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Guide to Off-Road Vehicles ORVs you can find on your public lands and waters Visitors to public lands from Alaska to Florida are likely to encounter a wide range of off-road vehicles. From snowmobiles in northern regions, to dirt bikes and all-terrain vehicles in the desert, to jet skis on rivers, lakes and coastal waters, off-road vehicle use is growing dramatically. This page contains some basic information about these machines and their negative impacts on the environment, wildlife and public safety.
Off-Road Vehicles: General Information Most dirt bikes, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), snowmobiles, jet skis and other mass produced off-road vehicles in use today are powered by inefficient two-stroke engines. These engines, which also power many chainsaws, trimmers and outboard motors, burn a combination of oil and gas. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), two-stroke engines discharge between 25 and 30% of their oil-gas mixture directly into the environment. These emissions contain a host of toxic and cancer-causing chemicals, including benzene and methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), which pollute the air and water and injure, kill and potentially mutate plants, animals, fish and microscopic marine life. Technological advancements in engine design, fuel efficiency, light-weight
composite body panels and overall reliability allow dirt bikes,
snowmobiles and other off-road vehicles to travel deeper into roadless
backcountry than even 10 years ago. After-market modifications,
such as snorkels and specialized exhaust systems, also increase
horsepower and speed and make it possible to operate in deep water. Characteristics
According to the International Association of Snowmobile Manufacturers, the average suggested retail price of a new 2001 snowmobile is $5,800. Snowmobiles range in weight from as little as 140 pounds for a model designed specifically for children to more than 600 pounds. Models are marketed in broad categories relating to potential use, including performance, mountain, touring, deep snow and sport utility. Adverse Impacts on the Environment and Public Safety Cars outnumber snowmobiles in Yellowstone National Park by 16 to 1. However, in just three months each winter, snowmobiles generate up to 68% of the Park's carbon monoxide pollution and as much as 90% of total hydrocarbon emissions. During the winter of 2002, respirators were issued to rangers working at the west entrance to Yellowstone National Park to reduce their exposure to toxic snowmobile exhaust. In 2003, many of these same rangers were outfitted with special hearing protection in an effort to minimize the risk of high-end hearing loss. In February 2003, a coalition of public health organizations, including the American Cancer Society and Physicians for Social Responsibility, urged the Park Service warn every visitor to Yellowstone about the health risks associated with exposure to fine particulate matter in snowmobile exhaust. These health professionals took this action after the Service issued paper masks to rangers working throughout the Park as a stop-gap measure designed to reduce their exposure to particulate pollution. Some suggest that snowmobiles have little or no impact on soil and vegetation because the snow acts as a buffer. In fact, snowmobiles have significant adverse impacts on each of these resources. Studies demonstrate that snowmobiles damage plants and trees. For example, researchers found that after being run over by a snowmobile only once, 78% of saplings in an area were damaged with "nearly 27% of them seriously enough to cause a high probability of death."(Neumann and Merriam, The Ecological Effects of Snowmobiling, 1972) Research in Alaska demonstrates that snowmobiles compact fragile tundra and permafrost ecosystems, cause permafrost to melt prematurely and generally increase soil temperatures. Snowmobiles negatively impact wildlife causing them to deplete critical energy reserves, avoid important foraging areas and to be displaced from preferred range altogether. These effects are exacerbated by winter conditions - colder temperatures, the presence of snow and the limited availability of food - which combine to make survival generally more difficult than during much of the rest of the year. Snowmobiles also have significant adverse impacts on the entire ecosystem which lies between the ground and the snow - known as subnivean. Snowmobiles, which weigh an average of 500 pounds, compact the snow just like dirt bikes and ATVs compact the soil. Researchers in Minnesota, Michigan and other regions have documented
how significant snowmobile use, and the snow compaction that accompanies
it, kills small mammal populations that live beneath the snow. Eliminating
these animals has adverse consequences up the food chain, particularly
on birds of prey.(Rongstad, Research Needs on Environmental Impacts
of Snowmobiles, 1980; Brander, Ecological Impacts of Off-Road Vehicles,
1974) Characteristics All-terrain vehicles, commonly known as ATVs, are three- or four-wheel
machines specifically designed for off-road travel. Three-wheel
machines are no longer manufactured, but many remain in use. ATVs
are generally equipped with wide, knobby or paddle-like tires and
special suspension systems capable of handling extremely rough terrain
