they were 80 years ago. The Forest Service in particular, has American public starts to view the natural world, and
come full circle from an agency focused on recreational access, to an especially public lands, as commodities, the easier it
agency focused on industrial resource extraction, to an agency refocus- becomes to exploit them.
ing on recreation, but this time it appears to be industrial strength.
At a speech in Missoula, Montana on
February 3, 1999 Forest Service Chief
Mike Dombeck likened the recreation
industry of today to the timber industry When public lands are freely accessible, there is no
of 20 years ago. While he was focusing
on the overcutting of trees in the 70’s financial incentive to develop them or to treat
that led to significant declines in timber them like a recreational commodity.
production in the 90’s, other similarities
may be more relevant. The recreation
industry of today has succeeded in
influencing recreation policies on federally managed lands. And like
timber extraction in the past, many recreational developments occur
with limited environmental analyses. The most significant example is Privatization
the disregard of applicable law (like the executive orders that regulate Privatization can refer either to transferring land
off-road vehicles - see RIPorter 5:1) by public land managers. In ownership or transferring management control of
addition, many recreational developments are approved with categorical public lands, as when a ski resort is built on lands
exclusions when full environmental analyses would be far more that remain in public ownership. In that case the use
appropriate. of the land has been turned over to private interests
But what is industrial recreation exactly? It can be summarized in and other competing interests are effectively pre-
three words: commercialization, privatization and motorization. While empted. Similarly, the use of public land is privatized

4 The Road-RIPorter March/April 2000

when an outfitter is given a guaranteed allocation for
using a limited recreational resource. For example, a
private citizen must wait 12-15 years to raft the
Colorado River through the Grand Canyon, but you
can get on a commercial trip almost immediately,
because the commercial operators have been given a
share of the resource.... i.e., a portion of the access
has been privatized.
Privatization necessarily follows commercializa-
tion. While private enterprises have always reaped
profit from public lands, their profits are increasing
rapidly, and private interests are orchestrating public
policy changes to facilitate the windfall. One clear
example of the connection between private, for-
profit industry and recreation policies on public
lands is seen in the annual “Partners Outdoors” High revenues also mean high impacts to natural values like water quality, wildlife
conference. In 1992, the federal land management security, and solitude. Photo by Bethanie Walder.
agencies began cosponsoring this annual meeting.
The ninth annual meeting was held this past
January in Orlando, FL. The invitation stated: National Park epitomizes how motorization can get out of control in a
“Leaders from federal agencies and recreation short period of time. But the gateway community of West Yellowstone is
companies have participated in candid and intense now built around those motors. The Park Service is cow-towing to the
community and its winter management plan does little to restrict
motors within the park. So little, in fact, that the Environmental
Protection Agency recently sent a letter to the park stating that all the
The snowmobiling problem in alternatives within the proposed management plan are illegal in that
Yellowstone epitomizes they are not compatible with environmental law. In our first national
park, accommodating motors politically outweighs protecting the
how motorization can get out environment. And the National Parks are not alone - decisions on lands
managed by the Forest Service and BLM often favor motorized recre-
of control in a short ation over the mandates of land protection.
period of time.
Conclusion
Industrial recreation is a lie. It perpetuates the myth of the greater
American culture that we can drive through the natural world and still
sessions – which have proved successful in increas-
experience it from our air-conditioned, CD-playing sport utility vehicles.
ing the flow of ideas for cooperation between the
It pretends that loving the land to death is better than logging the land to
public and private sectors and resulted in more than
death. It fosters the mistaken perception that the Forest Service is
two dozen concrete recommendations for joint
steward of the land rather than promoter of its uses.
actions.”
The results of these meetings are more high
Industrial recreation is a nightmare, and it’s playing now,
intensity, high impact, revenue-generating recreation
on federal lands near you.
on public lands. With partners like The Walt Disney
Company, Yamaha and American Honda the confer-
ence is unlikely to have the best interest of the land
or the American people at heart.
There is a logical transition from privatization of
management control to privatization of ownership
and at some fundamental level, the privatization of
lands having recreational value comes right back to
the ability to charge the public fees for the use of
those lands. When public lands are freely accessible,
there is no financial incentive to develop them or to
treat them like a recreational commodity.

Motorization
If public land management agencies have to rely
on recreation to generate revenue, they will promote
activities that generate the most income. This sets up
a set of perverse economic incentives similar to those
which drove the Forest Service into decades of
overcutting.
The snowmobiling problem in Yellowstone
Drawing by Noelle Brigham

The Road-RIPorter March/April 2000 5

 Odes to Roads

Going My Way?
By Marion Hourdequin

T
oday, a typical late winter day in Missoula, clouds blanketed the metal boxes for a drive out to a National Forest or
sky like thick grey wool. Partly I wanted to stay inside and drink park for a chance to exchange concrete sidewalks for
tea, but I also wanted to go to the public library, a good slushy a dirt path, for a little while at least.
day activity. I was wearing a long skirt, and biking didn’t much appeal: I
envisioned mud and grit splattering round my ankles as I tried to hike Yet lately, I’m finding, the motorized frenzy
up the skirt to prevent embarrassing and damaging encounters between doesn’t stop at the city limits. In fact, it continues
the thin fabric and my bike chain. No. Biking just wouldn’t do. I right through our public lands, beyond roads even,
decided to walk.

