Kimmy
08-18-2005, 09:38 AM
http://www.theolympian.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050705/NEWS/507050302
Off-road riders shift gears to Capitol Forest
Closure of ORV Park reverberates
BY CHESTER ALLEN
THE OLYMPIAN
Campers towing trailers jammed with off-road motorcycles and quads pull into the Middle Waddell Campground on Thursday morning.
Middle Waddell, which offers camping and miles of popular off-road vehicle trails in Capitol State Forest, is one of the few places in Thurston County -- or South Sound -- where off-road enthusiasts can crank up and ride.
"We come here because this is the only spot to go -- unless we go to Oregon," Cory Zimmerman of Rochester said last week.
ORV riders and state Department of Natural Resources officials said the trails in Capitol State Forest and Tahuya State Forest, near Belfair, are getting more and more crowded every year. Trails became more jammed after Thurston County closed its Off-Road Vehicle Park in 2002.
"It has gotten crowded, and the trails have gotten more dangerous," said Scott Johnson, who lives in Milton but traveled with several other families and lots of motorcycles to Capitol State Forest for the long holiday weekend. "Last year, one member of our party got hit three times on a 16-mile loop.
"He got scraped up, and there was no real damage, but it was scary."
The Department of Natural Resources hasn't logged numbers for how many off-road enthusiasts visit Capitol and Tahuya state forests, but the numbers have gone up since the Thurston County ORV park closed, said Jon Byerly, recreation and natural area district manager for Natural Resources.
"There are definitely more ORVs out there," Byerly said. "The weekends are really busy, but people are now coming all days of the week -- people are showing up early in the day to beat the crowds."
Natural Resources has installed counters on trails to find out how many people are using the trails -- and how often, Byerly said.
But it doesn't take a mechanical counter to notice that off-road motorcycles and other vehicles are skyrocketing in popularity, Byerly said.
"The industry is selling them as fast as they can, and folks are buying them," Byerly said. "We've been seeing a 30 percent increase in licensing every year."
While more and more people are riding on trails, there are fewer places for them to ride, said John Eaton, veteran motorcyclist and owner of Dirt Cheap Cycles in Shelton.
The closure of the Thurston County ORV Park has only made the situation worse, Eaton said.
Eaton said he hopes Grays Harbor County takes over and reopens the ORV Park.
Eaton -- and other ORV riders -- pointed out that the state is supposed to use a portion of their yearly vehicle registration fee to provide places to ride.
But that isn't happening, Eaton said.
"If there is no legal place for people to ride, they're not going to quit riding -- they're going to ride illegally," Eaton said. "And we don't want that to happen."
Riders are paying close attention to a possible plan to reopen the ORV Park within a couple of years.
ORV Park in limbo
The state Interagency Commission for Outdoor Recreation gave Thurston County about $1.6 million from vehicle registration fees to open and operate the now-closed ORV Park, said Don Krupp, county administrator.
The county operated the ORV Park from 1979 to 2002, but a rash of severe accidents and worries about lawsuits prompted the county to shut the park down, Krupp said.
Two people died and 33 were injured during the last two years it was open.
The Interagency Commission then took legal action to force Thurston County to repay the $1.6 million.
However, state Sen. Karen Fraser, a Thurston County Democrat, brokered language in the state budget that suspends the legal action and gives Thurston County until June 30, 2006, to transfer the park to a government agency that will open it up again.
If that doesn't happen, the county must sell the park and give the money to the state by June 30, 2007.
Grays Harbor County commissioners are trying to decide whether they want the park.
Krupp said Thurston County is willing to give Grays Harbor County the ORV Park.
But Grays Harbor County isn't sure it wants the park, said Mike Wilson, Grays Harbor County commissioner.
Wilson said that Commissioner Bob Beerbower is in favor of taking over the ORV Park.
But Wilson said he's not convinced yet, and neither is Commissioner Al Carter.
"One problem we've run into is that our risk pool -- our insurer -- is very unwilling to insure the track," Wilson said. "They're leery of injuries that would happen at the track."
