Off-roaders stress need for official OHV parks

Staci Matlock

Close to $1.5 million dollars is sitting in a Trail Safety Fund, raised through increased New Mexico registration fees on dirt bikes, ATVs, snowmobiles and other off-highway vehicles.

The greenbacks cover education, enforcement and 17 other mandates under a 4-year-old New Mexico Off-Highway Vehicle law.

But development of official OHV parks, a mandate Sid Mace, owner of Santa Fe Motorsports, and other off-roaders would like to see some of the money spent on, is still way off.

Management of the program was shifted from the state Tourism Department to the state Department of Game and Fish in July, 2009. Since then, program director David Chester and his one assistant have received high marks from off-roaders and anti off-roaders alike for their efforts to move the program forward, educating people about the OHV law and enforcing it.

Chester, a retired Albuquerque police officer and lifelong OHVer, also thinks the off-roading community needs more places to ride, but he sees his job first and foremost as protecting lives and property.

Higher riding fees

The law is aimed at off-roaders, especially young ones, who use public lands.

Under the law, OHVers under 18 must wear helmets and safety goggles. They have to take a safety course, pass a test with a score of 70 or better to obtain a safety permit and carry the permit when they ride on public land. Plus, no more than one rider can be on a machine at a time, even if it is built for two.

Off-roaders say the fees they now pay to register their vehicles and ride on public lands is almost double what it was before the law.

Residents pay an initial $53 registration fee and $50 every two years after, if the OHV machines are used on public lands.

Nonresidents who carry proof of a valid OHV registration from any state with a similar OHV law don't have to get a new one in New Mexico. Otherwise, nonresidents who want to ride OHVs on public land have to obtain a two-year permit for $48 or a 90-day sticker for $18.

Off-roaders who violate the law and are caught face fines of $71 to $261 per infraction.

A program develops

At the New Mexico Outdoor Expo last weekend, Chester talked to 150 youth and twice that many adults about the state's OHV law. "This is about trying to balance recreational use with protecting resources," Chester said. "We want to make sure they understand the importance of staying on trails and roads and not scaring the wildlife."

When Chester took the job as director in December, he inherited a program with no management plan. "It was baptism by fire," Chester said. "Even though the law had been around three years, there had been minimal accomplishments."

A new OHV board was in place and seemed open to his suggestions. The board decided enforcement and education were the top two priorities among the 19 mandates. "We finished a management plan and got it approved by the board on March 31," Chester said.

In the meantime, he was traveling the state visiting Game and Fish field offices, collecting data from staff and the public about areas that had problems with off-road enthusiasts. The most complaints were about portions of the Jemez Mountains in the Santa Fe National Forest and from the Carson National Forest. Trespassing, illegal riding on paved roads and kids riding without safety equipment were the most frequent gripes. He launched a toll-free number the public could call to leave messages about off-roading problems.

Chester then turned his attention to developing an OHV enforcement-training program. The Department of Public Safety made the three-hour course mandatory for its officers to take this year or next. "So far we've trained about 1,200 officers," Chester said. "They weren't aware of all the ways they could enforce the (OHV) law."

Later this week at the program's website — b4uride.com — OHVers will be able to access a new online course for the youth safety permit. Youth under age 18 can study and take the test online.

In addition, this week Chester and an OHV panel are reviewing their first applications for grants funded through the OHV safety fund. The panel received five applications with requests totaling $40,000 for trail maintenance, signage and other trail projects.

Chester said under the provisions of the OHV law he can look for appropriate places for OHV parks and help in the development of one. But with only one other employee helping run the program, he said his first focus is on education and enforcement.

Limiting OHVs

Mace said when he opened his business in 1995, New Mexico had five parks for off-roaders to race in. Now there is only one.

In addition, urban sprawl has slowly shut down access to places Chester and other New Mexicans used to ride as kids and young adults and now the national forests are planning to close some trails and roads to motorized use.

Mace called the situation a "double-edged sword. They're saying off-roaders have to pay a higher fee to ride on public lands at the same time they're shutting down access to trails on the forest."

The Bureau of Land Management in New Mexico does offer five areas specifically set aside for OHV recreation — Gordy's Hill near Socorro, the 800-acre Dunes area and the 19,000-acre Glade Run Recreation area (both near Farmington), the 55,000-acre Hackberry Lake near Carlsbad, the 1,920-acre Haystack Mountain area overlooking the Pecos River near Roswell, the 610-acre Mescalero Sands North Dune, and the Robledo Mountains trail system near Las Cruces.

Still, Mace thinks Santa Fe and the state are missing a viable economic opportunity by not pursuing commercial OHV parks. He said Arizona, Colorado and Utah all have well-developed OHV parks that have boosted the economies of nearby towns.

OHV parks

In a 2008 OHV impact report to the state Legislature, the Department of Game and Fish and the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department found designated OHV parks reduce the need for law enforcement, reduce conflict with nonmotorized users, reduce resource damage and increase economic benefits and tourism in nearby towns.

"For these benefits to be fully realized, ORV parks need to be first rate," according to the report. "That is, they need to provide compelling experiences for the participants, be well-managed, well-organized, and financially viable though there could be state funding and/or use of the Federal Recreational Trails Program funds."

The report recommends New Mexico create a task force to "further investigate" OHV parks and ways to "spur development of new parks on appropriate land."

Mace has periodically broached the idea of an OHV park, but said it will take a concerted effort by more off-roaders to get the attention of officials. He thinks public land near Buckman northwest of Santa Fe or the Marty Sanchez Sports Complex would work well for an OHV park.

The city of Gallup has one novel idea: opening an OHV park on city-owned land in collaboration with a nonprofit ATV club, according to the city's 2009 master plan update. The 300-acre park will be managed by the club.

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Source: http://www.santafenewmexican.com/Local%20News/Off-roaders-stress-need-for-official-OHV-parks

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