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Public Lands Foundation
Position Statement:
2010-19
Off Highway Vehicle (OHV) Use of the
BLM Administered Lands
October 9, 2010
Executive Summary
Off-highway vehicle (OHV)
use is an established use of the BLM administered lands in the National
System of Public Lands. As with any public land use, OHV use must be
managed in a manner consistent with the capability of the land to sustain
the use, with due consideration for the impact of OHV use on the land, the
resources and other land users.
Historic use of the
public lands for recreation and for the search, exploration and
development of natural resources has resulted in a system of off-highway
roads and trails that is, in most cases, adequate for reasonable public
access for both recreational and authorized resource uses. Existing roads
and trails should remain open for public use unless the continued use of a
specific road or trail is determined to be a significant threat to an
endangered species or cultural resources, or damaging to important
wildlife habitat, vegetation or soils on the land which the road or trail
traverses. Closure of existing roads or trails should be done in the
context of the BLM travel management planning process with full public
involvement, and appropriate closures should be visibly signed on the
ground and marked on public land maps.
Vehicle operation off
existing roads or trails may be approved as appropriate for permittees and
lessees as necessary to exercise their authorized activities; for resource
managers to conduct management activities such as resource studies or
project work; and for emergency activities such as rescue and wildfire
fighting.
New roads authorized
in connection with such resource uses as timber harvest and mineral
development should be closed and reclaimed when operations are finished,
unless the BLM determines that the roads are appropriate for inclusion
into the public access or transportation plan for the area.
Retrieval of tagged
big game with OHVs in “Limited” areas should be permitted unless there is
a determination that such one-time use would result in long-term damage to
resources.
There are some areas
and sites on BLM lands, like the sand dunes in Southern California, the
Slickrock Trail in Utah, and dirt bike riding and motorcycle hill climbing
areas where OHV recreational activities should be managed as the dominant
use of the land.
The BLMs National
Management Strategy for Motorized Off-Highway Vehicle Use of Public Lands
provides emphasis on managing OHV use and a framework for planning and
managing OHV use on BLM public lands in coordination with local publics
and local government and in cooperation with OHV user groups.
Background
Off-highway vehicle (OHV)
recreational use of BLM administered lands in the National System of
Public Lands is heavy and rapidly increasing. Four-wheelers, all-terrain
vehicles, motorcycles, dune buggies, mountain bikes, snowmobiles, and the
like are being sold in record numbers, and the public is increasingly
looking to BLM lands as the place to use them.
The issue is how to
accommodate this legitimate recreational use of the BLM public lands in a
way that will protect natural resources and minimize conflicts with other
public land users, and how to manage the use of existing and new roads and
trails on these lands.
On February 8, 1972,
President Richard Nixon signed Executive Order 11644 entitled Use of
Off-Road Vehicles on the Public Lands. Its purpose was to give federal
land management agencies greater authority to begin to manage the impacts
of the multitude and variety of vehicles that the public was using to
recreate on the public lands. The opening paragraph of EO 11644 stated:
“An estimated 5 million off-road
recreational vehicles - motorcycles, minibikes, trail bikes, snowmobiles,
dune-buggies, all-terrain vehicles and others - are in use in the United
States today, and their popularity continues to increase rapidly. The
widespread use of such vehicles on the public lands - often for legitimate
purposes but also in frequent conflict with wise land and resource
management practices, environmental values, and other types of
recreational activity - has demonstrated the need for a unified Federal
policy toward the use of such vehicles on the public lands.”
The EO directed
federal land management agencies to develop zones of use for off-road
vehicle use on public lands. The BLM issued regulations in 43 CFR 8342
providing for three types of designations of BLM public lands:
·
Open designations which are
used for intensive OHV use areas where there are no special restrictions
or where there are no compelling resource protection needs, user
conflicts, or public safety issues to warrant limiting cross-country
travel,
·
Closed designations on areas
or trails if closure to all vehicular use is necessary to protect
resources, promote visitor safety, or reduce use conflicts, and
·
Limited designations where
OHV use must be restricted to meet specific resource management
objectives.
To prepare for
managing the OHV situation, the BLM and the Department of the Interior, on
January 19, 2001, issued a National Management Strategy for Motorized
Off-Highway Vehicle Use on Public Lands. This National Strategy was
developed with input from a series of public listening meetings held
throughout the West and public comments solicited over a 10-month period
prior to the issuance of the document. Much of the advice was conflicting,
but the majority reflects a tone of public demand for responsible OHV use
of the public lands, respect for other resource values, and the need for
BLM to help control and manage OHV use.
Some of the key
points of the National Strategy are:
-
These are not regulations; these are
guidelines to help BLM plan for and implement management of OHV use on
the public lands.
-
Motorized OHV use is recognized as one
of the legal, acceptable multiple use activities on the public lands.
-
BLM needs to work closely with local
governments and local people in planning for how motorized OHV use will
be coordinated with the public land resource needs and other resource
users.
-
Educating the public and the BLM staff
on OHV use and management practices, and actions to improve legal access
to public lands are important parts of the Strategy.
-
There is emphasis on identifying areas
and developing action plans to prevent OHV disturbance to critical
habitats for threatened or endangered species.
-
BLM will seek State and other sources of
funding to help with management of motorized OHV use.
-
There is strong public support for
increased law enforcement of proper OHV use on the public lands, and the
public wants more signs, maps, recreation facilities and road and trail
maintenance to help accommodate the use.
-
Volunteers are an important resource and
organized OHV groups want to help BLM implement the OHV management
program.
