Environmentalists set their sights, but riders feel unfairly targeted

by Matt Kelley
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Environmental groups that have won restrictions on logging and grazing on federal land are turning their attention to off-road-vehicle use, saying snowmobiles, motorcycles and 4-by-4s are ruining pristine areas.

"The No. 1 threat to many of our public lands is irresponsible use of off-road vehicles," Wilderness Society President Bill Meadows said earlier this month at a conference of environmental activists on the issue.

Faced with an explosion both in the popularity of off-road vehicles and in criticism of their use, federal land-management agencies are now imposing or considering new restrictions:

The Bureau of Land Management plans a series of public meetings this summer to help develop a national plan for managing off-road-vehicle use.

President Clinton declared two new national monuments in Arizona this year: Management of the Grand Canyon-Parashant and Agua Fria national monuments will include more limits on off-road vehicles.

The U.S. Forest Service is considering a plan to ban road building in up to 60 million acres of roadless forest. Vehicle enthusiasts say that would effectively close those areas to any motorized traffic.

"With 104 million acres of wilderness and trails set aside for nonmotorized use, I really resent the nonmotorized activists trying to take away any more of these areas that have recreational value," said Clark Collins, executive director of the Idaho-based Blue Ribbon Coalition, an off-road vehicle users' group. "They're attempting to kick us out of areas all over the country that we've used and shared and helped maintain."

Off-road opponents say vehicles such as swamp buggies, snowmobiles and Jeeps hurt public land in many ways. Tires kill plants and dig ruts, causing soil erosion. Engines pollute the air and water with exhaust and unburned fuel. Noise scares wildlife and ruins the backcountry solitude sought by hikers and cross-country skiers.

Vehicle users are organizing to battle efforts to close areas to their use. Several testified at a House Resources subcommittee hearing the same week the environmentalists held their anti-vehicle conference.

"I believe they want us out and they will do anything to get us out," said Brian Hawthorne of the Utah Shared Access Alliance, an off-road-vehicle group. "The impact of people visiting public lands is something that has to be managed. But just because you're having an impact doesn't mean you have to lock everyone out."

Off-road-vehicle users say technological advances are making their vehicles lighter, quieter and cleaner. They acknowledge that some irresponsible vehicle users are damaging sensitive areas. But the solution, they say, is a system of properly maintained trails and land agencies willing to work with vehicle groups to enforce the rules.

"We think it would be a lot more constructive if these guys would work together with us to solve these problems rather than try to demonize the whole (off-road-vehicle) community," said Collins.

Off-road-vehicle advocates say they fear environmentalists want to shut them out completely; a statement on the Blue Ribbon Coalition's Web site says off-roaders are "subjects of the `ethnic cleansing' currently under way" on public land. Some environmentalists affirm that.

"Motor vehicles allow insensitive people onto sensitive land," said Dan Heinz of the Sagebrush Coalition in Reno, Nev. "Putting people on foot maximizes public land."

Others are more conciliatory.

"We're not trying to eliminate off-road-vehicle use in this country. We're trying to find a way to have responsible use," said Meadows of the Wilderness Society.

Federal officials acknowledge that vehicle use needs to be better managed but say a complete ban is not going to happen.

"Will off-highway vehicles be allowed on public land? The answer is yes," Jim Furnish, deputy chief of the U.S. Forest Service, told the environmentalists' conference. "The question is, how will we do that?"

Copyright © 2000 The Seattle Times Company

Copyright © 2000 The Seattle Times Company