http://www.missoulanews.com/News/News.asp?no=5733

There hasn’t been much reason for joy at the path the Forest Service has taken over the last several years under the direction of the resource-ravaging Bush administration. But this week’s news that the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest intends to put six Forest Rangers on the trail of ATV scofflaws is a move all Montanans should be celebrating.

In case you missed it, Forest Service spokesman Jack de Golia announced Monday that his agency would be applying to Montana’s Off-Highway Vehicle and Recreational Trails Program for funding to put the additional rangers in the woods on the 3-million-acre national forest. Currently, only three enforcement officers patrol the forest—“That’s a million acres apiece,” de Golia explained.

Given the destruction currently occurring on national forests caused by rampant and often-illegal ATV use, it is well past time for the federal agency that’s supposed to be “stewarding” our forest resources to get on the stick. “Enforcement is a problem,” de Golia admitted. “We just don’t have enough people to cover all the roads and all the ways to get in.”