Reader comments
Federal fight brewing on regulating ORV use

Impound the machines of irresponsible riders. Length of impoundment equal to seriousness of trail damage.

Trail repair a condition of getting machine back. No problem for responsible riders. Kids with "a need for speed" will spend some quality time with a shovel.

Agencies (mostly local) are doing a great job of providing access for ohvs'. Whith proper signage and route layout there is little or no abuse. The stories of abuse , for the most part, are blown out of proportion.

The biggest problem of ORV use is the enforcement of any laws. Every year new laws are written but to enforce them requires an even larger law enforcement agency. There are even problems with the use of individual water craft on lakes and resevoirs that are difficult to enforce. The problem is not laws, its individuals knowing they can get away with breaking the laws and getting caught is very slim. Perhaps they need to regulate the sales end and number of ORV's sold in a particular sport. People seem to ignore responsibility to the enviornment, wildlife, and watersheds, so the laws need to work and insure responsible use. Impoundment of ORV's should mean loss of ORV's and the destruction of them. Motorcyclist are probabley the worst abusers and should receive the greatest penalties, fines, etc. If people can't respect open land then they shouldn't be on it. A system of reporting abuse should be established to report abusers and riders or owners of ORV's. A vehicle license number used to transport ORV's should work very well in reporting abusers. And a picture taken with a cell phone camera speaks a thousand words.

The damage isn't overblown. Certainly there are responsible ORV riders, but there are more than just a few bad apples in that barrel.

Just who can afford to trailer and then run those things at $4.00/gallon? That community used to try and label backpackers as elitist. That was always laughable, but the true elitists are now showing.

The real resource damage in the West is due from the exploding urban sprawl in places like Reno and Las Vegas - that has wiped out more wildlife habitat than any OHV trails. Increased OHV use is just another one of the unintended consequences of urban expansion. Let's hope that lack of drinkable water and $7/gallon gasoline solve these problems. It IS a desert you know. Let's start acting like it.

The animals love our trails. Do you go to the trails? If you do, then you see animal tracks on current trails. Where is the damage? It's in your mind and your desire to control others.