As I set out, I had to shout down a neighbor’s

snarling dog – an inauspicious start perhaps – then I You see, hardly anyone walks anymore,
passed by another neighbor, who was working on his
truck, and likely wondering where I could possibly except maybe from the car to the house, or
be going on foot.
the parking lot to the office.
You see, hardly anyone walks anymore, except
maybe from the car to the house, or the parking lot
to the office. Or an evening stroll with the dog. But when you’re going snaking its way through all sorts of forests, meadows,
places (a phrase that has taken on a very complimentary connotation in along ridges and into valleys. It’s the new recreation
recent years), you get in a car, or at least hop on a bicycle (although even craze. Why walk when you can drive?
bikers are sometimes viewed as freaks, shouted down and told, “Get off
the road!”). A few weeks ago a friend of mine told me about
Australian aboriginals who talk gibberish every time
In any case, as I walked through downtown Missoula, I wondered they ride in a car. It seems that this odd turn of
how my experience compared to that of the occupants of the many cars language results from the sheer speed at which they
streaming by. I saw the sidewalk, littered with stray soggy brown leaves. travel. These people learn the land on foot; they
I noticed new signs in storefront windows, watched Jim at Garden City learn stories to narrate their walks along the land, to
Printers working away. What do they see? I wondered. mark and guide their way. When the experience of
moving across the land accelerates, their words
I sensed a driver’s impatience as I crossed with the walk signal accelerate as well, until the stories become virtually
while a man in an oncoming car unintelligible.
waited to take a right turn. What
does he see? An obstacle? What will happen to the stories of our native
Another human being? Hard to land as our movements accelerate into a noisy roar
say. and a blur of spinning wheels? Somehow I’m
uncertain that we can grow to truly know a place at
Hard to say. It’s not easy to 50 miles per hour, or even 30. But maybe it’s easier
know what people see when at this speed. We don’t have to see the plants we’re
they’re boxed up in metal crushing, don’t stop to bend down and pay respects
machines, radio blaring, cell to a squashed beetle or the remains of a small
phone ringing, munching mouse, fallen prey to a hawk. From inside the heated
Cheetos while talking with the cab of a feller buncher, we can pluck trees from the
boss. Am I exaggerating? stump without ever hearing the crackling cries of
Perhaps. Admittedly, the experi- death.
ence is somewhat alien to me. I
don’t do the daily automotive Life is easier, perhaps, without wet drops of rain
commute, and I rarely drive pelting our heads, without the chill of autumn wind,
around town. But don’t think I’m without hot summer sun. But is it better?
innocent. I occasionally drag
myself, half-kicking-and- Marion Hourdequin is a plant ecologist and
screaming, into one of these graduate student in philosophy. She also
happens to be the former co-director of
Doesn’t anybody walk anymore? Photo
by Bill Cunningham.
Wildlands CPR.

6 The Road-RIPorter March/April 2000

 Wildlands CPR
1999 Annual Report
Y
2K might have fizzled, but we at Wildlands CPR will remem- We said goodbye to Tom Skeele and
ber 1999 as “Y2Wheels, the Year of the Motor.” The whine of Mary Byrd Davis, who finished out their
engines and motorized recreation advocates became the terms on the Wildlands CPR Board of
conservation issue of 1999, and we committed a full 50% of our Directors, while Cindy Shogun joined
budget to battle the ORVs, ATVs, Jet Skis, HumVees, and Motorcycles the board. Thanks to Tom, Mary, and
that scar, erode, pollute, and invade our public lands with a ceaseless the rest of the board for all their
clamor. assistance and welcome to Cindy.

We responded to this and other road-related

challenges with a variety of complimentary strategies:
by filing an administrative rulemaking petition with the
The whine of engines and motorized
Forest Service (along with The Wilderness Society and recreation advocates became the
106 other groups) to strictly regulate ORV use; by
organizing around President Clinton’s roadless initia-
conservation issue of 1999.
tive; by pressing for solid science in the long-term roads
policy; by suing to stop a parking lot expansion in
Glacier National Park (preserving a rare old growth cedar hemlock
forest); and by helping stop the illegal re-building of South Canyon Foundation Support
Road in Elko County Nevada, blocking, for now, the “Shovel Brigade’s” In 1999 Wildlands CPR received
attempt to keep the old, washed out road alive. funding from the following foundations;
their support is greatly and graciously
appreciated:
Organizational Development Town Creek Foundation, Turner
Foundation, Peradam Foundation,
Membership and Volunteer Services Harder Foundation, New-Land Founda-
Along with over 260 individual members, Wildlands CPR enjoys tion, Temper of the Times, Mountaineers
the good company and hard work of 201 grassroots organizational Foundation, Patagonia (Dillon store),
members from Anchorage, Seattle, Bloomington, Gainseville, Roanoke, Kongsgaard-Goldman Foundation,
Pincher Creek and many more places in the U.S. and Canada. These Wilburforce Foundation, Fund for Wild
groups represent over 100,000 conservation minded folks, giving road Nature, Weeden Foundation, Lazar
and motorized recreation concerns a voice to be reckoned with. Many Foundation, Maki Foundation, and
thanks to our members, the heart and soul of Wildlands CPR. Foundation for Deep Ecology.

