A news release about Rangers for Responsible Recreation landed in my in-box yesterday (sometimes they think I’m an actual journalist or something). The rangers are putting the word out on reckless use of ATVs on public lands.
BLM statistics obtained by PEER under the Freedom of Information Act indicate that off-roading is now the predominant demand on law enforcement time, particularly in the West. For the five- state area of California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah, BLM numbers for 2004-07 show ñ
- More than 6,600 off-road violations for hit and run, reckless driving, and other crimes;
- More than twice the number of DUI incidents involving off-road vehicles than for autos; and
- More than 2,300 incidents of illegal off-roading on closed trails or off-limit areas;
Nationally, there were more than 5,400 law enforcement incidents involving off-road vehicles on BLM lands compared to roughly 900 incidents involving drug enforcement ñ the next highest category, during 2005, the latest year for which national numbers are available.
“The irresponsible use of off-road vehicles on our public lands is one of the greatest challenges facing land managers today,” commented Bob Abbey, the retired BLM -Nevada Director. “There appears to be a total disregard by many off-roaders of the impacts from their actions.”
OK, so this is sure to piss off the owner of Throttleblog, who just wants people to behave themselves on their ATVs so the cops won’t come and take away his. I can see the guy’s point: if you’ve got 5 grand tied up in a four-wheeler, you’d like to get some use out of it.
I can also see the point that a four-wheeler with a small four-stroke engine is not going to use up a lot of precious fossil fuels, and it can get you to campsites or fishing spots unavailable to foot travelers.
Thing is, one sane guy with a blog speaking to his small audience of folks who agree with his point of view is not going to a) cause any miscreants to straighten up; or b) discourage rangers, cops and other authorities from punishing everybody for the crimes of a few.
Toddling along on a established ORV trail at a safe speed may be the sane, sensible way to use one’s ATV, but it’s not precisely the fun way. Fun is blasting through the woods a hair’s breadth from disaster.
The miscreants seem think they’ve got a wilderness Jet Ski, something that’ll let ’em just go nuts out there, ripping and tearing to their hearts’ delight. It’s all great fun till the forest is destroyed.
Awhile back I noticed a mountain bike patrol in the Santa Cruz Mountains, apparently on the lookout for trouble-making bikers. I’m beginning to think the ATV riders who want to keep their wheels are going to have to start doing the same.
After all, The Man doesn’t care how much money you’ve got tied up in your ATV. He doesn’t care whether you have any fun. And he’s always on the prowl for excuses to pass new laws forcing innocent and guilty alike to toe the line.
Tom wrote: “…and it can get you to campsites or fishing spots unavailable to foot travelers.”
I would argue that there’s nowhere a wheeled vehicle can get you to that you can’t get to by foot. After all, anywhere is walking distance if you have the time.
I just spent the weekend on a 40 mile overnight hike in the Hoover and Emigrant Wildernesses. Even if this area wasn’t Wilderness, legally protected from mechanized access, much of my route would not have been passable by an ATV, and some of it impassable by mountain bike (unless you brought a few ropes along).
It may be, as Matt Finley at ThrottleBlog contends, that the majority of wilderness violations are by a small, outlaw subset of the larger motorized recreation community. But if that’s the case, why do so many of those groups lobby so hard for reduced wilderness protection, and even reduced enforcement?
Thanks for posting this Tom. Not enough people care about wilderness enough to stand up to the ATV lobby.