Tough terrain: the conflicts associated with multi-use trails

Parks & Recreation, Oct, 2004 by Richard J. Dolesh

Increasing numbers of Americans are taking to the forests, mountains and open spaces of our country to enjoy the ever-growing number of hiking, cycling and off-road vehicle trails on our nation's public lands. Public land managers at every level from local parks to national forest and park lands report growth in the use of trails. Trail enthusiasts may love their trails, but what happens when everyone decides to get out and hike, bike and ride at the same time on the same trails?

"Trail-user conflict" is a term that has become an accepted part of the trail manager's lexicon. It can describe everything from the annoyance that hikers who are seeking solitude and quiet feel when they hear a string of All-Terrain Vehicles (ATV) barreling down the trail across the valley, to the very real danger when a horse and rider are startled by a mountain biker who comes up from behind, in silence, and without a courtesy warning.

A number of comprehensive national surveys have found that by aim large, recreational trail users are satisfied with their trail experience. In addition, most trail users do not report any kind of trail conflicts and continue to use trails for recreation and enjoyment. Most trail conflicts that are reported happen on multiple-use trails, otherwise called shared-use or diversified trails. Some conflicts occur on unplanned, unregulated trail routes cut across public lands by ATV riders.

Some conflicts with hikers and other pedestrians occur from "free-riding" mountain bikers who are looking for technical challenges. Whatever the cause, conflicts are emerging as all types of trails from back-country wilderness paths to multi-lane urban paved trails become more heavily used by an American public that is seeking out door recreation, improved personal health and quality leisure time.

However, trail experts have a surprising diversity of opinion on the causes of trail-use conflicts:

"Motorized vs. non-motorized," says Celina Montorfano, director of conservation programs for the American Hiking Society.

"Overuse is at the core of trail-use conflict," says John Monroe, director of Connecticut and Rhode Island projects for the Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program of the National Park Service.

"Trail-use conflict is a management and maintenance issue," says Jeff Ciabotti, vice-president of trail development for the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy.

While there may be a multitude of opinions over the causes of trail-use conflicts, "It is important to distinguish between real trail-use conflicts and perceived conflicts," says Scott Linnenburger, trail solutions coordinator for the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA). "A lot of folks have 'perceived' conflicts, and most of these are just due to their needs not being met, such as their serenity being disturbed. Accidents and near accidents are 'real' trail-use conflicts; and these can come from things like having high speed bikes on trails with blind corners or poor shoulders, or slower users not knowing that high speed users regularly travel on the trail they are hiking."

The sheer volume of use is clearly one of the fundamental causes of trail-use conflicts. "The popularity of some trails is a good tiring and a bad tiring," says Martha Roskowski, GoBoulder program manager and former campaign manager for America Bikes. "There are inherent conflicts on all types of trails that allow different types of users. But in years gone by, I regularly biked trails in Colorado that were simultaneously used by hikers, mountain bikers, ATVs, horses and motorcycles, and we rarely had any conflicts because there were so few trail users. If trails are not heavily used, all uses can co-exist."

The hundreds of thousands of miles of trails that have been added to local, state and national recreational trails in the past generation, however, have not kept pace with the explosive growth of outdoor recreation on these trails, and the resulting deterioration of trail conditions and ecological damage from overuse or uncontrolled use is as much a cause for trail-use conflicts as are user-to-user conflicts.

Motorized vs. Non-motorized

The explosive growth of sales of ATVs is changing the face of America's public lands at an astonishingly rapid pace. In less than 10 years, the number of ATVs in the United States has tripled according to the All Terrain Vehicle Association (ATVA), to nearly 7 million vehicles today. Double-digit sales growth continues to fuel the boom, and more and more riders are seeking public lands and public trails on which to ride.

While not against the existence of ATVs, a number of trail advocacy organizations have spoken forcefully against uncontrolled, unmanaged use of these sports vehicles in parks and on public lands. "The proliferation of uncontrolled, off-road-vehicle (ORV) use is one of the greatest challenges facing land managers today, and is presently one of the most serious threats to our national public lands and national forests," says Celina Montorfano of American Hiking Society.