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EDITORIAL: County Off-Roading Ban Unfortunate but Proper

Posted on: Thursday, 1 December 2005, 15:00 CST

By The Bellingham Herald, Bellingham, Wash.

Dec. 1--Whatcom County off-road enthusiasts are no longer allowed to ride or drive off-road vehicles on state land east of Deming.

While it's unfortunate that some county residents are going to lose access to recreation they love, we believe the state did the right thing by closing off the area. The salmon that will be protected by the new rules are important to our Pacific Northwest way of life.

We hope off-road users will comply with the ban and take advantage of the Walker Valley Trail System in Skagit County, which the state has specifically set aside for off-road use.

The ban applies to about 10,000 acres of land owned by the Department of Natural Resources along the south side of the north fork of the Nooksack River.

The area is popular with motorcyclists and four-wheelers, and draws more than 100 riders on a busy weekend, according to local enthusiasts.

But, unfortunately, the trails, and the machines being run over them, are causing environmental damage.

State officials say the trails cut by riders are causing sediments to run down into streams that feed into the Nooksack. The sediment travels downstream and covers gravel in the river where chinook salmon and other fish try to spawn. Nooksack River chinook are listed as a "threatened species" under the federal Endangered Species Act.

DNR officials say they have been working the last few years to try and get trail-riders to use the land without causing the damage. But as the population of the area has grown, bringing more riders, the problems have become worse, not better.

The new rule requires all vehicles in the area to stay on logging roads cut by the state.

We know a lot of off-road enthusiasts are very upset and disappointed by the change. But this property is vitally important to the fight to try to restore fish runs in our county. Remember, we are spending millions of federal, state and local tax dollars trying to save and replenish salmon stocks.

We think banning off-road vehicles in such an area is common sense, much like restricting inner-tubing on the south fork of the Nooksack River to protect fish is common sense.

Officials must be conscientious about inhibiting recreation to save nature or they risk creating resentment that may lead to a backlash against environmental regulation. But in this case the problem is obvious and so is the solution.

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To see more of The Bellingham Herald or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.bellinghamherald.com.

Copyright (c) 2005, The Bellingham Herald, Bellingham, Wash.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: The Bellingham Herald, Wash.

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