| Custer National Forest's existing 1987 Travel Plan designates about 100 miles of roads. All travelways not designated are strictly off-limits to motorized traffic. Unfortunately, the virtual absence of law enforcement has created a vacuum into which off-road vehicles plunged with impunity. The result? Overall mileage has more than doubled with addition of some 100 miles of user-created, illegal roads. Virtually all of the special qualities of the Pryors have been adversely affected and many are disappearing under tire track. The situation in the Pryors is in crisis. There is a "perfect storm" of too many vehicles and little or no law enforcement set against damaged finite resources threatens to sweep the Pryors beyond a point of no return. Damage caused by motorized vehicles on poorly planned routes includes destruction of plant life, soil erosion, spread of invasive weeds, disturbance of wildlife, fragmentation of habitat and degradation of entire ecosystems. Uncontrolled vehicle use adversely affects other users of public lands, including ranchers, outfitters and guides, hikers, horseback riders, bike riders, and hunters. |
