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Vroom Report The State of Off-Road Vehicles (ORVs) Across America April 23, 2003: In this issue: Today's News: Consumer Product Safety Commission Schedules ATV Safety Field Hearing Algodones Dunes Biological Opinion Issued Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Schedules ATV Safety Field Hearing - The CPSC announced today that it will hold a public hearing on the issue of all-terrain vehicle (ATV) safety on June 5 in Morgantown, West Virginia. The hearing will be held at West Virginia University. The Federal Register announcement states that the Commission is particularly interested in hearing testimony from ATV riders, accident victims, doctors and other medical professionals, safety and design engineers, and ATV manufacturers, dealers and distributors. The announcement highlights the seriousness of the problem: "The Commission is concerned about the dramatic increase in ATV-related injuries and the continued increase in ATV-related deaths and believes that holding a hearing will provide an opportunity for the interested public to share their concerns about ATVs and ATV safety." In February, the Commission released a new report assessing trends in ATV injuries and ridership between 1997 and 2001. Among other things, the report concludes that ATV-related injuries requiring emergency room treatment increased 104 percent - more than twice the rate of growth in ATVs sold. It also found that injuries caused by the largest ATVs, those with engines larger than 400 cc, increased by 567 percent during this period. The findings of this report are particularly significant because it covers the period of time during which the ATV industry assumed a voluntary approach to safety - an approach the industry claims to be highly successful. Read Federal Register notice: Read February CPSC report: http://www.cpsc.gov/library/foia/foia03/os/atvex2001.pdf Algodones Dunes Biological Opinion Issued - On April 9, 2003 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced that resuming dirt bike, ATV and dune buggy use on 50,000 acres of critical habitat in Algodones Dunes would not jeopardize threatened plants and animals, including the Peirson's milk-vetch and desert tortoise. The FWS, in charge of protecting plant and animal species under the Endangered Species Act, agrees that dirt bike and other off-road vehicle use destroys threatened plants at Algodones Dunes. However, the agency justifies opening the Dunes to off-road vehicles by citing a study paid for by an off-road vehicle group. This action, embodied in what is called a "biological opinion," paves the way for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to issue a final plan governing off-road vehicle use across nearly 150,000 acres of the California desert. The BLM could issue this plan as early as May. Read Los Angeles Times story on issue: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-motorized12apr12,1,4339251.story At issue is widespread concern that the biological opinion is not
based solely on science. As FWS biologists were studying the impacts
of off-road vehicle use last year, the California State Director
for BLM wrote the Service arguing at length against issuing an opinion
that the vehicles would harm wildlife or plants. In the letter,
the Director stated "New information has been collected on
Peirson's milk-vetch since the listing in 1988, including…studies
contracted by the American Sand Association." The American
Sand Association is an off-road vehicle enthusiast group. Therefore, the Service's opinion essentially sets up a game of Russian roulette for the milk-vetch and tortoise by relying on monitoring and "adaptive management" over the next four years. At the same time, the agency clearly indicates the threats to the milk-vetch and tortoise. Fish and Wildlife stated that, "Peirson's milk-vetch appears to be the most vulnerable species to destruction by [off-road vehicles]." In addition, the agency commented on BLM's draft plan by stating, "the proposed [plan] would significantly elevate impacts to desert tortoise." None-the-less, the decision to reopen the Dunes was made despite the agencies so-called commitment to species preservation. Utah, Interior Agreement on "Highways" Does Not Match Spin - On April 9, the State of Utah and U.S. Department of the Interior signed an agreement creating a "special process" for the federal government to evaluate State claims to "highways" and other federal rights-of-way under a Civil War-era mining law (technically known as RS 2477). While the State and Interior billed this agreement as a common sense solution that protects public lands, the reality is quite different. For example, while the agreement indicates that the State will not assert that cow paths and single tracks in National Parks, Wildlife Refuges and designated Wilderness areas are "highways," it does not preclude similar claims on 4 million roadless acres in National Forests or across more than 5.5 million acres of Bureau of Land Management lands with wilderness qualities. Although current law requires that "highways" be constructed, the agreement defines a "highway" as a travel way capable of "accommodating automobiles or trucks with four wheel." By applying this definition, the State could claim that simple passage of a vehicle across the land creates a "highway." For more information about this agreement and the RS 2477 issue in general, visit: www.highway-robbery.org. Members of Congress Challenge Secretary Norton on Highway Give-away - U.S. Representatives Mark Udall (D-CO) and Sherwood Boelhert (R-NY) and more than 80 other Members of Congress wrote to Secretary of Interior Gale Norton on April 16 requesting that she not allow the recent "disclaimer rule" to be used to give away public lands for road building. This rule, issued in final form in January, authorizes the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to "disclaim" interest in federal public lands thereby facilitating their transfer to states, mining and logging companies and the off-road vehicle lobby. The Members cite several reasons for their request. They make clear that transferring rights-of-way for highways claimed under an 1866 mining law (known technically as RS 2477) would violate existing law, which prohibits the issuance of any final regulations pertaining to RS 2477 claims without specific authorization by Congress. They point out that the rule does not provide standards or criteria for evaluating the validity of claims to public lands. In addition, the letter states that authorizing the BLM to give away land in National Parks and Wildlife Refuges may violate other federal laws governing the management of those public lands. If you would like a copy of the letter, please feel free to contact me. Illegal Vehicle Use/Vandalism Costs Taxpayers Today and Tomorrow - On Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands near Glenwood Springs, Colorado, steel gates made from old oil rigs that are affixed to posts sunk 6 feet into the ground and encased in concrete are being ripped from the earth, smashed open or otherwise vandalized. These actions violate road closure designed to protect wildlife, road surfaces and, ironically, recreational opportunities for other motorized visitors. BLM staff in the area estimates that replacing one of these specially constructed gates costs about $2,700. And with static or declining budgets, most field offices do not have extra dollars to simply build more. Instead, the Glenwood Springs office will replace one gate by reducing the tenure of a summer employee by one month. As a result, the taxpayers take a double hit - they pay now to address the vandalism and are likely to receive fewer services from the BLM this summer. A recent article in the Glenwood Springs Post Independent describes the problem: http://www.postindependent.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artikkel?Date=20030416&Category=VALLEYNEWS&ArtNo=304150006&SectionCat=&Template=printpictart Boating Noise Legislation to be Considered in California - The California Assembly's Transportation Committee will hold a hearing on April 28 to evaluate legislation (AB 1555) designed to improve the reliability and safety of tests to measure noise emissions from motorboats. Noise pollution from high-powered boats and jet skis negatively impacts other recreationists, homeowners and wildlife. While many jurisdictions have noise limits, current methods for testing emissions, which is necessary in order to enforce such limits, can be unreliable and unsafe. For example, current law in California requires that noise testing be conducted with boats operating at full speed along a predetermined course. Finding areas to conduct such high-speed testing in the State's heavily traveled coastal waters has proven especially difficult for local law enforcement. AB 1555, developed by Bluewater Network, would utilize new testing methods designed by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). One method measures noise emissions while boats are stationary and idling. The other test accurately measures noise levels on-shore where the impacts tend to be greatest on homeowners and visitors to the State's beaches. For more information about this bill, contact Katy Rexford or Sean
Smith with Bluewater Network at (415) 544-0790. For additional information, contact: Alix Rauschman The Natural Trails and Waters Coalition includes conservation, recreation and other groups working to protect and restore all public lands and waters from the severe damage caused by snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles, dirt bikes, jet skis and all other off-road vehicles.
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