Off-road vehicle enthusiasts turned out in force Tuesday night to protest a proposal to reduce the number of roads and trails open to public use in the Eldorado National Forest.

The meeting at the El Dorado County Fairgrounds in Placerville was the first in a series of community forums scheduled by U.S. Forest Service officials to discuss the draft environmental study that will help determine how wheeled motorized vehicle travel will be managed in the Eldorado National Forest.

The study was required under a court order issued in August 2005 by U.S. District Judge Lawrence K. Karlton in response to a lawsuit filed in 2002 by the Georgetown-based Center for Sierra Nevada Conservation and several other environmental groups. They contended the Forest Service had not studied the effects of off-road-vehicle use on the Eldorado National Forest.

Karlton found the Forest Service had failed to follow National Environment Policy Act procedures in 1990 when it authorized off-road vehicles to use trails and paths created over the years by forest visitors.

The environmental impact study, released July 20, analyzed five alternatives, ranging from current conditions, allowing use of 2,003.5 miles of existing roads and 249.3 miles of existing trails, to one limiting wheeled motor vehicle use to 751.3 miles of roads and 136.3 miles for trails.

The "preferred alternative," selected by Eldorado National Forest Supervisor Ramiro Villalvazo as the basis for the final environmental study, would allow use 844.3 miles of roads and 217 miles of trails.

It also calls for seasonal closures for certain types of roads from Dec. 1 through April 30.

Jason Nedlo, team leader for the travel management project, said off-highway-vehicle use increased about fifteen fold between 1989 and 2002, and much of that use occurs on national forest lands.

"We need to provide for use, but balance it with protecting forest resources," he told an audience of about 200 people, the majority of them advocates for off-highway-vehicle activities.

Many argued that reducing the miles of roads and trails available to motorcycles, four-wheel-drive and all-terrain vehicles would simply push more activities into a smaller area, increasing environmental damage to those areas.

But Forest Service officials said they need to limit the system to provide adequate maintenance. Funding for maintenance is a major consideration, said Lester Lubetin, recreational officer.

Several people, however, said off-road-vehicle users aren't looking for maintained roads and trails. "How about just leaving them unmaintained for us to use?" one man asked.

Forest Service officials said the management plan has to consider the range of forest uses, including camping, hiking, fishing and horseback riding, which may conflict with off-road-vehicle activities.

"As a land management organization, we're not going to have a lot of trails open for multiple uses that are not maintained," Nedlo said.

Although the forest supervisor has identified a preferred plan alternative, Nedlo said modifications can be made in response to public comments as part of the final environmental study.

Comments on the draft environmental study are due by Sept. 4. The document and other project information are available on the Eldorado National Forest Web site, www.fs.fed.us/r5/eldorado/projects/route. A compact disc also may be requested by e-mail from eldoradoroute@fs.fed.us, or by calling Jason Nedlo at (530) 621-5276. ....