Talking about OHVs in District No. 1

By: 
Ron Rossknecht
Pennington County Commissioner

On Feb. 25 and 26 I virtually attended the 2021 Black Hills Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) Summit via an invite from the Black Hills National Forest Supervisor’s office headquartered in Custer. 

There was a limit of 100 attendees, which included employees of the Black Hills National Forest, Nebraska National Forest, South Dakota Game Fish and Parks, Black Hills Tourism Industry, OHV Club associations, local government, South Dakota Department of Transportation (DOT) and private stakeholders.

As Pennington County Commissioner of District No. 1, I spoke in behalf of my constituents who have experienced a sudden increase in OHV traffic over the past few years keeping in mind that District No. 1 encompasses most of the Black Hills National Forest situated in western Pennington County. 

In a nutshell, concerns centered around the impact these recreational vehicles are having on our national forest lands, i.e., wildlife, ecosystems, rangelands, livestock and watersheds.  On a county level, our gravel roads in District No. 1 are taking a beating and as the roads deteriorate, the only funding mechanism for repairs is the burden of county taxpayers.

No doubt, as a county commissioner attempting to be fair to all sides concerned, this issue is a double-edged sword and as such I want to be open minded going into the future.

At stake are the economic benefits generated by OHV’s and the environmental longevity of our national forest lands of which many involved have called the Black Hills home all their lives.

At stake are economic benefits and the longevity of our national forest lands and wildlife.

Observations from the moderator were:

1. The Black Hills region is blessed with a great deal of collaborative capacity relative to OHV traffic.  On the one hand there is a great compassion for OHV recreation and a respect for that passion. Additionally, participants agreed that the region benefits many different people in many different ways, with which OHV recreation needs to be balanced being fair to both sides.

 2. One clear outcome from the summit was the emerging understanding that although a great deal of OHV recreation takes place on the Black Hills National Forest, the Forest Service cannot control this recreation on its own, let alone on lands not in their jurisdiction. City and county officials confirmed this by offering support for ongoing collaboration. OHV recreation clubs offered support for ongoing education and communication efforts.

3. The livestock community is deeply concerned regarding interactions with OHV users e.g., opening and not closing gates. This is a direct economic impact for producers and participants were vocal in their support to address the issue.

4. OHV use is an issue on trails and on roads and affects recreationists of many types, i.e., residents, counties, cities, law enforcement, search & rescue, ranchers, sportsmen, businesses, non-governmental organizations and many others. The issue is “wicked” in the sense that it is complicated and controversy is involved.

After two full days of meetings, most agreed that there is a need for continued meetings with a cross section of all stakeholders to help arrive at an equitable solution for all involved.  The results of those meetings could be submitted to the Forest Service for future consideration.  It was suggested that the Black Hills Council of Local Governments serve as the third party facilitator.

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