ATVA and Others Blast Pending
Government Agency Study on OHVs
Pickerington, OH (2/11/2009)
- Nine national off-highway
vehicle (OHV) groups, including the AMA/ATVA,
sent a letter on Feb. 5 to the federal Government
Accountability Office (GAO) noting that an ongoing
GAO study on OHV use is flawed in such a way that
any findings will be skewed against OHV use on
federal lands.
A principal component of the study is a survey
of federal land managers that ostensibly seeks
to determine trends in the amount of OHV use,
potential environmental and human health and safety
impacts and how federal agencies are managing
OHV use and enforcing OHV regulations. Managers
from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), National
Park Service (NPS) and the U.S. Forest Service
(USFS) received the survey and were asked to respond.
The letter was signed by representatives of Americans
for Responsible Recreational Access, the AMA/ATVA,
BlueRibbon Coalition, Motorcycle Industry Council,
National Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation Council,
Off-Road Business Association, Recreational Off-Highway
Vehicle Association, Specialty Vehicle Institute
of America and United Four Wheel Drive Associations.
The letter noted that GAO's survey questions
ignore ongoing federal management activities and
are ambiguous, subjective and lack context. Both
the BLM and the USFS are currently engaged in
multi-year efforts to improve OHV management by
designating which trails are open for motorized
use on each Unit and Forest.
The letter notes the survey ignores these efforts,
despite the fact the USFS process is scheduled
for completion in December 2009. In addition,
most of the survey questions are vague and only
provide limited responses that will overstate
problems and downplay successes in OHV management.
House Natural Resources Committee, Subcommittee
on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands Ranking
Member Rob Bishop (R-UT) recently wrote the GAO
as well and expressed his concerns with the survey
stating, "First, the survey is critically
flawed because it fails to consider that the Forest
Service (and) BLM ... are in the process of implementing
a relatively new policy for [OHV] use on their
respective lands." And, "Second, the
survey contains numerous questions that are far
too subjective, littered with vague terminology,
and lacking context."
Larry Smith, Executive Director, Americans for
Responsible Recreational Access stated, "OHV
enthusiasts, industry, and, of course, the Forest
Service and BLM have dedicated immeasurable effort
and resources to designating routes that are open
for motorized use. Any study or survey that disregards
those efforts is simply not credible." He
continued, "If GAO hopes to perform a legitimate
study that truly examines OHV use on federal lands
it needs to scrap its current survey and develop
a new one that not only is far less subjective
but also considers ongoing management activities."
National Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation Council
Executive Director Russ Ehnes said, "GAO
has missed an opportunity to examine OHV use on
federal lands, choosing instead to issue a survey
that seeks only to solidify biased misconceptions
about motorized recreation."
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