Any illusions that this is the Old West went out the window when Jeeps and low-geared motorcycles first veered off graded roads in the first half of the last century. Into the New West rode hordes mounted on machinery especially made to go where only horses, mules and hikers used to venture.

We're left with wildland tamed before its time: Makeshift tracks turned into roads when enough folks follow the leader over unsurveyed hills and dales; single-track motorcycle paths through even steeper terrain, and noise, noise, noise.

Only for a few minutes, say off-road motorists, appealing in the direction of those who figure there's no noise from a tree falling in the woods if there's no one there to hear it.

Yes, and a few minutes later, another unmuffled lout'll be along ... and besides, what about the animals who live there? What does the off-road traffic, especially heavy on weekends and most summer days do to their habitat?

In a national forest as big as this? C'mon. There's room enough out there for all of us. All we're doing is following roads that're already there, goes their pitch — which is less than convincing to anyone who's watched them turn a moderately trampled stretch into an increasingly gouged one, with all the erosion that comes with it.

The more populous our state has become, the greater the likelihood that recreationists would bump into preservationists — and Northern New Mexico is about to be the scene of a collision, great or small:

The Santa Fe National Forest has just issued its proposal of a "travel management plan." It reduces "roads" — difficult as they may be to define — from nearly
5,000 miles to just over 2,300 miles. "Trails" of the kind used by motor-riders might be trimmed by about half, too.

Tree-huggers as well as ranchers tired of torn-up land are issuing preliminary cheers; motor-mounties don't like it. Folks from both ends of the argument, and the many in between, will have lots of chances to make their points — as early as July 28 in Cleveland, across the Sangre de Cristo from here, and in Las Vegas two days after that. There will be meetings in several mountain communities, then in Santa Fe Aug. 12, Los Alamos Aug. 14, Española Aug. 18, Río Rancho Aug. 19 and Albuquerque Aug. 20.

Forest Service officials can expect good cases to be made — for the youth-development potential of all-terrain motoring, and for the trail-building done by its active advocates; for reduced-stress hiking and low-noise recreation; for the need to romp and stomp, and for the need to leave some of the woods alone.

It looks as if the forestales have begun with a nice compromise between the roadlessness advocated by many environmentalists and the call from the motor guys to keep today's, uh, roads open.

Things could heat up — but there are cool heads on both sides: There's still room for rough-housing, we hope some enviros will concede — while some off-roaders are sure to recognize the excesses of a few fellow riders, especially if there's no money for enforcement.

Some of the plan's specifics, we suspect, can be re-worked — while its general aims are worth enforcing, on an experimental basis at the very least.

Forest officials are well aware that they're treading on figuratively tender ground in advancing their plan. We trust they'll continue to step carefully.