Government Official & Land Manager Voices

Government officials and land managers across America are expressing concern over the growing problem of reckless ORV riding and are looking for common-sense solutions like visible identification and stronger penalties for illegal riding. Read what they’re saying:

"It's an abomination, it's an embarrassment." -- Governor Jon Huntsman Jr., reacting to ORV trail damage, "Guv: ORV off-trail damage an 'abomination,' crackdown is coming," The Salt Lake Tribune (10/2/08)

"We need to do a better job." -- BLM Director Bob Abbey, when asked about damage to BLM lands from off-highway vehicles, "BLM seeks to raise profile of 'under-recognized' conservation lands", Land Letter (4/15/10)

"The public shouldn't have to pay for damage caused by a few careless visitors. Increasing the penalties for people who knowingly or recklessly damage public lands would help restore damage - and just as importantly, prevent harm in the first place." -- Senator Mark Udall, Press release, "Udall, Salazar Introduce Bill to Deter Harm to Public Lands" (2/9/10)

“I have complaints from my constituents that a lot of people on ATVs are on the county roads causing disturbances and they have no way of identifying them.” -- Mississippi State Rep. Willie Perkins Sr., "State lawmakers will consider ATV legislation", Vicksburg Post (1/20/10)

"The abuse of private property is unacceptable." -- Rob Bishop, United States House of Representatives, "House panel told public lands overrun by ORVs," Deseret Morning News (3/16/08)

[If drivers continue to veer off paths to tear up lands], "you'll see more areas closed off." -- BLM Director, Bob Abbey, "Salazar brings conservation campaign to Utah", BusinessWeek (8/4/10)

"The explosion of reckless riding in our area over the past decade is damaging our way of life and creating a backlash against responsible motorized users." -- Brent Eldridge, Chairman of the White Pine County Commission, Las Vegas Review Journal (3/17/08)

"The biggest problem for any of these sports is, how do you manage these idiots? Because it's this 1 percent, these idiots, who are making you look bad." -- Vermont State Senator Susan Bartlett, "ATV Rule Splits Solons", Rutland Herald (1/10/10)

"You've got some bad actors out there. And they are the minority, we recognize that. But when these bad actors do what they're not supposed to be doing, it puts additional pressure from others to say, enough already." -- Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Energy and Natural Resources Committee Hearing on Off-Highway Vehicle Use on Public Lands, US Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee (6/5/08)

"In every sport, there are people who are idiots. The biggest problem for any of these sports is, how do you manage these idiots? Because it's this 1 percent, these idiots, who are making you look bad." -- Vermont State Senator Susan Bartlett, "ATV rule plays into campaign", Times Argus (1/10/10)

"Each year millions of off-highway vehicles travel America’s national forests legally and sensibly on designated roads and trails. A small, but growing number of irresponsible OHV users are threatening the health of all national forests by driving far off-trail and damaging fragile plants, wetlands and ecosystems.” -- USFS Forest Supervisor, Linda C. Brett, "Off-highway vehicle use is restricted on National Forests and Grassland", North Texas e-News (10/8/09)

“The more respect people have for public and private property, the more access is going to be open in the future.” -- Mark Jacobsen, Bureau of Land Management, "Crimes siphon money from outdoor programs — and could affect access, managers say", Billings Gazette (5/27/10)

"We want to encourage people to learn responsible use of the ATVs and motorcycles so they understand the impact it has on the environment." -- County Commissioner Brian Bitner, "Editorial: Off-road area has potential", Bismarck Tribune (9/6/10)

"I have complaints from my constituents that a lot of people on ATVs are on the county roads causing disturbances and they have no way of identifying them." -- Rep. Willie Perkins Sr., D-Greenwood, "Bill to require registration for ATVs meets opposition", The Clarion-Ledger (1/18/10)

"We don't want to outlaw the ATVs, we want to outlaw the outlaws." --Ron Kearns, Federal Ranger, "Group seeks to curb ATV rider abuses," East Valley Tribune (7/22/07)

"Although OHV use on federal lands is legal on designated roads and trails, it has increased so dramatically that federal managers seem unable to keep up." -- Congressman Raul Grijalva, reported in Las Vegas Review Journal (3/17/08)

"There certainly are responsible OHV users out there. But the kind of impacts we saw in the Jemez were not from a hunter going from a road to a hunting camp. This was people joy-riding up and down the banks of streams. That's not responsible use." -- Marcy Leavitt, water and wastewater division director for the New Mexico Environment Department, "Environment Department urges more control of off-road vehicles", Santa Fe New Mexican (7/3/10)

"Illegal use of (all-terrain vehicles) is a huge problem. Unmanaged recreation is one of the top four threats to the health of the forests across the country, and 85 to 90 percent of the time, the problem is illegal ATV use." -- Wes Stumbo, Forest Engineer, "Forest Service gets tough with illegal ATV use", Idaho Falls Post Register (10/28/10)

"The damage that has been done in (Carnage Canyon) from vehicles going off-route and being irresponsible is devastating. If people follow the rules, the trail should be sustainable." -- Brian Rasmussen, recreation planner for the Boulder Ranger District, "U.S. Forest Service, off-road vehicle clubs building course in Lefthand Canyon," Longmont Times Call (12/18/08)

"Unregulated motorized use is one of the biggest threats to public land nationwide. There has been a big increase in motorized use and there have been problems. Now, the goal is to get the use onto designated routes and keep people out of the delicate areas." -- Nancy Berry, Columbine District recreation forester, "An off-highway haven," The Durango Telegraph (9/11/08)

