"BRC fully encourages and supports reasonable and responsible management prescriptions for this type of recreational activity," said BRC executive director George Mumm, who used the Paiute Trail System in Utah as a "successful application of active management for OHV recreation."

"Properly managed motorized recreation presents both a service to citizens and a source of revenue," Mumm said. "Such revenue is vital to rural counties who welcome recreation in lieu of other activities that no longer provide predictable or meaningful revenue, particularly for counties with significant federal public lands."

Edward Moreland, vice president for government relations for the American Motorcyclist Association, said the off-road community supports stiffer fines and penalties for those who knowingly damage public lands but do not want to see unfunded mandates or artificial deadlines put in place that end up hurting users instead of helping them.

"An inventory system that fails to provide adequate time and funding to do the job right is destined to fail," Moreland said.

Bradley Powell, the Western Energy and ORV coordinator for Trout Unlimited, a group that focuses on protecting coldwater fisheries, insisted that he was not at the hearing to oppose ORV use on public lands, "but to ensure that their use is compatible with the land's capability (particularly fish and wildlife habitats) and the needs of sportsmen/women, recreational users and others who rely on America's public lands for their enjoyment."

Powell said that many ORV users ride responsibly but those that travel off trails and create "unauthorized routes" create problems.

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E-mail: suzanne@desnews.com