Rampart Range sides discuss limiting vehicle use

Environmentalists and ATV owners, hikers and dirt bike riders — the groups have a long history of being at each other’s throats in Colorado.

At least 180 of them came out Wednesday night for a public meeting on a U.S. Forest Service proposal to limit off-highway vehicle use in the heavily used Rampart Range northwest of Colorado Springs, where 125 miles of illegal trails exist.

Wednesday’s meeting was amicable, and both hikers and OHV riders appear to be mostly happy with the agency’s proposal.

“Compared to other Forest Service districts, this one gets a big attaboy for being fair, at least for now,” said Colorado Springs OHV rider Don Riggle, director of the Trails Preservation Alliance.

The big question for many was, what are the numbers?

“Everybody’s asking me, ‘What’s the net loss and gain? What’s the final tally?’” said Forest Service recreation planner Frank Landis. “Well, it’s pretty close.”

The agency’s proposal would mean 10.9 fewer miles of OHV routes in the areas.

“I think they did a good job trying to get some balance,” said Corey Corbett, a rider from Littleon and secretary of the Colorado Off-Highway Vehicle Coalition. He is concerned about the agency’s proposal to ban vehicles from the 16,000-acre Manitou Experimental Forest.

Some nonriders agreed with the Forest Service that changes are needed.

“There’s a tremendous problem, the illegal, social trail, off-the-map use,” said Jim Lockhart, conservation chairman for the Pikes Peak Group of the Sierra Club.

He questioned why the agency wants to build new trails, when it has many in need of work.

Steve Bonowski, of Lakewood, a member of the Colorado Mountain Club, likes how the plan keeps vehicles on the west side of the Rampart Range, while offering hikers opportunities on the east side.

Despite the rancor that often exists between hikers and OHV users, he said it is only a few who cause problems.

“There’s always going to be that small percentage that don’t care, but the majority of OHV riders are law-abiding and they will stay on the trail,”  Bonowski said.