A land use order was signed by Department of Natural Resources Director Rebecca Humphries at Thursday's meeting of the Natural Resources Commission that will designate approximately 24 percent of the state's 3,185 miles of designated off-road vehicle trails for motorcycle use only. The order will give DNR law enforcement officers the authority to take action against individuals who are operating all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) or vehicles with more than two wheels on motorcycle only trails.

The DNR currently has designated approximately 3,185 miles of ORV trails and routes, and 2,198 acres of scramble area statewide. Within the designated ORV trail system, about 30 percent are designated as motorcycle use only, 50 percent is designated for both ATVs and motorcycles and 20 percent is designated as an ORV route -- open to ORVs of all sizes, including trucks, ATVs and motorcycles. In addition to the designated ORV trail and route system, thousands of miles of state and national forest roads in the Upper Peninsula are open to ORV operation.

"In 2007, we received a petition from motorcycle users to implement a land use order to prohibit ATV operation on designated motorcycle trails," said Lynne Boyd, chief of the DNR's Forest, Mineral and Fire Management Division. "The concerns expressed by the motorcycle riding community were that their trails were being widened by ATVs, and that takes away from the more technical riding aspect of the trail that many motorcycle riders enjoy. The land use order was overwhelmingly supported by the ORV community."

DNR law enforcement officers found the existing state laws and land use rules vague in their description of what was allowed on "forest trails." The land use order will specifically designate certain trails as motorcycle use only. These motorcycle trails include: portions of the North Missaukee in parts of Kalkaska and Missaukee counties; Tin Cup Spring, Lincoln Hills and Little Manistee in Lake County; Evart in Osceola County; Long Lake in Wexford County; Grand Traverse trail in Grand Traverse County; Hunt Creek in Montmorency and Osceola counties; Tomahawk trail B and C in Emmet, Charlevoix and Mackinac counties; Brevort-Trout Lake in Chippewa and Mackinac counties; Kinross, Foreman Lake and Birch Hill in Chippewa County; Sandtown and Newberry-Rexton trails in Mackinac and Luce counties; and Porterfield Lake and Bass Lake in Marquette County.

To read the order, please visit the May 8 agenda of the NRC under the Commissions, Boards and Committees menu of the DNR Web site at www.michigan.gov/dnr.