A Clear Path for ATV Management on Public Lands

For years, the U.S. Forest Service and other government agencies have been trying to figure out a fair way to manage ATVs on public lands. Like other user groups, ATV enthusiasts have a right to recreate on taxpayer-funded land, as long as they do so responsibly and it doesn’t impair the resource of infringe on the rights of others. The biggest controversy has to do with trail designation, particularly in wilderness and roadless areas. There are two veins of thought. One is that public lands should be open to ATV riders unless posted closed. That’s the view most favored by the ATVers. The other position is that public lands should be closed to ATVs unless posted open. In other words, ATVs could only travel in areas on public lands that are clearly marked for ATV use. That is the position by most conservation and wildlife management folks.

There are problems with both approaches. First, both approaches require the resources — financial and manpower — to both post numerous signs all over public lands, and then to make sure ATV riders are obeying them. Given the financial constraints of most federal and state land management agencies, this would most likely mean that whatever rule is in place, enforcement would be difficult, if not near impossible.

Second, ATVers have a legitimate argument when they question why they are being singled out. Sure, there is a lot of anecdotal evidence out there suggesting that ATVs cause a tremendous amount of damage to wildlife habitat, stream quality, etc. However, I have yet to see any scientific data that both backs up the anecdotal evidence AND examines the impacts of other forms of recreation, such as mountain biking, horseback riding, or hunting, as well. ATVers argue that other forms of recreation have impacts on wildlife, too, and that they are being singled out unfairly because of the stigma attached to their sport. As someone who took up snowboarding back in the late 1980s and remembers the stigma attached to that sport by skiers, who accused us of being reckless and destructive to the trails, I know where they are coming from.

I’ll be honest and say that I don’t like ATVs, and I do think they are very destructive to soil, water, and other resources — not to mention loud and annoying. But as someone who enjoyed riding dirt bikes in the strip mines when I was a kid, I do think they are only as harmful as the user is irresponsible.

The real solution is better mentoring and education among young people who take up any kind of outdoor sport, whether it’s ATV riding or canoe paddling. Any sport can be destructive in the wrong hands, and I don’t think specific groups should be singled out because they are less traditional.

However, I do believe the land managers and conservationists when they say ATVs are a serious problem on some lands, and that they need to be dealt with soon. I have seen evidence of ATV damage myself, and I can tell you, it’s quite disheartening to see how people can so recklessly destroy the earth for their own amusement.

Rather than spending a lot of time and money on developing regulations to post public lands as either closed or open, I would urge land managers, conservationists, and ATVers alike to get together and begin talking about real ways to create more opportunities for ATV riders to enjoy their sport on public lands, but in places that will not destroy sensitive habitat. Just as we have publicly funded shooting ranges on national forestlands, for instance, perhaps we need more publicly funded ATV and off-road areas, where people can tear up the land to their hearts’ content without doing any real damage. It would be easy in the West, where there are vast stretches of desolate land, where playgrounds could be established. In the East, maybe the government can start buying up abandoned strip mines, quarries, and landfills, and turning them into rec parks. After all, many of these places are already magnets for illegal riding.

Sure, there will always be a handful of riders who will break the law and run their vehicles through sensitive wetlands on public lands where they shouldn’t be. But the more we simply scold or regulate them without offering another option, the longer this battle will go on. Perhaps rec parks could be a source of tax revenue or tourism dollars for rural economies. Perhaps they could charge user fees, which are then used to protect sensitive lands elsewhere. I don’t think ATVers hate the Earth and want to damage the land; they simply are trying to enjoy themselves outdoors, as all recreationists want to do.  If we show them that we care about their rights and respect their sport as much as we (anglers, boaters, hunters, etc.) want them to respect ours, we could discover ATVers, off-road enthusiasts, and other “extreme sport” aficionados to be important allies in the future.