ABQJOURNAL OPINION/GUEST_COLUMNS: Wild Rivers Not for Vehicles

Sunday, July 04, 2010

Wild Rivers Not for Vehicles

By Dutch Salmon
Silver City angler and author
          The San Francisco River has been called the most perfect representation of primal riparian habitat remaining in the Southwest, better watered and more diverse than the San Pedro River in Arizona and more heavily forested than any reach of the Gila River.
        Hail to the remote, wild canyon of the San Francisco River!
        At 51 miles long, from the hot springs just below Pleasanton to the highway bridge at Clifton, Ariz., the majority of this river represents the best example of a place that should be protected from off-road vehicles in either the Gila or Apache National Forests.
        Or so you'd think.
        In fact it took years to get a 20-mile stretch, from the Mule Creek confluence in New Mexico to Martinez Ranch in Arizona, protected from motorized use. Nearly 30 miles remain vulnerable to this day.
        My wife Cherie and I hiked to the middle section some years ago, seeking the solitude of a remote, protected area, the shade of giant sycamores and Emory oak, and catfish caught from a wild river. The first two days were indeed satisfying.
        On that Fourth of July weekend, no one else had attempted the long hot hike required to get to our campsite a couple of miles below Mule Creek. Bird calls greeted our early mornings and fried filets of a big flathead catfish fed us grandly over two meals.
        Tire tracks along the riverbed and ruts at some of the crossings were disturbing, but the ambience was bucolic.
        Then we heard it, the dull roar coming down the canyon.
        "Surely they'll see the sign and turn back at Mule Creek," I said.
        Cherie shook her head. "Sounds like they're on a mission," she said.
        An hour later four street-legal 4-wheel drive vehicles drove right through our camp.
        We watched as three of the vehicles got stuck at the nearby river crossing. Using chains and winches one vehicle pulled the rest from the muck. It was easy to see where the ruts came from.
        The vehicles disappeared down the canyon, out of sight but never out of earshot.
        This was 15 years ago and unfortunately, not much has changed.
        Today, off-road vehicles have become even more powerful and more destructive. They continue to roar up and down the San Francisco River, damaging wildlife habitat and often ruining the experiences of folks who go there to camp, fish and ride horses in peace and quiet.
        In 2005, former Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth listed off-road vehicle use as one of the top four threats to the health of our national forests, because of the damage to streams, rivers and habitat. This same year, the Forest Service began planning for off-road vehicle use, and now land managers across the country are drafting travel management plans that could help protect our national forests from the long-term impacts of off-road vehicles.
        Last year, the Forest Service released a plan for the Gila National Forest that included several important safeguards to protect important wildlife habitat and ensure that campers, hikers, hunters and anglers have places to enjoy the forest free of the noise, pollution and danger off-road vehicles cause.
        Unfortunately, the wild San Francisco River is not protected.
        It could be classified as a road from the hot springs all the way to Mule Creek. The same thing is planned for the stretch from Martinez Ranch to Clifton in the Apache National Forest side.
        Despite the presence of two threatened and endangered species — the loach minnow and southwestern willow flycatcher — and the expected return of a third — the spike dace — the Forest Service continues to see the river as a playground for off-roaders.
        Off-roaders deserve a place to ride, no one is trying to deny them their fun.
        But so long as the Forest Service continues to see fragile riparian areas as roads, it fails in the spirit of Chief Bosworth's plan to protect our public lands.
        The San Francisco River and the spectacular canyon it flows through are part of our shared natural heritage. We owe it to our children and grandchildren to make responsible decisions so they can enjoy the San Francisco in its natural state.
        When public lands and perennial rivers meet, we must meet them ourselves afoot or on horse to protect this fragile landscape for future generations. There simply is no sustainable way to drive up and down a wild river.
        This column was sent by Cyndi Tuell, Southwest conservation advocate for the Center for Biological Diversity.

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