SB379 vote will affect nature of public lands

David Ehrman

It used to be that one could venture into New Mexico's national forests to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city, watch wildlife, hike and reconnect with the beauty and solace of nature. But the days of quiet recreation and inner reflection are being undermined by the roaring engines and maiming tires of off-road vehicles (all-terrain vehicles/quads, jeeps, dirt bikes).

In the late 1950s, off-road vehicle use was a small part of the recreation industry, with some 4 million vehicles nationwide. Today, that number has skyrocketed to more than 51 million. The irony is that despite the explosion of ORV use, this form of recreation remains in the minority. However, the result is that quiet recreation is becoming an endangered activity in our national forests; ORV use plagues our public lands causing resource damage, wildlife disturbances, and user conflicts that are way out of proportion with their use.

Many organized off-road clubs are using GPS technology to map illegal trails in our forests, and then asking the understaffed Forest Service to declare these routes as part of their roads system. According to data from the Forest Service, New Mexico already has more than 27,000 miles of roads in our national forests, enough to circle the entire globe with some left over. Furthermore, there is a very large backlog of road maintenance in the state that would cost more than $480 million to complete. Over time, unmaintained roads erode, degrading watersheds and wildlife habitat.

No restoration funds exist to repair the affects of these vehicles, and enforcement is practically nonexistent, as the Forest Service's budget has been consistently slashed. In fact, there is one law-enforcement officer for every 231,000 acres of national forest land, and ORV users know the chances of getting caught are very slim.

In addition to the environmental damage, there have been numerous cases where large ORV jamborees have threatened public safety. One notable incident occurred last spring at the Little Sahara Recreation Area in Utah, where inebriated gangs of off-road vehicle riders caused near-riot conditions on two separate nights involving approximately 1,000 people. In some instances, women were forced to expose their breasts in order to leave. The entire police force in the area had to be called in to mitigate the situation.

In November 2005, more than 200,000 off-roaders mobbed the Algodones Sand Dunes in California. In addition to trashing the environment, six people were killed, including a 5-year-old boy, and the local hospitals were overrun with patients suffering injuries. The county's deputy coroner called it "the worst weekend I have ever seen."

The New Mexico Senate has passed Senate Bill 379. This important legislation would be the first step in curbing the ORV epidemic statewide. New Mexicans from all walks of life — ranchers, hunters, business owners, outdoor enthusiasts — are standing up and demanding that the state and the U.S. Forest Service take enforcement action to rein in this abuse of our public lands.

Off-road vehicles simply have no place on our wildest public lands. More than 95 percent of people who use our public lands do so to hike, hunt, camp and enjoy wild nature, and they clearly respect the land and its precious water resources.

It is imperative that the federal agencies responsible for our public lands and the elected officials responsible for the agencies' funding, work together to get this plague under control. If not, our connection to wild nature will be irreparably broken.

David Ehrman is a staff member of the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance and works with other conservation groups to protect wildlife and quiet for the people of New Mexico on federal public lands. He lives in Santa Fe.

Source: http://www.santafenewmexican.com/Opinion/My-View-SB379-vote-will-affect-nature-of-public-lands

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