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DNR looks for middle ground in debate over managing forest
By Amber
Paluch For more information on the alternatives for the Northern
Highland American Legion State Forest, check the Department of
Natural Resources Web site at http:dnr.state.wi.us/master_planning/NHAL.
Wausau Daily Herald
Northwoods residents are fighting a plan that could eliminate up to 40
miles of snowmobile trails in favor of undisturbed wildlife habitat in
Wisconsin's largest state forest.
Critics say the state is considering uses for the Northern
Highland/American Legion State Forest that are too restrictive and would
hurt local businesses. They are rallying local communities to have a voice
in two public hearings this week on the proposal.
To comment
The public can comment on the plan by March 18 on the Web site or
by writing to Dennis Leith, NHAL Forest Superintendent, 8770
Highway J, Woodruff WI 54568.
Public hearings will provide maps of the alternatives and will be
held this week:
• 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. today: Boulder Junction Community Center,
5386 Park St.
• 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday: Marathon County Public Library, 300
First St., Wausau.
Last year, 2 million people visited the 225,000-acre forest, which is
spread among Iron, Oneida and Vilas counties. They hiked, biked, fished,
skied and rode snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles.
The state Department of Natural Resources is working on a plan for land
management, recreation and wildlife that likely will change how forest
users interact.
For the more than 330 members of the Eagle River Area Chamber of Commerce
and Visitors Center, the main concern is the possibility of closing pieces
of public land and closing or redirecting trails, said Executive Director
Conrad Heeg.
"This (issue) has really got a lot of people tuned into it, and
there's a lot of frustration up here," Heeg said.
The DNR is updating a 20-year-old master plan that guides development of
the land. The update is required by state statute, and it's a good idea
because state officials have changed their attitudes about forests from a
focus on timber management to a full range of public uses, said Dennis
Leith, forest superintendent with the DNR.
Work on the plan began four years ago, and the department has weighed
public opinion throughout, Leith said.
"I think reaction has been mostly to the alternatives on the far ends
of the spectrum, and we kind of anticipated that," he said.
Alternatives run the gamut from eliminating campsites and providing more
space between units to providing new campgrounds and updating them with
electricity, for example.
Many Northwoods forest users are concerned about an alternative that calls
for using 80,000 acres, or 36 percent of the land, for a wilderness area,
with no trails or public access, Heeg said.
All-terrain vehicles are allowed on only a few town roads in the forest,
so ATV users travel to Iron County to ride, he said. That takes income
from restaurants, gasoline stations and other tourism-related businesses
near the forest.
"Most people would like ATV trails with compromises," Heeg said.
"Overall, ATV traffic will bring money to our area ... It hurts to
see those trailers go by here, knowing that they're not going that far
away."
Heeg said many ATV users favor alternatives that add ATV trails in Vilas
County.
All possibilities are on the table, Leith said, and state officials are
looking for comments exactly like Heeg's to help them develop a preferred
alternative, which will again go before the public. Leith said he hopes
the process is completed by late fall.
Business owner Jay Verhulst of Arbor Vitae has been following the DNR's
work as a member of Taxpayers for Fair Zoning. He said he thinks the state
should allow residents open access to the forest, rather than restrict its
use.
The state expects to find a middle ground, Leith said.
"Compromise is going to have to be the key to this management
plan," he said. "I'm thinking that when it's completed, no one,
especially specific interest groups, will be able to stand up and cheer,
'I got everything I wanted.'
"But my hope is that when this plan is completed, groups and
individuals can say, 'Yeah, I see a little bit of what I was after in the
plan.'"