Marinette County ATV trails Oconto County ATV trails Wisconsin ATV clubs

Welcome to the
NorthernDestinations.com
Marinette and Oconto County ATV Page

Updated April 14, 2008

Monday, April 14, 2008

As most of you know, the ATV trails are shut down every spring due to soft trails. The trails were officially closed on April 1, 2008. We will let you know as soon as they re-open. We continue to have winter-like weather with two snow storms last week. Due to the warmer weather and sunny days, the snow is melting off quickly, but the trails will probably take a while to dry out. This week will bring us temperatures close to 60 degrees. That will help a great deal to bring the trails back to rideable condition.

As soon as the County announces the re-opening of the trails, we will post it here.

Thanks for visiting,

RJB - silvercliff.com

September 13th, 2007

Greetings ATV Riders!

It has been an intense summer with all of the planning stuff going on with the Peshtigo River State Forest. We have had a lot of meetings with the forest planners, with the regional ATV clubs, with WATVA reps, and our state rep. The issue is that the forest planners did not want ATV trails in the state forest, and we did.

So far they are winning. We have gone from "Because of the forest's limited capability, the development of year 'round ATV trails is not proposed."

....The Peshtigo River State Forest has limitations for the development of additional
mileage of year-round ATV trails due to its long-narrow shape,
highly erodible soils, wetlands, and steep slopes in some locations.
The presence of a number of important and sensitive
native community sites creates further limitations for ATV trail
routes on the Forest. While the Peshtigo River State Forest has
limited opportunities to provide significant additional year-round
ATV riding trail miles, there may be opportunities in some locations
to provide short connector trails across the forest.

and

(Property Goal #5..Provide a variety of quality outdoor recreational activities with a focus on non-motorized trail uses, primitive camping,and water access..)

Even though we have sent in literally thousands of pro-motorized comments, had meetings with the planners, and made it clear that we want trails, they just are not getting the whole concept. We are in the third and final draft of the 15 year forest plan, and we are still pretty much locked out. The plan goes in front of the Natural Resources Board September 25-6 of this year for final approval.

The issue is that we have been trying to get a connector trail that would connect the ATV trails by Brandywine Lane and points north to the ATV trails by Hwy W, and have the connector trail visit the businesses along Parkway Rd near High Falls Flowage. Someone named it the "Peshtigo River Connection Trail". That is what all of those banners is about. By my estimation, it would be a 20-30 million dollar boost for local businesses, as well as giving trail access to the thousands of people that live in or visit the area that have ATVs.

Beyond that, the latest draft has the forest boundary expanding the forest from ~9,000 acres to 56,000 acres. That would encompass many of our present motorized recreation trails and declare them an incompatible use. Here is a map of the proposed boundary expansion..

That would eliminate or endanger trails throughout the region.

Item #2... Trail closings.. The ATV trail from Brandywine Ln down to Jungle Jim's and the gas station has been closed for the fall. One of the land owners is an avid bow hunter, and does not want wheelers under his bow stand while he is hunting. The trail will reopen when the snowmobile trails open in December.

We have had problems here before. A few years ago some riders trespassed the trail in fall, and we lost access for the whole next year. If you want access to the gas station and Jungle Jim's next summer, please honor the trail closed signs.

Item #3 Misconduct on public and private roads...

I was at the Silver Cliff Town Board meeting a few days ago. Allen from Jungle Jim's was presenting a resolution to the town board to have them support our efforts to get the connection trail into the forest plan. That didn't go so good.

Apparently some rowdy riders ripped up some roads in a subdivision by where the Rat and Peshtigo River meet over the Labor Day weekend. The town had to send the town road crew up there to fix the road. Somebody's Daddy will be getting a bill for that, and now the area will be under watch, with the cops ready to issue tickets.

At the same time, some riders were ripping up a private road east of C and Parkway, and the board heard about that too.Thankfully the town board supervisors have a sense of humor and they passed the resolution anyway.

It had to suck to be Allen presenting the resolution after the reports of misconduct. The Watersmeet rowdiness was particularly ironic, as the proposed trail would pass right by there and give those guys access to the whole trail system. He was there proposing a trail, and getting sawed off at the knees by the very people it would serve. Jeez.

Anyway, I have been a busy boy this summer working to get the ATV trail through the forest. We have a group formed of local business owners and ATV and snowmobile club representatives. We have hosted meetings, wrote and circulated petitions, advertised comment periods, and actually proposed a few trail routes to the DNR. We will continue to work to this end, though it is starting to smell like a losing battle. Our efforts are falling on deaf ears, and the deaf guy has the power. We are a pretty stubborn bunch, so don't give up yet.