We also want to thank all our donors, those who

have donated in-kind services, and the following
tireless, tremendous volunteers: Katherine Postelli,
Carla Abrams, Noelle Brigham, Marion Hourdequin,
Andy Geiger, Chuck Irestone and Karen Vermilye.

Staff and Board

In early 1999 we said goodbye to our cheery
information specialist Dana Jensen but hello to our oh-
so-competent and humorous office manager, Cate
Campbell. Scott Groene came on board for four months
this summer to help develop our ORV campaign, while
Jen Ferenstein and Dave Havlick completed several
projects for Wildlands CPR on contract. Our favorite
newsletter editors Dan Funsch and Jim Coefield
continued their tenure.

Wildlands CPR conducts a road removal workshop in the Gifford-Pinchot

National Forest. Photo by Wildlands CPR.

The Road-RIPorter March/April 2000 7

Clearinghouse and Outreach
We made effective use of the print media in 1999, writing or
contributing to articles on restoration, roads and ORVs that were
published in Wild Earth (Winter 98-99), Backpacker (September ‘99) and
The Gainesville Sun. More than twenty other national newspapers ran
articles about our ORV rulemaking petition, and Wildlands CPR was
even “featured” (slammed really) in a pro-motorized recreation website,
demonstrating that our work is really making people pay attention.

We also made the most of electronic media. We upgraded our

website by adding an on-line library of our extensive collection of
bibliography notes, legal notes, and field notes, and we developed an
ORV database and website including new ORV monitoring forms for
snowmobiles, environmental impacts, and user conflicts. Finally, we
began publishing a biweekly e-mail newsletter titled “Skid Marks,”
which reports on ORV and road issues nationwide.

Our bi-monthly newsletter,

The Road-RIPorter, continues to
be a strong voice and resource
“Thank you for the for activists. Articles from our
excellent publication six 1999 issues were reprinted
in various publications with
The Road-RIPorter. special attention to our story
about high school students
You skillfully fill an surveying road closures. A An obliterated roadbed and recontoured slope in
important niche member from Minnesota Redwoods National Park. Photo by Bethanie Walder.
wrote, “Thank you for the
nationwide.” excellent publication, The Road- In November we held our first desert road
RIPorter. You skillfully fill an removal workshop in conjunction with the Sky Island
important niche nationwide.” Alliance. With 25 volunteers and the Forest Service’s
blessing, we capped several years’ worth of road
We presented our slide show, “Why Didn’t the Toad Cross the inventories by ripping a closed road in the Dragoon
Road?” in Arizona, North Carolina, and many points in between, and Mountains. We also held a road workshop at the
attended many conferences and workshops around the country. We environmental law conference in Eugene. Groups
presented at such varied venues as the third International Conference around the country continue to successfully monitor
on Wildlife Ecology and Transportation, the Congress on Recreation and roads using our inventory sheets and methods. A
Resource Capacity (Snowmass), the Wild Rockies Rendezvous senior transportation planner from San Francisco
(Missoula), the Forest Reform Rally (Salt Lake City), and the Society for wrote, “I believe you are one of the most important
Ecological Restoration Annual conference (San Francisco). advocacy groups in the U.S.”

Issues The (ORV rulemaking) petition calls on the Forest

Roads Service to develop an aggressive, uniform policy giving
In October, 1999, President specific direction on how ORVs should be managed to
Clinton announced a plan to
protect National Forest roadless protect resources and eliminate user conflicts.
areas throughout the country.
While the details of the plan
remain in question, we’ve been working with other conservation
organizations to organize a positive public and agency response. We Motorized Recreation
also coordinated a national working group to address the ongoing long- As mentioned earlier, our biggest project in 1999
term transportation policy, the precursor to Clinton’s roadless initiative. was the administrative rulemaking petition to
We’ll be re-starting our roads working group once the draft transporta- overhaul ORV regulations on Forest Service lands.
tion policy is released in early 2000. We know that by setting solid The petition release on December 7, 1999 was the
criteria for transportation planning at the national level, we can save a culmination of months of work by Wildlands CPR,
lot of time at the local and regional levels. Wilderness Society staff and DJ Shubert, a wildlife

8 The Road-RIPorter March/April 2000

 1999 Financial Report
1999 Revenue
Earned
Income
Total Revenue:
Misc. Dues &
$1,770
$3,540 Donations $177,030
Grants 2% $12,392
1%
$159,327 7%
90%

“I believe you are

one of the most
important advocacy
groups in the U.S.”