"Rehabilitating these damaged areas is not cheap. We want to emphasize to individuals who choose to ride ATVs illegally on public land, that they may have to pay for the damage that they cause." -- George Bain, Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest Supervisor, "Cracking down on illegal ATV use in national forests," Access North Georgia (7/29/08)

"That's what I think is really going to turn the tables on these things... Once one or two of these vehicles get impounded, the problem is going to be solved very quickly." -- Sen. Mike Gabbard, "Coastal Erosion - Bill has state seizing ATVs ridden on sand," Honolulu Star Bulletin (1/29/07)

"As long as people stay on existing trails, then it's OK... You can drive cars and motorcycles on the roads, but you can't take vehicles into the desert -- and people ignore it pretty regularly." -- Mickey Quillman, BLM chief of resources, "Two ways of life collide in Wonder Valley", Los Angeles Times (1/5/10)

"Illegal off-road OHV use and resource damage have increased on the Hiawatha. While responsible users make an effort to learn and follow the rules, some OHV users do not make the effort. Erosion, water degradation, habitat destruction, damage to cultural sites and conflicts between users are commonly the result." -- U.S. Forest Service unit - Hiawatha National Forest, "Using Your OHV on National Forest Land During Hunting Season," Press Release (10/2/08)

"At Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, we got approval from the U.S. Attorney and the district court to confiscate a vehicle until disposition of the case...Once word gets around (that you can lose your ORV) it helps future cases. In Utah, they confiscated a couple of vehicles and word traveled fast. They now have fewer problems." -- Jerry Case, the chief of regulations for the National Park Service in Washington D.C, "Putting brakes on illegal ORVs," Grand Rapid Press (6/13/08)

"The ORV community must step forward and make it clear that illegal ORV use not only hurts the environment but harms the reputation of legal users and threatens the future of legal ORV use in Michigan," said a recent open letter to ORVers from the state Natural Resources Commission and Department of Natural Resources.-- State Natural Resources Commission and Department of Natural Resources, "Increasing environmental damage prompts DNR action", Flint Journal (2/21/08)

"A lot of people don't know the rules and that is our responsibility to let them know, but a lot of people do know the rules. We have talked about it a lot — about how frustrating it is when we try to make it obvious to help people out by telling them with physical barriers and then have people destroy it the next weekend. Then the people who want to follow the rules don't know the rules." -- Tina Lanier, Belt District Ranger, "ATVs Scarring the Forest," Great Falls Tribune (10/2/08)

"There are the people who seem to want to use the ATVs and do it right and then there is the other percentage, maybe 30 to 40 percent, who don't care about rules or regulations and seem to think they have a right to do what they want. They ride on routes they are not supposed to be on or routes with seasonal restrictions or they just go across country, which has not been legal since about 2000." -- Ron Wiseman, Judith District Ranger, "ATVs Scarring the Forest," Great Falls Tribune (10/2/08)

"You have to be responsible. If ATVs are misused you can cause a lot of damage. It takes a long time for the ground to recover if you get people in there when it is muddy. Like anything you have to be responsible and do what's right." -- Stan Paulson, ATV rider of Great Falls, "ATVs Scarring the Forest," Great Falls Tribune (10/2/08)

"I'm an off-road vehicle user myself, but I'm a responsible off-road vehicle user, and not everyone is that way. It's not unreasonable to have a license and registration for those and have a fee for the use of them because people do a lot of work to clean up after them." --Daela Gibson, district 26 assembly candidate, "Eco-politics; Local candidates sound off on the environment," News Review (10/20/08)

"We've had steadily increasing numbers of [court cases involving ORV misuse]. It's a real problem." -- Judge Mark Repp, Tiffin Municipal Court Judge, "ATV misues rising," The Adviser-Tribune (5/5/08)

"Thanks to the efforts of 11, 15- and 16-year-old Oxford High School students and their director, OHS biology teacher Joe Lanier, the town's system of hiking trails was significantly improved this summer...To improve the local trail, the students cut about 35 water bars into an existing pathway made by all terrain vehicles illegally using the property...The hope is that the public, particularly ATV drivers, will respect what the students have accomplished and refrain from driving on the property." -- Tom Coburn, U.S. Senator of Oklahoma, "Students Spend Their Summer Improving Town’s Trail System," Press Release (8/20/08)

"The amount of illegal trails made apprehension a problem with many vehicles fleeing the area when officers made stops...The fact that we were able to capture anyone was a credit to the Officers involved and the cooperation of the many agencies for this task." -- A.G. Zellner, Blair County WCO, "Crackdown on illegal use of Blair County State Game Lands," Pennsylvania Game Commission Press Release (11/18/08)

"We've got to come up with a plan to deal with this, or somebody's going to get seriously injured or killed." -- John Topka, Shade Township Supervisor Chairman, "ATV riders stir up complaints to Shade Township authorities," The Tribune-Democrat (9/5/08)

"Five years ago we basically didn't have anything close to the numbers of ATVs and dirt bikes and off road machines that we do today." -- Tom Willems, a spokesman for the Forest Service, "Off-road vehicle regulations coming in Black Hills," Associated Press (8/24/07)

"OHV riders are coming out of the forest dripping with mud...There's other people out enjoying the forest and they see some kind of inappropriate behavior and I have had a couple of people who have given me license plate numbers to follow up on." -- Bonnie Jones, Travel Coordinator with the Northern Hills Ranger District, "OHV travel tearing up saturated trails," Black Hills Pioneer (6/14/08)

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