ATV trails at Burr Oak park raise serious questions

Because all-terrain vehicle recreation is a popular activity among Ohio taxpayers, provision of ATV trails is a legitimate government activity. But they are undeniably some of the most environmentally impacting and energy consuming of sporting pursuits, and their proper siting is critical. The choice of Burr Oak for this purpose is a poor one.

The soils there are highly erodible, the area available is steeply to moderately sloping, and it is a closed valley within which the noise will reverberate. It will be virtually impossible to escape the noise anywhere in the park. So much for the peace and quiet of fishing. There will be increased drainage, hydrocarbon pollution and siltation in streams, and thus into the lake, already polluted. Stream crossings on hiking trails will become more problematical.

Ohio Rt. 78 in this area includes some of Ohio's most hazardous stretches of highway, and putting more heavy vehicles on it, many with trailers, sometimes creating congestion, is inviting traffic fatalities.

There are extensive areas of Wayne National Forest devoted to motorized trails. There are 75 miles in the Athens unit, and 59 miles in the Ironton unit. Four of the Ohio state forests feature ATV trails: Perry, with 12 miles; Richland Furnace, with seven miles; Pike State Forest, with 10 miles; and another five miles at Maumee in northwest Ohio. We have about 163 miles of ATV trails in our region of the state.

Rationally, if more ATV trail systems are provided, it would be logical to place them closer to what could be termed the underserved population, not here. But it would be possible to approximately double the trail mileage at Richland Furnace, to increase by about 50 percent at Perry, and to slightly increase it at Pike. Both Perry and Richland Furnace are old coal-mining lands, with Perry having been heavily strip-mined. Such land is the most suitable placement for these trails.

There are also a few private ATV course providers in the area, including one at the Hocking Hills on the way to Old Man's Cave. Such private operators can survive largely because their trails are not engineered to the higher standards of trails on public land – and that land is being more heavily impacted because of it.

ATV trails are expensive. Gov. Kasich imagines that these will be a money-making activity. Since the soils at Burr Oak are highly erodible, and little level land is available, it will be necessary to create well-engineered trails, with heavy grading, laying geotextile fabric, providing at least two separate layers of graded stone, plus building bridges, and creating a virtually continuous ditching system with frequent culverts. These will cost at least $5,000 per mile to build, and bridges are typically at least $50,000 – and costs go way up from there.

The Wayne National Forest has provided nine helipads in the Athens unit for emergency use, also expensive. There are probably an average of about half a dozen serious injuries in the Athens unit every year. Ridership on the Wayne has actually been dropping for the last three years, because of the economy, the rising price of gasoline, and the fact that the Wayne has been forced to raise its fees in order to cover costs. The user fees of the Wayne system barely cover routine costs, and do nothing to cover capital costs.

There are also questions of liability expenses. The point is that building new trails as a revenue-enhancement feature is ignorant. Providing them in response to perceived constituency desires is a separate argument.

The proposed area on the east side of Burr Oak State Park wouldn't allow much trail mileage. The idea was to use much of the "adjacent" Wayne in conjunction with Burr Oak, and to connect these trails with the Dorr Run/Monday Creek system on the Wayne. This shows an appalling lack of geographic knowledge or research. It would be possible to build a separate, smallish system in the Wayne north of the park, unless the Wildcat Hollow Trail is closed/converted, in which case it could be a medium system. However, this would mean using any substantial part of adjacent Burr Oak is not then feasible unless the horse trails are converted.

In addition, it now appears that this Burr Oak project is being done in the complete absence of a legitimate public input process.

It would be possible to modestly expand some existing systems, and state forests are a far better venue than are state parks. Other outdoor recreation users are less likely to be impacted, existing logging service roads can be modified for ATV use, and some of these forests are, like Perry, heavily impacted former coal lands. ATV trails are simply an incompatible usage in state parks.

Editor's note: John Knouse is a local resident active in land management, trail building, and sustainability activities.