1999 Expenses
Organizational
Development Clearinghouse
$24,549 $19,981 Roads
14% 11% $15,297
Motorized 9%
Recreation
Admin.
$86,981
$28,420
Total Expenses: 50%
16%
$175,228

biologist contracted to prepare the petition. Nearly 200 pages long, the To compliment these public education efforts
petition calls on the Forest Service to develop an aggressive, uniform and legal action, we designed a motorized recreation
policy giving specific direction on how ORVs should be managed to workshop to provide local activists the tools and
protect resources and eliminate user conflicts. The response was lively. skills needed to challenge ORV developments. We
The Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, Reuters, AP, MSNBC and others all held our first at the Heartwood conference in
wrote about the petition. An interested Vermonter wrote, “I just read Michigan.
about your petition to the Forest Service for a comprehensive nationwide
policy on ORV use. Hooray!”

Our report, Roaring From the Past, summarizes and analyzes the Conclusion
results of Wildlands CPR’s national Freedom of Information Act request Whether in the courts, in discussions with
about how each National Forest manages ORVs. The report also federal land managers, or on the ground, Wildlands
provides specific examples of the on-the-ground effects of off-road CPR is working non-stop to address road and ORV
vehicles. problems in wildland ecosystems. We’re looking
forward to another great year; thanks for your
continued support!

The Road-RIPorter March/April 2000 9

 Regional Reports & Alerts
Final Plan for North America’s Deepest Canyon Scientists Call for House
In 1975, the U.S. Congress
Cleaning of Parks Canada
passed a special law to protect a Independent scientists studying the
special place. The deepest canyon in environmental effects of the Trans
North America and adjacent wild- Canada Highway are convinced that
lands were designated as the 652,000 Parks Canada officials are willfully
acre Hells Canyon National Recre- neglecting their legislated responsibility
ation Area (HCNRA). to protect wildlife. The scientists are
The HCNRA harbors amazingly asking Heritage Minister Sheila Copps to
diverse wildlife habitats and is a clean house and remove senior managers
critical biodiversity corridor connect- who are ignoring biological information.
ing the ecosystems of the Pacific Eighteen University and Parks
Northwest. It contains over 300,000 There has never been a better opportunity to
protect Hells Canyon — support the Native Canada scientists described a bleak
acres of roadless backcountry; future for wildlife during a recent
Ecosystem Alternative. Photo courtesy of Hells
endangered spring chinook salmon; summit on transportation and wildlife in
Canyon Preservation Council.
healthy predator populations; the Banff National Park. Within the past two
largest free-roaming elk herd in the decades, at least 1,720 large animals
United States; rare plants like MacFarlane’s Four O’clock and have been killed on the Trans Canada Highway and the
extensive native grasslands; old growth boreal forests; and Canadian Pacific Railway in Banff. Researchers presented
abundant recreation from whitewater rafting to mountain concerns about grizzly bears, wolves, elk and moose, and
biking, backcountry skiing and hiking. agreed that for many animals, the highway disrupts access to
The Wallowa-Whitman National Forest released its Draft food and shelter.
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the new HCNRA The scientists participating in the summit unanimously
Comprehensive Management Plan February 22. The EIS agreed that Parks Canada has failed to maintain ecological
includes the Native Ecosystem Alternative, an independent integrity in the Bow River Valley. Agency efforts to reduce the
management plan developed by a coalition representing local, effects of highways with fencing, overpasses, and underpasses
regional and national conservation groups; local native have failed to meet the standards dictated by legislation.
American tribes; and other professionals. You can help shape Summit participants were dismayed by the public com-
future management policy for the Hells Canyon Ecosystem! ments of a senior Parks manager, Dr. Bruce Leeson, who stated
Public comments will have a tremendous influence to the media that there are no problems with the highway.
because the Forest Service needs to be reminded that Hells Another senior Parks official told summit participants that
Canyon is a NATIONAL treasure. Please write a letter to the commerce is more important than the ecology of the Bow
address listed below. Key issues you should raise are: River Valley. The disconnect between Parks scientists and
senior managers indicates that a major overhaul is required to
♦ Adopt the Native Ecosystem Alternative as the new align Parks Canada to its primary mandate of maintaining
management plan. ecological integrity.
♦ Grasslands currently free of livestock should be Despite unanimous agreement by the scientists that
closed to commercial grazing. elevating or burying the highway is the best solution for
♦ Close Lord Flat, Kirkwood, Big Canyon and upper achieving ecological integrity, Parks Canada disagrees. Senior
Parks officials made it clear they were not interested in
Pittsburg Landing Roads. politically or financially expensive solutions such as elevating
♦ Prioritize programs of holistic ecosystem restoration, the highway. Scientists predict, however, that unless new
not commodity extraction. strategies are found, wolves, bears and other large carnivores
♦ Dedicate the 31-mile “wild” section of the Snake Wild will continue to decline in the Bow River Valley.
and Scenic River as nonmotorized.
♦ Require monitoring as a condition for continuation of
any commercial and motorized activities.

Please write to the Forest Service today! The comment

deadline is June 15, 2000! Write To:

Karyn Wood, Supervisor

Wallowa-Whitman National Forest -
P.O. Box 907
Baker City, OR 97814
Submit your comments by June 15! Photo
For more details, visit the information-packed, special courtesy of Hells Canyon Preservation Council.
CMP web site at www.hellscanyon.org.