Wilson said Grays Harbor is looking at a plan that would lease out the track system -- which includes tracks for four-wheel-drive vehicles, motocross races, a flat track and a sand drag strip -- to a promoter that would carry its own insurance.
Grays Harbor would then run the campground and trail system.
"Giving people access to the Capitol Forest trail system -- we have no problem with that," Wilson said. "But riding on the competitive track puts us at risk."
Wilson said he also doesn't want Grays Harbor County to spend any program money on the park.
Thurston County averaged about 25,000 users a year at the ORV Park -- and broke even, said Michael Welter, county parks and development director.
The ORV budget balanced because of revenue from park admissions and the money from the Interagency Committee for Outdoor Recreation, Welter said.
Wilson said he and his fellow commissioners are carefully considering their options.
Back on the trails
It's unlikely the ORV Park will open this summer -- or maybe not even next summer.
But it is likely that more and more riders will hit the trails in Capitol and Tahuya state forests.
Byerly said he's worried about safety on the crowded trails.
"So far, we've been lucky," Byerly said. "We've had a few injuries here and there, but no severe injuries."
Johnson said he gets steamed every time he thinks about the trail shortage.
The state doesn't hesitate to take the ORV registration money, but the trail system continues to shrink, Johnson said.
"I have nine Hondas and two Yamahas over there," Johnson said, pointing to a row of motorcycles parked under a tarp in his tidy campsite. "They all have tags and are legal, and not one of those was less than $30 apiece."
Johnson said off-roaders care about the land and the forest -- he tagged small trees in his camping area with yellow tape so no one would run a motorcycle over them -- and they should have safe places to ride.
A good start would be to reopen the ORV Park -- and start the process of finding additional areas for off-road riding, Johnson said.
"This is a family activity," he said. "We're a bunch of Boeing supervisors who like to ride -- we're not a bunch of rabble out here."
Chester Allen is outdoors reporter for The Olympian. He can be reached at 360-754-4226 or crallen@olympia.gannett.com.
Off-road riders shift gears to Capitol Forest
Closure of ORV Park reverberates
BY CHESTER ALLEN
THE OLYMPIAN
Campers towing trailers jammed with off-road motorcycles and quads pull into the Middle Waddell Campground on Thursday morning.
Middle Waddell, which offers camping and miles of popular off-road vehicle trails in Capitol State Forest, is one of the few places in Thurston County -- or South Sound -- where off-road enthusiasts can crank up and ride.
"We come here because this is the only spot to go -- unless we go to Oregon," Cory Zimmerman of Rochester said last week.
ORV riders and state Department of Natural Resources officials said the trails in Capitol State Forest and Tahuya State Forest, near Belfair, are getting more and more crowded every year. Trails became more jammed after Thurston County closed its Off-Road Vehicle Park in 2002.
"It has gotten crowded, and the trails have gotten more dangerous," said Scott Johnson, who lives in Milton but traveled with several other families and lots of motorcycles to Capitol State Forest for the long holiday weekend. "Last year, one member of our party got hit three times on a 16-mile loop.
"He got scraped up, and there was no real damage, but it was scary."
The Department of Natural Resources hasn't logged numbers for how many off-road enthusiasts visit Capitol and Tahuya state forests, but the numbers have gone up since the Thurston County ORV park closed, said Jon Byerly, recreation and natural area district manager for Natural Resources.
"There are definitely more ORVs out there," Byerly said. "The weekends are really busy, but people are now coming all days of the week -- people are showing up early in the day to beat the crowds."
Natural Resources has installed counters on trails to find out how many people are using the trails -- and how often, Byerly said.
But it doesn't take a mechanical counter to notice that off-road motorcycles and other vehicles are skyrocketing in popularity, Byerly said.
"The industry is selling them as fast as they can, and folks are buying them," Byerly said. "We've been seeing a 30 percent increase in licensing every year."
