ATV use and salmon stream crossings can coexist

The Wasilla Soil and Water Conservation District has served as a Valley leader in ATV natural resources education and action. The number of degraded salmon stream/trail crossings throughout the Mat Su Basin is daunting. There are ways that ATV trails and salmon streams can coexist in harmony. Courage is required to meet the challenge.

As compared to other state populations, it is estimated that Alaskans engage in outdoor recreation at a rate of four times the national average. The Mat Su Borough (MSB) is home to the most ATV’s in the State. Challenges to serve the motorized public within the salmon-rich watersheds are real.

In the outdoor recreation realm, it simply boils down to two primary constructs: Access and Space. Access is increasing via the development of comfortable mechanized contrivances to transport enthusiasts into the wild. Space is finite. There is only so much ground to go around. A typical management option is to allocate and/or ration outdoor recreation space and designate defined areas for specific uses. “Limits of acceptable change, a land management tool, is introduced to determine the carrying capacity and human use of an area. The quality of outdoor recreation experiences can be maximized for motorized and non-motorized recreation users.

In the Mat Su, outside of state parks/refuges there is a lack of enforcement or field presence to monitor the access to the space. This situation has a deleterious effect on salmon at trail crossings.

ATV use is significantly rising. It is an economic enterprise that efficiently responds to access demands. Fifteen years ago, the trail impacts of the newest side by side utility vehicles and racing models was not anticipated. Most stream crossings do not accommodate machines. Too many trail crossing in the adjacent proximity to the main trail exist. Previously, when bridge crossings were constructed they were designed/constructed to accommodate the width of an ATV. Today, that width is inadequate forcing operators to often cross adjacent to the bridge site damaging stream banks and salmon stream beds.

In trail design, stream crossings are located first and then the trail linkages are connected. Most of our trail development has been back ward. The trail is blazed and the stream is crossed in alignment with the new trail. If the initial crossing does not work, another site is chosen up or downstream resulting in multiple crossings that increase the degradation of salmon habitat. The WSWCD goal is two-fold: 1) conserve salmon resources, 2) protect the rider’s right to responsibly ride. Therefore, in conjunction with ADF&G, the compromise is to reduce the crossing to one preferred location.

Partnering with ADF&G and funded by the MSB, WSWCD is hosting free practical workshops to introduce and educate people to the intricacies of assessing and constructing fish- friendly ATV trail salmon stream crossings. The expected audience are riders, agency/lands/recreation professionals, commercial/volunteer group trail builders, ATV distributors, students, educators and students.

Sessions are scheduled for Wed. Mar. 18 and Sat. Mar 21, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. at the Mat Su Col-lege. To register, contact Chuck Kaucic, District Manager @ 357-4511 or email: distmgr@wasillaswcd.org.

Chuck Kaucic is the district manager of the Wasilla Soil and Water Conservation District.