Now comes the part where I need your help!

There are two different ATV related comments open right now and we need every single ATV rider's comments. This is super important.

Number one is a small survey in the DNR's Wisconsin Outdoor News. They are doing a survey asking if state forests should host ATV trails. Of course they should, but the environmentalists don't see it that way, and they are extremely well organized. If the survey comes up no, they will use it as a policy tool to try and exclude trails from state forests. This is problematic since the state owns huge swaths of the northwoods. This one is easy, all you have to do is click yes and submit it. Go to this link and right below the menu on the left side of the page is a survey box. Tell em you want trails. (A big thanks to Muddy Chick for bringing this to our attention!)

Item number two takes a little longer. This is an ATV comment form on the efforts to get trails through the state forest in Vilas, Iron, and Oneida Counties. The survey takes a few minutes and proposes a series of alternatives. I told them that they shouldn't be alternatives, the trails should all be built if the siting was appropriate. We need every inch of trail that we can get.

Let me start at the beginning..

The Northern Highlands American Legion State Forest had it's 15 year management plan come up in 2005. Like our forest, local clubs and riders had proposed trails through the forest. There was also some serious opposition to the trail. In its wisdom the DNR Natural Resources Board gave them two years to form a working group of both ATV riders and antis to come up with a series of trail proposals.

They are in year two of that effort, and it has been a good battle. The antis are well organized and have put up a good fight. They keep having a lot of comment periods to make sure that they get their say and that the pro-ATV forces are not the only ones the DNR hears. With that in mind, we need as many ATV riders to input comments as possible.

The NHALSF plan is one model that the DNR is looking at to manage the ongoing demand for ATV trails in state forests in WI. It is imperative that they are successful and that a lot of ATV riders get comment forms filled out.

There is also the possibility that this is our future here with the Peshtigo River State Forest. If the Board decides that we should follow the same path, it would be good to have the wisdom and support of the people who have already negotiated the path successfully up there. Anyway, here is a link to the input page. Please take a few minutes and fill out the form. Tell them that all trail possibilities should be developed because if 5% of the 300,000 ATVs registered in WI hit the 1,800 miles of trail on one weekend, there would be a bike every 630 feet. Contrast that with a similar number of snowmobiles and their 25,000 miles of trail, most of which are pretty beat up after a Saturday. Tell 'em we need more trails.

So, lets recap..

We have been working madly to get trails through the flowages area and the Peshtigo River State Forest. Our efforts have fallen on deaf ears as the planners just don't want them. We are still fighting, but it doesn't look good.

In the meantime, please be on your best behavior while we are trying to get a decent trail system set up. It gets a lot harder to get permission when reports of misconduct come at the same time that we are proposing more trails.

Please comment on both the state survey and the Northern Highlands ATV trail plan. We need riders to show widespread support on both. Being in the early days of the ATV trail network in Northern Wisconsin, we need to successfully and sustainably set up trails on these projects as the foundation and model for future trail projects and expansions elsewhere in the state.

Well, that is about it for today. Have a good fall season and thank you for visiting!

RJB

9-27-06

ATVs locked out of new Peshtigo River State Forest plan in spite of significant citizen input

The land has the potential to link significant portions of the Marinette and Forest County ATV trails, as well as offer access to possibly dozens of businesses in the flowages area with a very minimal impact on the forest.

Last week I received a preferred alternative and options outline letter from the DNR regarding the planning of the new Peshtigo River State Forest in Marinette County. The forest and the Tommy Thompson State Parks add up to roughly 11,000 acres around Caldron Falls Flowage, High Falls Flowage, and other Peshtigo River impoundments in Northeastern Wisconsin.

The proposed management plan provides many opportunities for many types of recreation, but leaves motorized recreation, and especially ATV users locked out. They will allow existing snowmobile trails and winter use ATV trails(~20 miles), but there is no mention in the plan of upgrades or improved trail opportunities. The 300,000 Wisconsin ATV owners were not considered in the plan and are summarily locked out. The ATV portion of the management plan is summed up in one sentence..

Because of the forest's limited capability, the development of year 'round ATV trails is not proposed.

By using a few existing trails and developing a few miles of recreation corridors in key spots, the forest can have a historic impact on ATV accessibility and tourism in the region with a minimal effect on the balance of the forest plan. The land has the potential to link significant portions of the Marinette and Forest County ATV trails, as well as offer access to possibly dozens of businesses in the area with a very minimal impact on the forest. Many millions of dollars of economic impact are at stake here.

The forest plan allows for all kinds of uses including 28 miles of hiking trails, 15-20 miles of mountain biking trails, cross country ski trails, horse trails and a possible equestrian camp, and will include commercial logging. In all of that, there is no room for even a single roadside ATV trail.