10 The Road-RIPorter March/April 2000

Lawsuit Challenges Gallatin ORVs
New Resources for
Four conservation groups are suing the Gallatin
National Forest to force the agency to monitor
snowmobile and off road vehicle traffic and assess its
Road Rippers
impacts on grizzly bears.
Their lawsuit was filed in federal court in Butte,
Montana. Plaintiffs include the Predator Conserva- So Many Toys, So Little Time!
tion Alliance, Sierra Club Grizzly Bear Ecosystems
Project, Park County Environmental Council and the You can almost smell the exhaust. Clouds of it are rising lazily
Biodiversity Legal Foundation. The suit argues that around a group of snowmobilers itching to hit the trail in one of our
increased ORV and snowmobile use in the Gallatin is national forests. It’s a scene that looks vaguely familiar, though you
equivalent to open roads in terms of its impact on haven’t been in this place with these people. This feeling of familiarity
grizzly bears. is one of the strengths of a new video by Joe DeFelice, called “Motor.”
Snowmobiles disturb grizzlies and can force It’s a simple name for a complicated subject.
them to seek new dens during winter months, “Motor” is an evocative story about off-road vehicles (ORVs) on
according to Shawn Regnerus of the Predator public land and waterways. This is a tale of consumptive recreational
Conservation Alliance. And snowmobiles are still users and their critics. All manner of ORV use is featured and you cringe
common in the woods when grizzlies emerge in at some of what you see and hear, thinking about damaged areas you’ve
April. seen and quiet outdoor days ruined with motorized racket. DeFelice has
While there is much information documenting managed the delicate task of presenting a multi-faceted and potentially
the adverse impacts to grizzlies from roads, the incendiary story in a straight-out and smooth way. The pace is brisk
Forest Service has never studied the effects of ORV and the interviews are riveting with anecdotes, science and activism.
and snowmobile use. There are sharp, appealing visuals and an unusual soundtrack, but
this isn’t just another video of beautiful scenery. It can’t be. “Motor”
points out the inherent disconnect in a motorized world: “The car
windshield has become a TV screen with passing scenery just another
show.” This is a call to reconnect with the natural world and to reckon
with the exploding growth of ORVs. It’s stunning to learn that between
1977-1993 the number of ORV users increased over 900%. More users
create more visceral noise and more political noise as well: the clamor
for more land on which to recreate.
The video takes you to ORV hotspots in various ecosystems and
introduces you to activists, scientists and motorized recreationists, each
with their own tale to tell. You learn about new generation motorized
“toys” like personal gyrocopters and in-line trail skates with pneumatic
tires. You hear of victories like San Juan County, WA, banning jet skis
and winning a precedent setting case where county law superceded
state law. You see the cumulative damage done when land managers
abdicate responsibility for proper oversight. One only wishes a few
district rangers were interviewed to gain insight into their lack of
effective response.
“Motor” is a modern tale well told. It is an effective graphic tool for
activists and one that renders more information with each viewing.
“Motor” is produced and directed by Joe DeFelice. Order a copy for
$30 from: High Plains Films, 801 Sherwood Street, Missoula, MT 59802
joed_emc@yahoo.com. Call Wildlands CPR for more information.

— Video review by Cate Campbell, Wildlands CPR office manager.

The long-term transportation policy offers a chance to
confront a backlog of maintenance on the FS road network,
like this plugged culvert. Photo by Bethanie Walder.

Transportation Policy Released Orion Partners with Wildlands CPR

On March 2, the Forest Service released its long-awaited, long-term Subscribe to Orion ("America's Finest Environ-
transportation policy. The policy will guide how the agency manages its mental Magazine" - The Boston Globe) and Orion
road network, and presents an excellent opportunity for road activists to Afield ("Best New Magazine" - Utne Reader Awards)
push for road removal and restoration. and 33% of your subscription gets donated back to
The 60 day comment period is now open, and Wildlands CPR staff Wildlands CPR! An annual subscription is $30,
will prepare an action alert with an analysis of the draft policy. Watch which brings you 4 issues of each magazine
your mailbox! For a copy of the draft Environmental Assessment and (and $10 to Wildlands CPR). Go to
Federal Register notice, go to http://www.fs.fed.us www.orionsociety.org/ogn.html for details.

The Road-RIPorter March/April 2000 11

 Bibliography Notes

Raptors and Roads

By Katherine Postelli

I
n the October, 1927 edition of Auk, a game commissioner
from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania reported that since Novem-
ber of 1924, 113 permits to collect screech owl specimens
from roadsides had crossed his desk. The requests, he noted,
came from every county in PA, and were made during every
month of the year. Of the 113 dead owls, 82 of them were
determined to have been hit by cars (Sutton, 1927). While
these numbers were startling to a wildlife manager in the
1920s, they would hardly catch the attention of a state game Roads are putting raptors on the ropes. File photo.
commissioner today. The crisis of avian road mortalities has
increased consistently in a positive relationship to national
road density in the 70 years since the report was made.

