Here is a link to two articles about trails in natural areas.

I don't know if the writers have any "agenda", but seem to be asking the questions of what are acceptible impacts to nature from human trails.

How does this relate to our use of the dunes? There are some ideas of how trails affect wildlife that could be useful in manageing our impacts on the dunes.

What's your impression of these articles?

http://www.americantrails.org/trailtracks/...ViewsWildA.html

here are some more thoughts on off-road vehicle management:

http://www.rmri.org/

It is important to remember that humans, and our trail recreation needs, are part of the ecosystem, too.

these are good articles. they dont attack either side. what they do say is that we should be more aware of our surroundings. As far as the Dunes are considered all of us are more aware of our surroundings and watch what we are doing more than ever before, mainly due to the threat of loosing our dunes. The articles are trying to find a happy medium between the two parties, well it is my beliefe there will never be a happy medium. Us duners do what we love to do and pass it on to our family, and you enviro's keep trying to shut down areas because you say we disturbe the natural habitat. Before i became a duner i was a rock climber. I supported the sierra club and the access fund. I have helped both organizations put in trails at joshua tree, owens river gorge and the boldering areas around bishop. We moved rocks and bushes, and this was all part of the plan that the two "environmental friendly" groups planed. what im trying to say is that its ok for groups to make trails for their recreation but for some reason no matter what us ohv's agree on it will never be enough.

the article also had a brief section on the amount of impact trails leave. i dont know how to find this information but i was wondering. Compared to all the "wilderness" areas in just california, What percentage of that is used for trails and are impacted. Im sure if somebody did a study the impact would be very minimal. Im guessing below 5% of the "wilderness" areas are impacted by humans. How much is too much???

Folks,

I like this paragraph from the first article:

"Some environmentalists focus on mechanized recreation as particularly damaging to the environment. Motors do allow humans to go further, and faster, than non-mechanized recreation. Certainly motorized recreation has caused great damage to some ecosystems, such as the California desert. But motorized recreationists are not alone in having impacts; hikers and horses also impact the environment. Hikers and equestrians are more likely to leave the trail than cyclists, and horses often introduce invasive weeds. That Boulder study looked at a hiking trail, where bicycles and motors are banned. We need improved rules and education to minimize impacts and eliminate off-trail uses."

Hikers come from all walks of society and some can really leave a ton of trash behind. We all know that. But horses are rarely mentioned as causing damage because horse riding is relatively rare and quiet. But horses compact soils if they are taken off-trail and leave droppings behind that contain seeds from non-native plants.

Bikes can spook horses and OHVs make too much noise for most hikers. The noise is more immediately noticable than the effects of horses, and unlike litter left behind by hikers, there is a person on the OHV who can be immediately blammed for the noise.

I see the litter in the desert near my home left by people dumping trash illegally all the time and it drives me up the wall. I also see the damage left behind by illegal riding and that also irritates the hell out of me.