The
Allegheny
National Forest is the closest national forest to Buffalo, is huge,
and has a lot of great biking. According to the ANF biking web page, most areas are open, except for wilderness areas, proposed wilderness areas, and three designated scenic/research/experimental sections. The NCT and the trails around the Reservior (National Recreation Area) are also closed.
The best riding close to Buffalo is on Willow Creek ATV Trail (although you have to share
that with motorized users) and Morrison Run (very popular with hikers - yield the
trail to them. Expert riding only)
The fact that only a few trails are closed to biking means that there
is lots of good riding. However, trail conditions vary widely as
there hasn't been too great an emphasis on recreational trails within
the forest.
What's
happening now and could it mean more or less biking?
Currently,
the Forest Service is revising the Forest Plan for this
Forest. This could mean lots of changes. Read about it all
at the Forest Service's Plan Revision Web Page.
This web page is finally up on the WNYMBA web site (after much delay)
because the Forest Service just released their Draft Forest Plan Alternatives and is holding two Public Hearings in early June.
While the new plan will cover lots of ground, of
concern to cyclists is that there are two citizen's groups pushing for
(slightly different) new designations of Federal Wilderness within the
forest. Federal Wilderness means no biking at all.
If you aren't up on the Wilderness issue, this link
is a good start. In short, we'd gladly support some Wilderness
Designation, which could help promote and maintain some great trails,
but only
if (some) trails were open to biking. While there is good reason
to believe that Congress didn't intend Wilderness to be closed to biking,
the fact is that new Wilderness Designations will mean trails closed to
bikes.
On the flip side, the new management plan could help promote
recreational trails within the forest, increasing biking
opportunities. So despite the threat of Wilderness designations,
some new riding opportunities could be developed, we don't know.
Why
is Wilderness Designation Being Considered?
There are two separate citizen's groups
pushing for Wilderness Designation:
These groups have the laudable goal of promoting recreational uses
within the forest as compared to the now prevalent focus on forest
product harvests. In fact, the Allegheny Wild proposal states
As a whole, the
Allegheny National Forest is lacking in its promotion of quality
recreation activities. ... Trails are few in the Allegheny. The Forest
Service does not do enough to promote the use of trails within the
Allegheny. ... There is an overall deficiency in the number of miles of
trails when compared to other national forests in the eastern region.
The poor distribution of assets addresses all types of low-impact
recreation including hiking, skiing, bicycling, horseback riding,
camping, and backpacking.
But whether or not they truly understand the impacts of Wilderness on
biking, the fact is that Wilderness Designation will prevent biking
within the boundaries.
Where
is Wilderness Designation Being Pushed?
The two separate groups
pushing for slightly different Wilderness Designations. But each
group's proposals focus on the areas closest to us.
Both groups also want to designate the land between Tracy
Ridge and the Willow Creek ATV trail (including the existing old
section of the old Johnny Cake Trail) as "W" (FAW's Chestnut Ridge Wilderness and AW's Sugar Run Wilderness)
FAW also wants to have both sides of the Reservoir designated as
Wilderness, as seen in their Proposed Tracy Ridge and Cornplanter Wilderness Proposals (bikes are
currently not allowed in the Tracy Ridge area - between Willow Bay and
Sugar Bay)
Further Afield (to the south), both groups would establish Wilderness
in the Tionesta area.
What
do the Forest Service Alternatives Say about Wilderness? About
Biking?
"The ANF has conducted an
inventory of its lands for wilderness and identified three areas as
meeting the inventory criteria for possible inclusion within the
national wilderness system. An evaluation of these three areas for
wilderness will be conducted as part of the environmental analysis of
the plan revision. These three areas are called Tracy Ridge, Chestnut
Ridge, and Minister Valley. Each of these areas will be identified for
wilderness in one or more of the alternatives under consideration."
The good news is that it appears Morrison Run is off the table.
But it's never over until it is over. The Forest Service needs to
hear from us to support removal of Morrison Run from Wilderness
consideration.
The Alternatives Document does not say much about bicycles in
particular, except to say
"No other direction
regarding trail uses will vary by alternative, except as an outcome of
assigned management area direction. Designated Equestrian Use Areas
(EUAs) will be identified as areas for equestrian trails. Plan
decisions will be modified to address the other components of trail use
(snowmobiles, bike trails, cross country skiing, and hiking) and their
design (e.g. loop trails, conversion of abandoned roads, and North
Country NST)"
However, Equestrians currently have extensive access to existing trails
(like bikes) but would be limited to just 12% of the forest under plan
alternatives. Similar limitations could conceivably be extended
to bikes.
Additionally, the Forest Service proposes:
"To respond to the issue of
providing increased semi-primitive recreation opportunities, the ANF is
proposing to create a new management area (MA 7.2), more generally
called a remote recreation area. This management area is managed
primarily to provide increased non-motorized recreation opportunities
in a natural setting. It will be considered in areas where current road
density and oil/gas development is low. There will be no further
construction of Forest Service roads in these areas and where feasible,
existing roads can be decommissioned. These areas will not be available
for regularly scheduled timber harvest, but minimum management
activities to maintain healthy forest conditions and promote old growth
characteristics for wildlife core habitat areas and scenery are
appropriate. This management area is considered in the alternatives for
the Minister Valley and Chestnut Ridge potential wilderness areas and
for 7 other areas: Clarion River, Morrison, South Cornplanter,
Longhouse, Hearts Content, East Hickory Creek, and Lamentation Run."
This could be good or bad depending on how they view "non-motorized
recreation".
Home
Search
The Lounge
Trail Guide/Conditions!
Calendar
Album
Register
Profile
Log in
Currently,
the Forest Service is revising the Forest Plan for this
Forest. This could mean lots of changes. Read about it all
at the 
Both groups are calling for Wilderness at the fantastic
Morrison Run area (
Both groups also want to designate the land between Tracy
Ridge and the Willow Creek ATV trail (including the existing old
section of the old Johnny Cake Trail) as "W" (