On December 10, the PA Environmental Defense Foundation filed a lawsuit in Commonwealth Court to stop the ATV Regional Trail Connector Pilot Project in Northcentral Pennsylvania saying the legislation mandating the project violates the public trust responsibilities under the state’s Environmental Rights Amendment, upheld in several PA Supreme Court decisions.

The lawsuit was filed against the House Speaker-- Rep. Bryan Cutler; Senate President Pro Tempore-- Sen. Jake Corman; and Gov. Wolf in their official capacities.

Also supporting the lawsuit as individuals and members of groups potentially harmed by the Pilot Project are the Keystone Trails Association, Susquehannock Trail Club, Lycoming Audubon Society, Pine Creek Preservation Association, members of the Pennsylvania Forest Coalition and other individuals.

Click Here for a copy of the lawsuit.

Expert Report

A 78-page expert report was filed with the lawsuit by three retired DCNR State Forest District Managers-- Robert Davey, Jr., Roy Siefert, and Robert G. Merrill, Jr.-- who combined have over 100 years of experience as professional foresters managing State Forest lands in Pennsylvania.

Their report concludes, “Based on our combined experience, we are unanimous in our opinion that ATV trail use is not compatible with the ecology of the forest and the principles of ecosystem management adopted by the Bureau in its 1995 strategic plan, Penn’s Woods, Sustaining Our Forests (Penn’s Woods).

“We are also unanimous in our opinion that ATV trail use is not compatible with the Bureau’s duty to conserve and maintain the public natural resources of our State Forest under Article I, Section 27 of the Pennsylvania Constitution; or with the constitutional rights of the citizens of Pennsylvania to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of our State Forest.”

“We have reviewed the DCNR 2021 ATV Regional Trail Connector Pilot (2021 ATV Regional Pilot) and the associated State Forest Environmental Review (SFER) conditionally approved by the State Forester on July 15, 2021.

“DCNR and the Bureau of Forestry were forced to develop this pilot program by the 2020 Fiscal Code amendment.

“The legislation required the program to begin almost immediately. That was made clear by the environmental review that DCNR was forced to do to support this pilot program.”

“The SFER makes no attempt to evaluate the impact of either the initial ATV connector trail pilot in Northcentral Pennsylvania or the ultimate ATV connector trail program throughout the State on the ecology of the State Forest or the ability of DCNR and the Bureau of Forestry to comply with their constitutional duty to conserve and maintain the State Forest public natural resources under Article I, Section 27, or to protect the constitutional rights of the people to the State Forest.”

“The Bureau does not need to have another “pilot program” to study the impacts of ATV use. The Bureau has had over 35 years of experience with ATV use on the State Forest. That use has caused and continues to cause degradation to the State Forest. Increasing this use will increase that degradation.”

“...The “Regional Pilot” is identified in the SFER as only the beginning of a larger ATV development of ATV connector trails in all the Forest Districts. Only two of the five Forests Districts identified in the 2020 legislation are currently part of the program.

“It is impossible to evaluate the full impact of these new ATV connector trails on the State Forest when the full extent of this program is not identified.”

“Based on our review and experience, the Bureau has not demonstrated that ATV use is compatible with the principles of ecosystem management used to assess activities that can be authorized in the State Forest.

“The existing use of ATVs on the State Forest degrades the State Forest public natural resources.

“By authorizing expanded use of ATVs through the 2021 ATV Regional Pilot, the Bureau has authorized further degradation of the State Forest inconsistent with its constitutional duties.”

Click Here for a copy of the expert report.

Background

As part of the state budget settlement in 2018 and 2020, provisions were added to Section 1720-E of the Fiscal Code mandating DCNR develop new ATV trails using State Forest roads and State or local roads under the jurisdiction of the Department of Transportation or political subdivisions of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

The lawsuit says, the respondents “forced DCNR to develop and expand ATV trails on our State Forest and State Parks despite the degradation to these public natural resources documented by DCNR and DCNR’s long-standing policies against further ATV trail development on our State Forest and State Parks.”