and cushioning jumps. Adverse Impacts on the Environment and Public Safety Dirt bikes and ATVs cause significant soil erosion and compaction, increase sedimentation of streams and damage fragile desert ecosystems. Dirt bikes, which are generally equipped with narrow tires, cause significant erosion by creating ruts which can expand into gullies several feet deep following heavy rains. Erosion depletes top soil and contributes to stream sedimentation, which destroys critical habitat for a wide array of fish, including salmon and trout. An analysis of soil erosion in one area of California subject to
high dirt bike use documented one gully more than 6 feet deep, including
a cut into bedrock to a depth of nearly 3 feet.(Webb et al, Soil
erodibility and erosion control recommendations, 1977) Dirt bikes and ATVs spread noxious and invasive weeds which crowd out native plants, alter natural habitat and adversely impact farmers and ranchers. Based on research by the Montana State University Extension Service, a single dirt bike or ATV can spread 2,000 seeds over a 10-mile radius.(Montana State University Extension Service, 1992) ATVs pose a safety risk to riders and the public at large. Between 1993 and 2001, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that the number of injuries caused by ATV accidents more than doubled -- from 49,800 to 111,700. This increase occurred during a period in which the industry increasingly touted it education and safety campaigns. (Annual Report of All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV)-Related Deaths and Accidents, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), 2002) According to CPSC, 4,541 people were killed in ATV-related accidents between 1982 and the end of 2001. From 1993 to 2000, annual ATV-related deaths increased 159 percent from 211 to at least 547. CPSC data also tell a chilling story about children killed by ATVs. Through the year 2001, 1,714 children under age 16 - or 38% of the total number of fatalities - have been killed by ATVs. Of these, 799 were children under age 12. JET SKIS and other personal watercraft Characteristics Jet skis are a form of watercraft that are designed to be operated
while sitting, kneeling or standing on the vessel rather than from
within the confines of traditional hull. Unlike most conventional
motorboats with propellers, jet skis are powered by a pump that
discharges water in a highly concentrated stream. Jet skis with more powerful engines can travel faster than 60 miles per hour in their stock configuration. (Personal Watercraft Safety, National Transportation Safety Board, 1998) Honda entered the jet ski market for the first time in 2002 with two models. The base model had 125 horsepower while the other - equipped with a turbo charger - generated 165 horsepower. A new Yamaha introduced in 2001 had 140 horsepower. By way of comparison, the average model year 2003 Honda Accord generates 160 horsepower while the 2003 Ford Taurus produces 155. In 2003, Bombardier - maker of "Sea-Doo" jet skis - introduced a 185 horsepower, supercharged jet ski (GTX+ 4-TEC) that it describes as the "industry's first and only supercharged watercraft." Promotional material states "With 185 horsepower and zero lag (unlike a turbocharger, our superchargers is always on), it's the most powerful, highest performance production watercraft you can buy." Watercraft World Magazine topped 62 miles per hour on this jet ski. (March 2003, "Modern Muscle") According to the Personal Watercraft Industry Association, the average retail price of jet skis sold in 2002 was $8,798. Adverse Impacts on Environment and Public Safety Jet skis can operate in shallow, near-shore marine habitat, which is inaccessible to most conventional motorboats. Studies have concluded that jet skis have more serious negative impacts on birds, including interruption of normal feeding activity and repeated displacement from nesting areas, than conventional motorboats, cars, all-terrain vehicles and pedestrians.(Florida Game and Freshwater Fish Commission) Jet ski also pose a significant threat to public safety. According to the National Association of Marine Manufacturers, jet skis account for approximately 9% of all registered boats in the U.S. However, based on data compiled by the U.S. Coast Guard for 2000, jet skis are disproportionately involved in more than 30% of all boating accidents and nearly 40% of all boating injuries. According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), while
most conventional boating deaths result from drowning, most jet
ski fatalities result from blunt force trauma. Characteristics According to the National Park Service, these vehicles vary widely based on their frames, engines, number of axles and wheel sizes. The Service estimates that the average swamp buggy weighs nearly two tons with larger versions exceeding three and a half tons. (Big Cypress National Preserve, Final Recreational Off-Road Vehicle Management Plan, September 2000) The National Park Service has also concluded that swamp buggies are capable of penetrating deeper into backcountry areas than conventional 4-wheel drive vehicles. Swamp buggies are a particular problem in Big Cypress National
Preserve in Florida. Adverse Impacts on Environment and Public Safety These vehicles cause soil erosion and sedimentation by cutting deep ruts in environments subject to periodic heavy rainfall. They kill vegetation and alter the natural flow of water in the larger Everglades ecosystem. Swamp buggies also degrade habitat by carving it into smaller and smaller pieces. In Big Cypress, these machines have created about 23,000 miles
of unauthorized routes which bi-sect virtually every portion of
the Preserve, which is about the size of the State of Rhode Island.
