“Unmanaged use of off-road vehicles is a crisis that federal land management agencies are failing to address,” said Chairman Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., at a hearing of the House Natural Resources subcommittee on parks, forests and public lands.
Riders who ride off trails damage cultural sites, create safety risks and disturb wildlife habitat, Grijalva said. A recent poll of federal land enforcement agents reveals they see off-road vehicles as one of the biggest threats facing public lands, he added.
“The combined effect of population increase in the West, unauthorized user-created roads, explosive growth in the use of OHVs, advances in motorized technology, and intense industry marketing have generated increased social conflicts and resource impacts on the public land,” he said.
The agency will continue to work with the public over the next decade to map a travel network of trails and roads that can be used by motorized vehicles, he said.
The BLM deploys 195 law enforcement rangers and 56 special agents across public lands, about one for every 1.2 million acres, Bisson said. Asked whether the BLM has a big enough budget for enforcement in light of increased vehicle use, he said the agency is doing the best it can with what it has.
About 11.5 million visits to national forests each year are for OHV activities, said Joel Holtrop of the U.S. Forest Service. “Recreation in all of its forms places the largest demand on the national forests and grasslands,” Holtrop said.
As of January, about 64 million acres of national forest were completely open to cross-country motor vehicle use, he said. But the magnitude and intensity of motor vehicle use has increased to the point that such unrestricted use is not environmentally sustainable, he added. So all national forests are either currently involved in or will soon begin a process for designating routes and areas for off-road vehicle use.
Once that is complete, public education, signs on the route and enforcement will be needed to keep vehicles on the trails. “Enforcement of motor vehicle restrictions has consistently remained one the top five priorities for Forest Service law enforcement officers,” Holtrop said.
Mary Denise Dowd of the American Academy of Pediatrics told of ATV accidents involving children, and called for a federal ban on ATV use under age 16. Her group also wants driver's licenses to be required to use ATVs on public land, a prohibition on alcohol use by ATV users, a ban on using such vehicles on paved roads and a sunrise-to-sunset use policy, among other measures.
Active management of off-road vehicle works and can be successful, testified Russ Ehnes of Great Falls, executive director of the National Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation Council.
Ehnes said his group is “very much in favor” of stiffer penalties, but added that law enforcement is not the only answer. The group provides education and training programs for OHV users.
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Bill Bachman wrote on Jan 12, 2009 2:47 AM: