The Northern Highland-American Legion State Forest is criss-crossed by 1,200 miles of roads, but fewer than half are open year-round to the public, and only licensed, street-legal vehicles are allowed. All but 50 miles are too rough for anything but off-road vehicles or high-chassis trucks. The state forest also has another roughly 400 miles of snowmobile trails.

But finding ATV routes may be difficult, planners said. The state forest is dotted by 900 lakes, plus protected natural areas. Wetlands make up 25 percent of the land. And within the forest boundaries there are state campgrounds, private cottages, resorts and communities.

Private landowners have been reluctant to allow access. They sign agreements with snowmobilers because the snow and cold protect the soil from being torn up, and the owners aren’t outside as much in the winter. A few years ago, the state discontinued a program that offered money for access to private land. There had been no takers.

DNR planners mapped only 42 miles of the planned 202 miles of ATV routes, and one stretch is already in doubt because it runs through a place where ospreys nest.