Off road or off track<br/><span class='hl2'>Public outcry has led to some changes</span>

The U.S. Forest Service's plans to restrict off-highway or ATV travel in the Ouachita National Forest is a hot issue in southeastern Oklahoma.

Many folks in McCurtain and Le Flore counties have quietly enjoyed the Ouachita Forest for decades, and they don't want rules spoiling their use.

"This little topic is certainly stirring the pot down here in McCurtain County,” said Dian Jordan of Pine Meadow Cabins near Broken Bow.

Jordan said 20 percent of her cabin rental business is ATV riders. Beginning Oct. 1, ATV riding will be limited in the forest to designated trails only.

More than 200 people attended public hearing on the issues in Poteau and Idabel last week. Most believe the new U.S. Forest Service policy to be overly stringent, denying access to some fantastic scenery and limiting the mobility of hunters, especially disabled hunters.

Brock Rutledge, member of the Southeastern Oklahoma Hunter Rights Association, said the U.S. Forest Service plans to close more than 2,000 miles of roads in the Ouachita National Forest.

"The impetus for the closing of these roads and trails is that the Forest Service does not want to be out the cost of maintaining the existing roads and trails in the forest,” Rutledge said in an e-mail to The Oklahoman.

"The public will no longer have reasonable access to thousands of acres that were set aside for public use, paid for by public tax dollars with tax dollars continuing to be paid by the public to maintain closed roads and trails.”

Rutledge, like other hunters, also believe the restrictions planned for ATV travel by hunters during big-game seasons is unrealistic and overly restrictive.

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