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Law and Order on Public Lands

July 2, 2007

Off-road vehicle enthusiasts pressing for more and deeper access to public lands often couch their cause in the language of freedom.

Barry Goldwater, an Air Force reserve general who knew a thing or two about defending freedom, once wrote favorably about throwing all ORVs off public lands.

The machines are “doing more damage to our forests and deserts than anything man has ever created,” Goldwater wrote in a letter to the Forest Service. Just to make sure his point was clear—never a problem for the plainspoken Arizonan—he called ORVs Japan’s way of getting even for World War II.

Strong language. But the grand old man of the modern conservative movement had it basically right. Unfortunately, the ORV problems that Goldwater spotlighted three decades ago have worsened. Since then, the machines have become more popular and powerful.

Former Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth called unmanaged recreation one of the four leading threats to national forests. Bosworth largely was talking about motorized recreation. Since 1972, the same year that President Richard Nixon signed an executive order to minimize the impacts of ORV use on public lands, ORV users have grown by a factor of 10. Law enforcement rangers are spread too thin and have too few resources to police off-roading adequately.

Along with heavy use has come erosion, air and water pollution, damage to wildlife habitat, invasive weeds, and noise. Adjacent private property owners have seen fences, fields, and watercourses damaged by motorized trespassers. In places, rowdy off-roaders have created an unwholesome atmosphere for families seeking a peaceful venue for togetherness.

The ORV lobby likes to say that the problems are caused by a few bad apples. Maybe. But if they’re few in number, those bad apples create quite a stench.

Now, a group of retired forest, park, wildlife refuge, and BLM rangers has said enough’s enough. They held a press conference a few days ago calling for stronger enforcement and tougher penalties, including confiscation of ORVs if necessary. Retired Forest Service Deputy Chief Jim Furnish said that visitors to public lands expect rigorous enforcement that “protects natural resources, ensures visitor safety, and reclaims a family-friendly atmosphere.”

As the conservative Goldwater understood, when irresponsible individuals cause harm, the law must hold them accountable. Freedom and responsibility are inseparably coupled.