Attraction to Roads Collisions

In 1988, Dhindsa et al. completed a study of roadside While it is difficult to argue that avifauna road deaths do
birds in India that revealed a host of reasons why birds were not significantly impact species populations, it is equally
drawn to roadways: availability of digestive grit for use in difficult to determine whether roads are threatening species
gizzards, standing water puddles, a supply of carrion, abundant survival rates. Research into road mortality of the little owl
nest and perch sites, and a source of solar radiance during (Athene noctua) in Spain revealed that “mortality caused by car
colder winter months. Although roads affect small mammal collisions represents 82% of non-natural deaths in Athene
populations in various ways (see Road RIPporter 4.2), Getz et noctua” (Hernandez 1981). Road casualties are the predomi-
al. (1978) and Huey (1941) found roadways to be well-utilized nant cause of non-natural mortality of the little owl, yet the
dispersal corridors by at least one important rodent prey relationship of these figures to total species mortality is
species for raptors: Microtus pennsylvanicus, the meadow vole. unknown. While road death would seem to present evidence
Utility poles along roadways also serve as attractants for of population disruption by its sheer numbers, Hodson (1962)
seeking suitable hunting perches and nesting locations and Snow (1965) pointed out that avian road casualty figures
(Bevanger 1994). may be inflated due to the ease of finding such specimens as
compared to owls who died in other ways. Researchers agree
Population Manipulation along Roadways that the majority of road-killed birds are juveniles killed as a
result of inexperience with moving vehicles (Dhindsa et al.
Roadside bird populations in India were found to change
1988, Vestjens 1973, Brown et al. 1986, Hernandez 1988).
significantly depending upon the size and order of the road.
Raptors are also killed after colliding with power lines along
Species diversity, or the “relative abundance and number of
roadways.
species in a community,” declined as roads were widened from
one to two lanes, and again from two to four lanes (Dhindsa et
al.). Equitability, or the evenness in species abundance and Perching Predator: Shocking Results
species-richness, was also found to decrease with an increase Roads are indirectly responsible for the electrocution of
in road width. Three raptors, including the black kite (Milvus millions of birds worldwide through their close relationship
migrans), the Eurasian kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) and the with utility rights-of-way. Roads cleared of large vegetation
spotted little owl (Athene brama), were all recorded to decline and parallel power line corridors combine to create a deadly
both near roadways, and further as roads were widened situation for birds-of-prey.
(Dhindsa et al. 1988).
Birds are electrocuted on power lines when they touch
MacArthur et al. (1961) demonstrated that overdominance two electrified wires, or a wire and a ground (Bevanger 1994).
of a few common species is typical of less complex habitats, In North America where poles and crossbars are made of
such as roads. In the case of India’s roadside bird population wood, a non-conductor, electrocution takes place among larger
along four-lane roads, four dominant species made up “87% of species whose wingspan can bridge the gap between wires.
the total individuals of 35 recorded species” (Dhindsa et al. Countries in Western Europe, South America, and Africa use
1988). As roads are widened traffic increases, resulting in steel utility poles, which themselves can provide the deadly
higher levels of noise and air pollution. These factors combine ground (Ibis 137; Hobbs and Ledger 1986).
to repel many avian species, including most raptors.