These routes have chopped up the habitat of the critically endangered
Florida panther, which, like many other large predators, survives
best in an environment relatively free from roads and human activity. For more information, see our factsheet: Big Cypress National Preserve. Characteristics Beach buggies can be street legal off-road vehicles equipped with wide, knobby or paddle-like tires specially designed for travel on loose, deep sand. Adverse Impacts on the Environment and Public Safety Beach buggies negatively impact dune formation, a central component of barrier island ecology, by limiting vegetation growth. Vehicle travel also can destabilize beach structure by breaking the fine salt crust that helps to reduce erosion caused by wind and water. Beach buggies also adversely affect marine species. Dr. Stephen Leatherman of the University of Maryland, one of the foremost authorities on beach ecosystems, has documented that off-road vehicles harms ghost crabs, a species that he has called an excellent indicator species for beach invertebrates. One summer-long study on Assateague Island, Virginia found an average of 10 ghost crabs on wild beach plots, only one crab on plots with "light off-road vehicle use" and only 0.3 crabs per plot with "heavy off-road vehicle use." Importantly, this research concluded that "pedestrians appear to have no harmful effects on ghost crabs." (Leatherman, Barrier Island Handbook, 1988) These machines also harass and even kill migratory and wading birds.
For example, on the Holdgate beach in Brigantine Wilderness Area
in New Jersey, beach buggies disturb birds, including the threatened
piping plover, during critical feeding and resting periods. Next Generation Off-road Vehicles The Snow Hawk Characteristics The Billings Gazette describes this new machine as a "supercharged cross between a snowmobile and a motorcycle." The article continues: "The payoff is in the machine's maneuverability, power-to-weight ratio and a suspension with 15 inches of travel to absorb 'big air'jumps. Snowmobiles, in comparison, have about 4 to 6 inches of suspension travel." The Snow Hawk rests on a single ski in front and is propelled by a modified snowmobile tread. Current models are powered by a 500cc engine and weigh approximately 350 pounds. Average retail cost is $8,700. Rhino Rough Terrain Vehicle (Rhino RTV) Characteristics The Billings Gazette describes the Rhino RTV as a "cross between an all-terrain vehicle and a monster truck." The Rhino is a custom-built vehicle that has the tires of a monster truck, the rollcage of a dragster, and looks like an overgrown ATV. According the article, the average Rhino is 10 feet long and 6 feet wide, powered by a four-cylinder car engine and weighs a little more than one ton. The manufacturers describe the vehicle as essentially indestructable - "We tried to do everything we could to break the machine and we couldn't break it." The paper reports that the Nevada-based manufacturer is producing 10 to 15 Rhinos every month and dealerships have been established in California, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Utah and Montana. The Rhino costs between $25,000 and $27,000 depending on options, which include four wheel steering.
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Snowmobiles
travel across the snow on a combination of skis and a rubber track.
The skis steer the machine while the track provides propulsion.
Dirt
bikes are a type of two-wheel motorcycle specifically designed for
off-road travel. They are generally equipped with narrow, knobby
tires and special suspension systems capable of handling extremely
rough terrain and cushioning jumps.
In
another region of California researchers estimate that dirt bikes
and ATVs produced as much as 72,000 metric tons of sediment in a
single winter season.(Griggs and Walsh, The Impacts, Control,
and Mitigation of Off-road Vehicle Activity in Hungry Valley, 1981)
Jet
skis are about 7 to 10 feet in length, weigh an average of 450 pounds
without a rider and can accommodate between 1 and 4 passengers.