I have been heavily involved with the development of the new park and forest since the WPS proposal to sell the land several years ago. In the initial comment period I informed people about the planners attempts to lock out motorized recreation and specifically ATVs by writing about it on my web site. I put a form on the web and hundreds of you sent in pro-motorized recreation comments. If I recall correctly, we were the top input group commenting. We made it very clear that motorized recreation needed to be a part of the forest plan.

In spite of significant input from local businesses, clubs, and hundreds of motorized recreation users, the planners summarily locked ATV users out. The plan is denying the thousands of ATV riders in the area access to the park, forest, and surrounding areas. At the same time, they are denying our tourism based local economy millions of welcome tourism dollars and tens of thousands of visitors per year. That is not what I would consider being a good neighbor.

As of today 9/27/06 I have contacted several area leaders in OHV recreation and several business owners. We are working on an action plan, and are working to notify interested parties. Until this plan changes, there will be meetings, petitions, comment forms, and anything else that we can do to include motorized recreation in the forest plan. Please pass the word on and pull together to establish historic access in a really important trail link. I will keep this issue updated on my blog web pages.

If we don't get ATV access into the initial management plan, we probably will never see a trail around the flowages region or linking the two systems in the area. It is very difficult to change a management plan to allow ATVs once they are locked out. This is a critical link in the regional trail system, so please help today.

Ray Booth

Northerndestinations.com

contact: rayb at cybrzn.com

Message Board (registration required)- http://www.silvercliff.com/bigsnow/phpBB2/index.php

Blog-

3 seasons-www.silvercliff.com/scindex.html

Snowmobiling-www.silvercliff.com/Bigsnow.html

ATV Factoids

There are almost 300,000 ATVs registered in Wisconsin – that’s more registrations than snowmobiles.” Snowmobile registrations are approximated at 220,000. (Bill Morrissey, director of DNR’s Bureau of Parks and Recreation)(1)

In a WATVA report dated 2003, the annual total spending in WI by all ATV users was $295,285,693. The average age of survey respondents was 40 years. Thirty percent have annual household incomes between $41,000 and $60,000; 24% had incomes between $61,000 and $80,000. The average total per person per trip was $523.33. Taking into consideration Wisconsin's ATVers stayed an average of 3.2 nights, the average daily expenditure was $163.54. ( This info is 3 years old, there are roughly 80,000 more ATVs registered in WI since this study.)(2)

The motorized recreation section of the management plan in context

Snowmobiling on the forest is a cooperative effort with the Marinette County trail system. The existing 20 miles of designated snowmobile trails would be maintained. The existing designated shared winter ATV/ snowmobile trail use would continue. Because of the forest's limited capability, the development of year 'round ATV trails is not proposed. (3)

1-DNR news June 2006 http://dnr.wi.gov/org/caer/ce/news/on/2006/on060606.htm

2-http://www.watva.org/Wisconsin_ATV_Economic_Impact_Study.aspx

(3) -http://dnr.wi.gov/master%5Fplanning/ttsp_pesh/

The ATV Clubs in Marinette and Oconto County invite you to ride our ATV Trails, which we feel are some of the best in the state. After the experience of riding them, may we suggest that you join a club maintains these trails. Contact one of the following local clubs for sign up information.

Dun-Good Riders W11568 Hwy 8 Dunbar, WI 54119 www.dungood.com	The pioneers in the Marinette County ATV trail system, they maintain over 100 miles of trails around Silver Cliff, Goodman and Dunbar
Near North Snowmobile Club Athelstane, WI 54104 Phone: 715-757-5981 http://www.silvercliff.com/nearnorth.html	Near North Snow-Mo Club added a section of trail in 2004 that runs from the Brandywine Rd trailhead in Silver Cliff east to Athelstane. A fun club!
Pemenee River Riders, Inc. P.O. Box 185 Pembine, WI 54156
Woodland Trails ATV Club www.woodlandtrailsatv.com Wheel Inn Bar & Campground	Located about 15 miles west of Crivitz near Hwy W, the trail visits a gas station and places to eat and drink, and connects to the Dusty Trails system in Oconto County. Launch at Wheel Inn, but ask first.
Dusty Trails ATV Club http://www.dustytrailsatvclub.com/	Dusty Trails maintains a large ATV trail system in Oconto and western Marinette County, including the railroad trail from Gillette to Mountain, Lakewood, and Townsend.

Northern Marinette County
ATV Trail System Map

If you click on the map to the right, you will find an enlarged detail map of the trail area highlighted in red.