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County recreation groups report big jumps in ATV use, warn LCO road closures hurt local businesses
Summary
Sawyer County trail advocates reported steep rises in ATV and snowmobile traffic and urged board attention after parts of the Lac Courte Oreilles (LCO) reservation asserted jurisdiction and kept some roads closed, a move residents and businesses say has economic effects and raises potential legal questions.
Kathy, a representative of the Sawyer County Snowmobile and ATV Alliance, told the board that trail counter data this season show sharp increases in usage and that new route reassurance markers and donated directional arrows are being installed to clarify which county roads are open to riders.
"Trail five ... has seen a jump and ridership … this summer to a thousand over a thousand," Kathy said, and she noted that the Tuscobia trail near Birchwood now records "over 3,000 a month" riders. At the Brookie trailhead, she reported 5,500 uses in the last month and said registrations for the Brookie event stand at 8,800 and "it'll hit 9,000 by the end of the week."
The increase in access followed the county’s decision to open certain county roads to ATVs, which Alliance members say has made popular trail systems easier to reach. Alliance members also raised safety statistics and context, noting that state data showed several ATV fatalities on roads in 2024 compared with other roadway fatalities.
At the same time, Kathy described a jurisdictional friction with the Lac Courte Oreilles (LCO) reservation. She said tribal authorities have "asserted their…sovereign nation" status and decided which roads inside reservation boundaries can be open to ATVs and which cannot, even where the roads are town or county roads. Kathy told the board: "they've told us which County Roads can be open and which cannot and they've … alluded to neighborhoods that don't want ATV traffic."
County members and staff told the board they have largely left the status quo in place to avoid a legal fight that could escalate into ticketing and tribal-court actions. One county participant summarized the situation: the county "assert[s] that we do" have jurisdiction while the tribe "assert[s] that they do," and the county has not tried to challenge the tribe's assertions at this time.
Board members and the Alliance framed the issue as one with economic implications for businesses that rely on trail access. A board member suggested the county could study "what the lost opportunity is weighed against what the cost of legal fees are" to decide whether to pursue a more formal challenge or negotiation.
The board received the trail report and asked administration to follow up and, if appropriate, place the broader jurisdictional and economic impacts on a future agenda for discussion with stakeholders. No formal legal action or vote on enforcement was taken at the meeting.
Ending: Staff said they will meet with LCO contacts and that the board may schedule follow-up work; no deadline or formal direction was recorded.
