Colorado

Bob Berwyn

FRISCO — Depending on who's talking, off-road vehicle use in Colorado is either part of a multi-use utopia on public lands, or a looming disaster for wildlife and other natural resources.

The Colorado State Parks board will try to sort through divergent testimony offered Friday at a hearing in Frisco as it tries to decide whether to revamp the way it allocates funds from off-highway vehicle registrations.

Bob Berwyn

FRISCO — The Colorado State Parks board will meet today in Frisco to consider steering more off-highway vehicle funds away from trail building and toward enforcement and restoration of damaged areas.

Colorado's off-highway vehicle program is funded by a $25.25 registration fee on vehicles. The fund has grown from $300,000 in 1997 to about $3.2 million in 2009. The bulk of the money currently goes toward trail maintenance, but a broad coalition of conservation groups wants the board to change that focus.

I would like to add my support for the Hidden Gems wilderness proposal in its entirety.

It is disappointing that the Roaring Fork Mountain Biking Association is opposing Hidden Gems as it stands, and seems to have joined the ORV groups that value their mode of transportation over the land itself. Bikeable trails in the proposal are few compared to the proliferation of routes that would be still available, and bikers could still ride the protected trails to the wilderness border, chain their bikes to a tree and hike from there in a backcountry surf-and-turf. Fortunately, many cyclists have expressed support for Hidden Gems, proving that the association doesn't speak for all.

LeRoy Standish

The Colorado State Parks Board was bombarded Friday with 1,574 written comments from people opposed to proposed changes to the state’s off-highway vehicle fee and grant structure, said Deb Frazier, spokeswoman for the parks board.

Conversely, there were 77 comments in support of the change, she said.

Le Roy Standish

Some local off-highway-vehicle users are fuming over a proposal to cut funding for trail building and rehabilitation by $2.24 million.

Proponents are asking Colorado State Parks to adopt a new formula for the distribution of OHV user fees, which riders pay to the state when they register their vehicles. The proposal asks that 40 percent of the $3.1 million available from user fees be used for enforcement of OHV laws, and that an additional 30 percent be used for additional signs that tell riders where they can and cannot legally ride.

Bryan Long

Although I love all types of outdoor recreation (including ATV and snowmobile trips), I also understand the need to preserve some of the scant roadless areas that Colorado has left. Wilderness areas maintain biological diversity, improve air and water quality, and provide measurable economic benefits. That is why I support the Hidden Gems Wilderness proposal.

Noah Klug

The current disputes in Summit County about whether off-road vehicle (ORV) use should be permitted on public land are nothing new; the issue was addressed as early as 1972 when President Nixon issued an executive order directing federal land agencies to identify acceptable areas for ORVs and eliminate their use elsewhere. The original order was amended by President Carter in 1977, and continues in effect, to require closure of areas where ORV use is causing “considerable adverse effects” to forest resources and other users, and to reopen such areas only after the effects have been eliminated and measures implemented to prevent future occurrence. The White River National Forest, as one example, is implementing these orders by revising its travel management plan to specify the types of recreational activities permitted within different parts of the forest. (County land isn't affected by the executive orders, but the BOCC face similar considerations as federal agencies in addressing ORV use.)

Charlie Meyers

Colorado hunters who use off-highway vehicles will have to pay more attention to the rules this season. When the legislature passed HB 1069 last year, it gave the Division of Wildlife authority to issue citations to hunters who took their vehicles into forbidden territory. This year, they'll be more inclined to use it.

In 2008, the watchword was warnings, giving hunters an opportunity to become accustomed to the new law. Now it'll be tickets all around.