A survey of State Forest Districts in 2000 found over 222 miles of ATV trails were approved on State Forest land, but they also documented that over “2,500 miles of illegal trails had been created on the State Forest by ATV users. The illegal trails were causing severe damage to sensitive environmental areas, including streambeds, wetlands, vernal ponds, wild plant areas, and utility and pipeline corridors.

“Both the approved and illegal trails were causing erosion and sedimentation problems. Additional impacts included noise and air pollution.”

As a result of the impacts of the significant illegal ATV use on the State Forest, DCNR issued a temporary moratorium on the development of new ATV trails on the State Forest on September 12, 2001.

In a 2015 ATV Policy, “DCNR specifically reiterated its policy “not to expand the current system of ATV trails on state forest lands,” except for “limited development of connectors, as deemed appropriate by the Department.”

“Such connectors would only be considered “within the periphery of existing designated ATV trail systems; however, DCNR prohibits operating ATVs within Pennsylvania State Parks based on visitor safety, resource management, and other operational concerns.”

“DCNR specifically stated that “the Department does not consider state forest roads to be an option for connectors between trail systems, as there is an established and consistent record of ATV accidents that illustrates that the use of such machines on roadways is not in the best interest of visitor safety.”

In response to the 2018 amendment to the Fiscal Code and after a meeting with Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, on November 18, 2020 DCNR “issued a new ATV Trail Development and Management Policy that rescinded the prior moratorium on significant expansion of ATV trails on State Forest and State Park lands and now authorizes such expansion of ATV trails, including the use of State Forest roads for ATVs.”

On November 23, 2020, the General Assembly amended the Fiscal Code again to direct DCNR to “...evaluate all department forest districts, including Elk, Moshannon, Sproul, Susquehannock and Tioga, for roads and trails to serve as potential regional connectors and to provide local access or serve as a trail complex for ATV use;” and that DCNR “shall provide access to the department ATV pilot area for the 2021 summer ATV riding season from the Friday before Memorial Day through the last full weekend in September.”

Due to the time constraints mandated in the Fiscal Code, DCNR’s Bureau of Forestry prepared its environmental review report at the same time it was developing the ATV Pilot project.

The lawsuit points to significant issues raised in DCNR’s internal review related to potential environmental impacts, effects on water resources, the impact on the experience of other State Forest users, limited opportunity to review the environmental statement, and many more.

On July 15, 2021, DCNR only conditionally approved the State Forest Environmental Review. [See page 22 of lawsuit]

The lawsuit points to recent PA Supreme Court decisions starting in 2017 saying under the Environmental Rights Amendment, all branches of state government and agencies and entities of the Commonwealth, both statewide and local, have a fiduciary duty as trustees to prevent and remedy the degradation, diminution, or depletion of the public natural resources that are the corpus of the constitutional trust.

“PEDF requests that this Honorable Court grant its requests for declarations that Respondents’ actions establishing and significantly expanding ATV use on and degrading our State Forest and State Parks trust assets protected by the ERA are unconstitutional and that the Respondents breached their fiduciary duties as trustees of these trust assets.

Click Here for a copy of the lawsuit.

For more information, visit the PA Environmental Defense Foundation website.  Questions should be directed to John E. Childe, Attorney for PEDF, at 717-743-9811 or send email to: childeje@aol.com.

Senate Hearing

On December 8, the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee held an information meeting on the Tiadaghton State Forest ATV Pilot Connector in Lycoming and Clinton counties.

The Williamsport Sun Gazette reported comments on the ATV trail project was “divided.”  Read more here.

Proponents of expanded ATV trails pointed to potential economic benefits.

Opponents used photos to illustrate the damage caused now by ATVs using State Forest and other lands.

The Fish and Boat Commission testified many of the planned ATV trail expansions overlapped with wild trout streams and those potential impacts have to be taken into consideration.

The Commission outlined a series of guidelines for planning ATV trails to help avoid negative impact on the fish populations.

Click Here for a video of the meeting and available written testimony.

NewsClip:

-- Williamsport Sun: Senate Environmental Committee Hearing Finds Audience Divided On ATV Pilot Program’s Possible Expansion

Related Article:

PA Supreme Court Again Declares Transfers From DCNR Oil & Gas Fund Unconstitutional Under Environmental Rights Amendment

[Posted: December 14, 2021]

12/20/2021