Discussion
Today, 38 years after
the issuance of EO 11644, the levels and types of OHV use far exceed those
of the 1970s. New types of four-wheel drive and all terrain vehicles,
mountain bikes, and other vehicles have been developed that enable people
to travel into areas that were once inaccessible to vehicles. These new
types of OHVs have been aggressively promoted and advertised by an
industry that challenges people to go where no one has gone before. The
public is more outdoor oriented and wants unconfined outdoor recreation
opportunities.
Over 57 million
people now live within 25 miles of BLM public lands, and the public has
increasingly relied on BLM lands as a place for recreational use of their
OHVs. Understandably, the numbers of conflicts between OHV users, and
between OHV and other land and resources needs and uses have skyrocketed.
OHV activities on BLM lands are the subject of increasing public scrutiny,
discussion, and controversy.
OHV use is an
established and legitimate use of BLM administered lands, but OHV use must
be managed in a manner consistent with the capability of the land to
sustain the use and with due consideration for the impacts which OHV use
has on the land, other resources and other land users.
The BLM public lands
belong to the public and these multiple use public lands should remain
open and accessible to the public unless there is some valid
resource-related or public safety reason to limit or prohibit public
access in a specific area. The BLM has the authority to make these
determinations about access and the conditions governing access by
motorized and non-motorized off-highway vehicles. And, there is a BLM
procedure in place for designating public lands as Open, Closed or Limited
for OHV use.
The BLM also has provisions for addressing
the use of OHV's to retrieve tagged big game in “Limited” areas. However,
this topic has not been addressed in all travel management or land use
planning and there do not appear to be guidelines to ensure that retrieval
is consistently addressed. Retrieval of tagged big game would be
supportive of Executive Order 13443, regarding "Facilitation of Hunting
Heritage and Wildlife Conservation.” Retrieval of tagged big game in
“Limited” areas with OHVs would expand opportunities for all hunters,
especially seniors, and those with physical limitations.
Vehicular access
determinations need to be made at the local level through the BLM travel
management planning process and with full public participation. Some
national program directives, like wilderness and endangered species, will
govern the extent to which OHV use can occur in specific areas. In most
other situations, OHV access decisions need to be based primarily on the
needs of the public land resources and the views of land users and local
government.
Existing roads and
trails should remain open for public use unless the continued use of a
specific road or trail is determined to be a significant threat to an
endangered species or cultural resources, or damaging to important
wildlife habitat, vegetation or soils on the land which the road or trail
traverses.
Closing existing
roads or trails to OHV use should be done in the context of the BLM travel
management planning process with full public involvement, and appropriate
closures should be visibly signed on the ground and marked on public land
maps.
There are valid
reasons for vehicle operation off existing roads and trails. These
include:
·
permittees and leasees
needing to carry out their authorized activities,
·
resource managers needing to
conduct management activities like resource studies and projects, and
·
emergency workers involved
in rescue activities and wildfire fighting.
The creation of new
roads and trails is commonly necessary for resource uses like mining
development and timber harvest. When these operations are finished, the
roads should be closed and the land reclaimed unless the BLM determines
that the roads are appropriate for inclusion into the public access or
transportation plan for the area.
The historic use of
public lands for recreation and natural resource development have created
a system of roads and trails that is, in most cases, adequate for current
OHV recreation uses. In most areas, OHV activities should be confined to
existing roads and trails.
However, there is a
need for some public land areas where OHV recreational use can be managed
as the dominant use, such as on the sand dunes in Southern California, the
Slickrock Trail in Utah, and the dirt bike riding and motorcycle hill
climbing sites that have been established on sites in many places on the
BLM lands. These are legitimate recreational pursuits and they need to
have what many would call sacrifice areas where these types of activities
can occur.
PLF Position
1. OHV use is an
established, legitimate use of the BLM administered lands in the National
System of Public Lands, which must be managed in a manner consistent with
the capability of the land to sustain the use, with due consideration for
the impact of OHV use on the land, the resources and other land users.
2. Public lands
should remain open and accessible to the public unless there is some valid
resource-related or public safety reason to limit or prohibit public
access in a specific area.
3. Vehicular access
determinations need to be made at the local level through the BLM travel
management planning process and with full public participation.
4. Existing road and
trail systems, in most cases, are adequate for reasonable public access
for both recreational and authorized resource uses. Most recreational OHV
use should be confined to these existing roads and trails.
5. Existing roads
and trails should remain open for public use unless the continued use of a
specific road or trail is determined to be a significant threat to an
endangered species or cultural resources, or damaging to important
wildlife habitat, vegetation or soils on the land which the road or trail
traverses.
6. Closing existing
roads or trails to OHV use should be done in the context of the BLM travel
management planning process with full public involvement, and appropriate
closures should be visibly signed on the ground and marked on public land
maps.
7. Valid reasons for
vehicle operation off existing roads and trails include:
·
permittees and leasees
needing to carry out their authorized activities,
·
resource managers needing to
conduct management activities like resource studies and projects, and
·
emergency workers involved
in rescue activities and wildfire fighting
8. Retrieval of
tagged big game with OHVs in “Limited” areas should be permitted unless
there is a determination that such one-time use would result in long-term
damage to resources.
9. Some situations
warrant the creation of new roads and trails:
·
New roads are commonly
necessary for resource uses like mining development and timber harvest;
and
·
There is the need for some
public land areas where OHV recreational vehicle use can be managed as the
dominant use.
10. When resource
uses like mining development and timber harvest are finished, the roads
should be closed and the land reclaimed unless the BLM determines that the
roads are appropriate for inclusion into the public access or
transportation plan for the area.
11. The PLF endorses
the BLM’s National Strategy for Motorized Off-Highway Vehicle Use on
Public Lands, which provides a framework for planning and managing OHV use
on BLM public lands in coordination with local publics and local
government and in cooperation with OHV user groups.
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Updated from PLF No. 19-01, dated October 23, 2001 |