A master plan for Wisconsin's largest state forest was approved by the Natural Resources Board without an 8- to 10-mile all-terrain vehicle trail that had been proposed for it.
The plan approved Wednesday is to guide operations of the 225,000-acre Northern Highland-American Legion State Forest for the next 15 years.
The new plan calls for adding campsites, establishing a new non-motorized recreational area and seeking to expand the forest's northern boundary to the border with Upper Michigan, where it could connect with the Ottawa National Forest.
While declining to add the ATV trail, the board left open a possibility of doing so in the future.
In making final modifications to the plan last month, the Department of Natural Resources removed the ATV trail proposed near Little Rock and Camp lakes west of U.S. 51 and north of Woodruff.
But the DNR said a group of "stakeholders'' is being organized to meet on the ATV issue over coming months and seek a compromise on access to the forest.
At a hearing Wednesday, most of those who spoke on the master plan opposed ATVs.
"Just because someone has come up with another machine that is noisy and has an internal combustion engine doesn't mean that we have to build trails for them,'' said June Schmaal, of Arbor Vitae.
Randy Harden, president of the Wisconsin ATV Association and an advocate of creating an ATV trail in the forest, was questioned by board members and acknowledged that the sport is hurt by the "1 percent'' of ATV riders who move off trails, causing damage, and drive too fast.
In answer to a question, he said he would support heavy fines for ATV riders who harm the environment, much like the $2,000 penalty for poaching deer.Associated Press via Minneapolis Star Tribune
