In Gazette reporter R. Scott Rappold’s recent article (“Dirt bikes, camping and a slew of problems, June 3”) highlighting the increasing public-lands damage being caused by OHV overuse and abuse here in Colorado, he points out the proliferation of illegal, user-created routes and the expanding culture of lawlessness apparently permeating a critical mass of OHV users.
As a hunter and OHV user myself, I understand the attraction of these vehicles, but their misuse is widespread (as Rappold’s article confirms) and not only churns up the countryside, causing public lands damage that will take “three decades…to come back,” it also spooks deer and elk, chasing them farther into the backcountry where they are harder for hunters to find.
Colorado Division of Wildlife director Tom Remington says, “These animals are chased and harassed all year long, it’s not just hunters.” Year-round disturbances make wary animals even more wary. Add to this near-constant state of nerves caused by scofflaw OHVers running rampant across the countryside, and you have the makings of a lackluster hunting season.
In Colorado, the State Parks Board has the opportunity to support real, meaningful OHV management reform through “sticker funds” reallocation, which would result in more funds being allocated to OHV law enforcement and remediation activities. Hunters and anglers pay for our own law enforcement through license fees. Why should the most damaging and disruptive group of public-land users be allowed to escape the responsibility of self-policing?
Certainly, we can all agree that every citizen should have opportunities to enjoy the big outside — and indeed, public lands welcome everyone. But must they accommodate everybody’s favorite toys, too? Of course not, no more than we are free to ride our dirt bikes into the post office or the library, even though we pay taxes to support those facilities.