12 The Road-RIPorter March/April 2000

 Pylons and wires along cleared roadsides attract birds by
providing hunting perches, rest, roost, and nest sites where References
trees are rare. Species which attain high speeds while hunting
also are more likely to collide with the power lines: kestrels, Bevanger, K. 1994. Bird interactions with utility structures:
Peregrine falcons, gyrfalcons, harriers, golden eagles, and collisions and electrocution, causes and mitigating
goshawks have demonstrated a tendency for power line measures. Ibis 136: 412-25.
collisions (Bevanger 1994). Nocturnal species and birds active Brown, R. J., M. N. Brown, and B. Pesotto. 1986. Birds killed on
during twilight periods also are expected to be vulnerable to some secondary roads in Western Australia. Corella 10:
crashing into artificial obstacles. 118-22.
Dhindsa et al. 1988. Roadside Birds in Punjab (India): Relation
In Spain, Negro’s 1987 national survey of avian electrocu- to Mortality from Vehicles. Environmental Conservation
tion revealed the deaths of 15 species of birds-of-prey (Ibis 15(4): 303-10.
137). Across the world, the following raptor species have been Ferrer, M., M. de la Riva, and J. Castroviejo. 1991. Electrocution
reported dead under utility lines: of raptors on power lines in southwestern Spain. Journal of
Field Ornithology 62(2): 181-90.
California Condor Northern Goshawk Getz, L. L., F. R. Cole, and D. L. Gates. 1978. Interstate
White- Tailed Sea Eagle Cape Vulture roadsides as dispersal routes for microtus pennsylvanicus.
Eurasian Kestrel Imperial Eagle Journal of Mammalogy 59:208-212.
Common Buzzard American Kestrel Hobbs, J.C.A. & J. A. Ledger. 1986. Powerlines, Birdlife, and the
Golden Eagle Tawny Owl Golden Mean. Fauna & Flora 44: 22-7.
Peregrine Falcon Martial Eagle Hodson, N. L. 1962. Some notes on the causes of bird road
Barn Owl Red Kite casualties. Bird Study 9(3): 168-172.
Tawny Eagle Little Owl Hodson, N. L. and D. W. Snow. 1965. The road deaths enquiry,
Black Kite 1960-61. Bird Study 12(2): 90-99.
Huey, L. M. 1941. Mammalian invasion via the highway. Journal
(Bevanger 1994, Hobbs & Ledger 1986, Ferrer et al. 1991, of Mammalogy 22:383-385.
Ibis 137 1995) Ibis. 1995. Mitigating measures to reduce electrocution of birds
on power lines: a comment on Bevanger’s review. 1995.
Impacts to Populations Ibis 137: 423-4.
During a 1982-83 field survey in Spain’s Donana National MacArthur, R. H. and J. W. MacArthur. 1961. On bird species
Park, researchers found 233 dead birds-of-prey beneath a 100 diversity. Ecology 42: 594-8.
km section of power line. “The more than 300 km of power Sutton, G. M. 1927. Mortality among Screech Owls of
lines present in and along the bordering area of Donana Pennsylvania. Auk vol. XLIV.
National Park may electrocute more than 1,200 birds-of-prey Vestjens, W. J. M. 1973. Wildlife mortality on a road in New
annually” (Ferrer et al. 1991). Of the areas surveyed, utility South Wales. Emu 73: 107-12.
lines along roadsides saw fewer avian mortalities than those in
less-disturbed areas of the park, perhaps a result of increased
raptor flying height near roads. Researchers recommend that
utility rights-of-way parallel those of roads in order to decrease
impacts to raptors. However, without raptor population
density measurements, it is impossible to conclude the relative
impacts to bird-of-prey survival rates between habitats.

Conclusions
♦ raptors are attracted to roads for availability of prey
species, hunting perches, and nest sites;
♦ raptor populations may be unnaturally manipulated
by the repelling effects of air and noise pollution associated
with roads;
♦ utility structures located within road rights-of-way are
causing the deaths of millions of birds of prey around the
world each year, potentially having detrimental impacts to
endangered eagle population viability; and
♦ more study is needed to determine the impacts to
species populations of road impacts including collisions,
population modifications, and power line structure interac-
tions.

— Katherine Postelli is Missoula’s busiest intern. If Drawing by Noelle Brigham.

she’s not writing about raptors, she’s probably out
watching them.

The Road-RIPorter March/April 2000 13

New Resources for Road Rippers
A Revue of Road Impacts

T
he scientific information relating to the ecological Banff National Park. They found that responses to wildlife
effects of roads is voluminous. Yet until recently, crossings are species-specific and depend on factors such as
much of it was tucked away in highly-specialized landscape characteristics and proximity to areas occupied by
technical journals, making it difficult to reach. Fortunately, a humans.
new resource is available to citizen-activists, scientists, and
land managers. The February 2000 issue of Conservation 5. The Effects of Forest Roads on the Macroinvertebrate
Biology contains a special section on the ecological effects of Soil Fauna of the Southern Appalachian Mountains: David
roads, with eight peer-reviewed papers that synthesize past Haskell contributed a short study on the relationship between
work and introduce new data for understanding roads’ roads and soil invertebrates. He found a reduction in both
ecological impacts. Conservation Biology is a well-respected diversity and abundance of soil insects near roads, and he
scientific journal that should be accessible at any major suggests that such changes may affect bird foraging behavior
college or university library. A brief discussion of the articles and success.
are listed below.
6. Light Availability, Dispersal, and
1. Review of the Ecological Effects of Roads Exotic Plant Invasion Along Roads and
on Terrestrial and Aquatic Communities: Streams in the H.J. Andrews Experimental
The special section opens Forest, Oregon: The work of Laurie
with a review of the Parendes and Julia Jones shows correla-
ecological effects of tions between roads and exotic plants
roads by terrestrial (as well as between streams and exotic
biologist Steve plants). They introduce a model
Trombulak and aquatic where roads serve as corridors that
ecologist Chris Frissell. facilitate the spread of invasive
This review provides an plants.
overview of the literature
and also forays into new 7. A Perspective on Road
territory by integrating roads’ Effects on Hydrology, Geomorphol-
terrestrial and aquatic effects. ogy, and Disturbance Patches in
Stream Networks: The seventh
2. Estimate of the Area paper, by Julia Jones, Frederick
Affected Ecologically by the Road Swanson, Beverley Wemple,
System in the United States: and Kai Snyder, examines road
Richard Forman, a landscape effects on hydrology and
ecologist from Harvard University, geomorphology. The authors
develops the idea of the “road- argue that hydrology and
effect zone,” a zone of ecological geomorphology are
impact extending outward from a important to understanding
road. Forman also estimates that aquatic impacts at the
approximately 20% of the land area landscape scale. In
of the United States is ecologically- addition, they develop a
affected by roads. conceptual model for
understanding roads’ effects on the
3. The Ecological Road-effect Zone of patterns of patch disturbance in stream systems.
a Massachusetts (USA) Suburban High-
way: In collaboration with Robert 8. Lagged Response of Wetland Biodiversity to Road
Deblinger, Forman conducted the study Construction on Adjacent Lands: The final paper, by Scott
leading to this paper, which examines the road-effect zone of a Findlay and Josee Bourdages, illustrates that the effects of
specific Massachusetts highway. The techniques used could be roads on biodiversity may not be detectable for decades after
widely applied to examine the impacts of roads and highways roads are built. This lag time suggests that road impacts must
elsewhere. be assessed over a long time horizon, and that we may not
have yet seen the full effects of existing roads.
4. Factors Influencing the Effectiveness of Wildlife Under-
passes in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada. In the fourth To order a copy of this valuable resource, see the Society for
paper, Tony Clevenger and Nigel Waltho focus on wildlife Conservation Biology web site at http://conbio.rice.edu/scb/ or
crossing structures for the Trans-Canada highway in Alberta’s contact the Wildlands CPR office.

