Interesting Government Study in Favor of OHV's

Wasatch Quad

Wasatch You Sayin'? - UTVUnderground Approved
Jan 24, 2009
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Northern Utah
Though its findings are unbinding, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently issued a report detailing problems concerning off-highway vehicles (OHV) operating on federal land.

Some of the report's key findings include:

OHV use on federal lands, both authorized and unauthorized, generally increased from fiscal year 2004 through fiscal year 2008.
Field unit officials from the Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service and Park Service reported that "environmental impacts"  like soil erosion, damage to vegetation, wildlife habitat fragmentation and the spread of invasive species  associated with OHV use occurred on less than 20 percent of the lands they manage, although seven percent of unit officials interviewed said 80 percent or more of their lands are affected by environmental impacts.
An annual average of about 110 OHV-related fatalities occurred nationwide from fiscal year 2004 through fiscal year 2008.
Many OHV trails across the nation remained un-marked: Only a few field unit officials with authorized OHV use in their units indicated that at least 90 percent of their OHV routes have been marked with signage. About half of the field unit officials whose units authorize OHV use indicated that more than 50 percent of their OHV routes have been signed.

The Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC) views the report as evidence that OHV riding is not as large a problem as detractors say.

"MIC and responsible OHV enthusiasts have worked for years and will continue to do our part to decrease irresponsible actions by a minority of enthusiasts, but GAO's findings indicate that this may be a smaller problem than many in the anti-access community would have us believe," said Kathy Van Kleeck, the MIC's senior vice president, government relations.

To view the full report, Linky------>U.S. GAO - Federal Lands: Enhanced Planning Could Assist Agencies in Managing Increased Use of Off-Highway Vehicles
 

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