While more and more people are riding on trails, there are fewer places for them to ride, said John Eaton, veteran motorcyclist and owner of Dirt Cheap Cycles in Shelton.
The closure of the Thurston County ORV Park has only made the situation worse, Eaton said.
Eaton said he hopes Grays Harbor County takes over and reopens the ORV Park.
Eaton -- and other ORV riders -- pointed out that the state is supposed to use a portion of their yearly vehicle registration fee to provide places to ride.
But that isn't happening, Eaton said.
"If there is no legal place for people to ride, they're not going to quit riding -- they're going to ride illegally," Eaton said. "And we don't want that to happen."
Riders are paying close attention to a possible plan to reopen the ORV Park within a couple of years.
ORV Park in limbo
The state Interagency Commission for Outdoor Recreation gave Thurston County about $1.6 million from vehicle registration fees to open and operate the now-closed ORV Park, said Don Krupp, county administrator.
The county operated the ORV Park from 1979 to 2002, but a rash of severe accidents and worries about lawsuits prompted the county to shut the park down, Krupp said.
Two people died and 33 were injured during the last two years it was open.
The Interagency Commission then took legal action to force Thurston County to repay the $1.6 million.
However, state Sen. Karen Fraser, a Thurston County Democrat, brokered language in the state budget that suspends the legal action and gives Thurston County until June 30, 2006, to transfer the park to a government agency that will open it up again.
If that doesn't happen, the county must sell the park and give the money to the state by June 30, 2007.
Grays Harbor County commissioners are trying to decide whether they want the park.
Krupp said Thurston County is willing to give Grays Harbor County the ORV Park.
But Grays Harbor County isn't sure it wants the park, said Mike Wilson, Grays Harbor County commissioner.
Wilson said that Commissioner Bob Beerbower is in favor of taking over the ORV Park.
But Wilson said he's not convinced yet, and neither is Commissioner Al Carter.
"One problem we've run into is that our risk pool -- our insurer -- is very unwilling to insure the track," Wilson said. "They're leery of injuries that would happen at the track."
Wilson said Grays Harbor is looking at a plan that would lease out the track system -- which includes tracks for four-wheel-drive vehicles, motocross races, a flat track and a sand drag strip -- to a promoter that would carry its own insurance.
Grays Harbor would then run the campground and trail system.
"Giving people access to the Capitol Forest trail system -- we have no problem with that," Wilson said. "But riding on the competitive track puts us at risk."
Wilson said he also doesn't want Grays Harbor County to spend any program money on the park.
Thurston County averaged about 25,000 users a year at the ORV Park -- and broke even, said Michael Welter, county parks and development director.
The ORV budget balanced because of revenue from park admissions and the money from the Interagency Committee for Outdoor Recreation, Welter said.
Wilson said he and his fellow commissioners are carefully considering their options.
Back on the trails
It's unlikely the ORV Park will open this summer -- or maybe not even next summer.
But it is likely that more and more riders will hit the trails in Capitol and Tahuya state forests.
Byerly said he's worried about safety on the crowded trails.
"So far, we've been lucky," Byerly said. "We've had a few injuries here and there, but no severe injuries."
Johnson said he gets steamed every time he thinks about the trail shortage.
The state doesn't hesitate to take the ORV registration money, but the trail system continues to shrink, Johnson said.
"I have nine Hondas and two Yamahas over there," Johnson said, pointing to a row of motorcycles parked under a tarp in his tidy campsite. "They all have tags and are legal, and not one of those was less than $30 apiece."
Johnson said off-roaders care about the land and the forest -- he tagged small trees in his camping area with yellow tape so no one would run a motorcycle over them -- and they should have safe places to ride.
A good start would be to reopen the ORV Park -- and start the process of finding additional areas for off-road riding, Johnson said.
"This is a family activity," he said. "We're a bunch of Boeing supervisors who like to ride -- we're not a bunch of rabble out here."
Chester Allen is outdoors reporter for The Olympian. He can be reached at 360-754-4226 or crallen@olympia.gannett.com.