14 The Road-RIPorter March/April 2000

 Wildlands CPR Publications: Bibliographic Services:
Road-Ripper's Handbook ($15.00, $25 non-members) —A Ecological Impacts of Roads: A Bibliographic Database (Up-
comprehensive activist manual that includes the five Guides dated Feb. 1998) —Edited by Reed Noss. Compiled by Dave
listed below, plus The Ecological Effects of Roads, Gather- Augeri, Mike Eley, Steve Humphrey, Reed Noss, Paul Pacquet
ing Information with the Freedom of Information Act, and & Susan Pierce. Contains approx. 6,000 citations — includ-
more! ing scientific literature on erosion, fragmentation, sedimen-
Road-Ripper's Guide to the National Forests ($4, $7 non-mem- tation, pollution, effects on wildlife, aquatic and hydrologi-
bers) —By Keith Hammer. How-to procedures for getting cal effects, and other information on the impacts of roads.
roads closed and revegetated, descriptions of environmen- Use the ecological literature to understand and develop road
tal laws, road density standards & Forest Service road poli- density standards, priorities for road removal, and other
cies. road issues.
Road-Ripper's Guide to the National Parks ($4, $7 non-mem- Database Searches —We will search the Bibliography on the
bers) —By David Bahr & Aron Yarmo. Provides background subjects that interest you, and provide results in IBM or
on the National Park System and its use of roads, and out- Macintosh format (specify software), or on paper. We also
lines how activists can get involved in NPS planning. have prepared a 1-disk Bibliographic Summary with results
Road-Ripper's Guide to the BLM ($4, $7 non-members) —By for commonly requested searches. Finally, we offer the full
Dan Stotter. Provides an overview of road-related land and
bibliography. However, you must have Pro-Cite or a com-
resource laws, and detailed discussions for participating in
patible database program in order to use it.
BLM decision-making processes.
Bibliography prices — Prices are based on a sliding scale. Call
Road-Ripper's Guide to Off-Road Vehicles ($4, $7 non-mem-
for details.
bers) —By Dan Wright. A comprehensive guide to reduc-
ing the use and abuse of ORVs on public lands. Includes an
extensive bibliography.
Road-Ripper’s Guide to Wildland Road Removal ($4, $7 non-
members) —By Scott Bagley. Provides technical informa-
tion on road construction and removal, where and why
roads fail, and how you can effectively assess road removal
projects.
Trails of Destruction ($10) —By Friends of the Earth and Wild-
lands CPR, written by Erich Pica and Jacob Smith. This
report explains the ecological impacts of ORVs, federal fund-
ing for motorized recreation on public lands, and the ORV
industry’s role in pushing the ORV agenda.

WILDLANDS CPR MEMBERSHIP/ORDER FORM

I want to join (or renew my membership with) Send me these Wildlands CPR Publications:
Wildlands CPR:
Qty: Title/Price Each: Total:
$250 $100 $50 business
/
$30 standard $15 low-income Other
/
Type of Membership: Individual Organization
/

Name Total of all items:

Affiliation Prices include shipping: for Priority Mail add $3.00 per item;
for Canadian orders, add $6.00 per item.
International Membership — $30 Minimum
Address All prices in U.S. Dollars
Ask about reduced rates for items ordered in bulk.

Please send this form and your check (payable to Wildlands CPR)
Phone/E-mail to the address below. Thank you!
Wildlands CPR • PO Box 7516 • Missoula, Montana 59807

The Road-RIPorter March/April 2000 15

Visions...

Can you find the former roads in this picture? Restoration on the Clearwater National Forest. Photo by Marcel Huijser

Non-profit Organization
US POSTAGE
PAID
MISSOULA, MT 59801
PERMIT NO. 569

Wildlands Center for Preventing Roads

P.O. Box 7516
Missoula, MT 59807

“But some of our elected officials . . .

can’t see the forest for the roads.”

— Senator Max Baucus (D, Mont) in a

statement supporting the
President’s roadless initiative.

The Road-RIPorter is printed on 100% post-consumer recycled, process chlorine-free bleached paper.