Off-Highway Vehicle Program reformed

Conservationists are getting behind the wheel of Colorado’s Off-Highway Vehicle Program. Two weeks ago, the Colorado State Parks Board passed sweeping reforms to the $4 million program, following a series of abuses.

The State Parks Board said it was seeking balance when it voted Jluy 16 to add four representatives from the nonmotorized recreation community to the OHV Program. In addition, the Parks Board voted to direct more funds away from OHV route construction and toward law enforcement and habitat restoration.

The committee is responsible for overseeing the program’s $4 million annual budget and making recommendations for how the funding is spent. The reforms come after a year-long campaign for reform by conservationists and sportsmen as well as an investigative story that revealed abuses and a disregard for hundreds of thousands of dollars by the OHV committee.

The documented abuses included awarding grant applicants $525,000 more than they requested for trails projects in 2009, a year when the State Parks Budget was cut more than $3 million. In addition, the OHV committee was caught secretively altering and increasing original grant request amounts. The committee also granted state funds to special interest groups specifically for OHV propaganda.

Rob Firth, former Chief of Law Enforcement for the Division of Wildlife, hailed the reforms as long overdue. “For the past decade, the OHV Program has been controlled by a small and relatively unknown group of OHV riders who have awarded millions of dollars in grants for OHV trail maintenance and OHV promotion while critical law enforcement needs were neglected and thousands of miles of habitat damage occurred,” he said. “These reforms benefit both motorized and nonmotorized recreationists and will hopefully ensure that this $4 million state program is open and transparent and that all aspects of OHV management are treated fairly and funded.”

The OHV Program is funded by an annual $25.25 registration fee on off-highway vehicles.

Meanwhile, motorized abuses have forced another closure in the San Juan National Forest. Cross-country motorized travel is now prohibited in the Rico-West Dolores area until transportation planning can be completed. The Dolores Public Lands Office had conducted an environmental analysis and issued a decision to implement the Rico-West Dolores Travel Management Plan last fall. However, the decision was appealed by several individuals and user groups, and eventually overturned by Forest Supervisor Mark Stiles.

Until a reanalysis is completed, motorized use in the Rico-West Dolores area will be restricted to designated motorized roads.

“Much concern has been expressed regarding how we manage motorized travel within the Rico-West Dolores area,” said Stiles. “Until we are able to revisit the environmental analysis process, I feel it is necessary to reduce the potential for accelerated resource damage by eliminating cross-country motorized travel within the area.”

Source: http://www.durangotelegraph.com/telegraph.php?inc=/10-08-05/quick.htm 

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