# State gets serious about ORV damage



## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

State gets serious about ORV damage

http://www.mlive.com/outdoors/grpress/index.ssf?/base/sports-0/114501751382740.xml&coll=6

Friday, April 14, 2006 By The Grand Rapids Press

The state is about to move forward to crack down on illegal off-road vehicle use in Michigan state forests and all I can say is: It's about time. 

The latest pressure to do something about renegade riders in the woods comes from an unlikely but not unusual place -- the state's desire to certify its forests. Certification has big dollar implications. 

Without it, companies like Home Depot or others will not buy the lumber. They insist that the forest be certified as sustainable, which is to say that cutting practices won't deplete the timber supply and that the best possible management practices are used.

When Michigan's state forests were audited for certification last year, ORV damage surfaced as a major problem. 

Unacceptable amount of damage 

"One of the findings was that there was an unacceptable amount of environmental damage caused by illegal ORV use," Steve DeBrabander, the manager for the Department of Natural Resources' trail operation and construction unit, said. "It was a significant finding and the department has to respond by developing strategies to significantly reduce or eliminate the damage that is being caused." 

DeBrabander is the chair for the agency task force that has been formed to address the issues by this June. If the DNR doesn't do the job, certification of its forests will be lifted. 

You may recall that a 1990 survey by the state turned up $1.2 billion in illegal ORV damage just in the Lower Peninsula. Those included torn-up hills, pirate trails and devastated stream banks where the machines crossed regularly. A study four years later of the Upper Peninsula turned up only a fraction of that damage. 

The state then set out to develop a plan to mitigate the problem. That involved bumping up public awareness, enforcement and giving out grants for restoration projects. 

Fee funds restoration

A percentage of ORV users' $16.25 annual license fee goes to fund grants to groups who take on restoration projects. The rest goes to license dealers and for education, law enforcement, trail building and maintenance. 

"We already have a plan, the enforcement and restoration grants," DeBrabander said. "But there have been so many (competing) priorities that not everything gets done."

The agency is short-handed compared to 15 or 20 years ago. It has suffered from a major erosion of manpower. The political climate of the last decade is to blame. 

But now economics is forcing the agency to make ORV damage a high priority. One might argue that sound stewardship should be reason enough, but practical realities have a way of interceding.

Economics based on forest stewardship is a good reason if it will get the job done. 

The task force has been charged with looking at three areas: Rider education, enforcement and restoration. 

"We want to get the word out to riders that it is important to stay on trails and not cut spurs or ride through stream beds and damage vegetation," DeBrabander said. 

"We want to make printed materials more available. We have had some distribution problems." 

The rules, regulations and guidelines are supposed to be readily available any place you can buy an ORV license. That includes ORV dealerships and 1,700 outlets where hunting and fishing licenses are sold.

The task force is looking at just how to step up enforcement. It also is exploring methods for cataloging damage sites in order to better manage their restoration. 

"We have to get to the point that we have very few sites damaged by illegal use," DeBrabander said. 

That will be a big job with an estimated 200,000 ORVs in the state, a number that increases every year.

The burden, however, should be shared. Riding clubs will need to do their part to continue to educate their members and as much as possible, the non-member riding public. 

DeBrabander would like riders and others to consider calling the law when they see people riding illegally. 

Dealers also will need to get fully onboard. It's a sport and industry with a tarnished image. ORV dealers are in a good position to help that change. 

You see, it's not like there isn't anywhere to ride in Michigan. There is a 3,100-mile legal ORV trail system on the ground already, one that is growing. 

The work will be good to see. It's long overdue.


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## yoopertoo (Nov 23, 2005)

Hamilton Reef said:


> State gets serious about ORV damage
> You may recall that a 1990 survey by the state turned up $1.2 billion in illegal ORV damage just in the Lower Peninsula. Those included torn-up hills, pirate trails and devastated stream banks where the machines crossed regularly. A study four years later of the Upper Peninsula turned up only a fraction of that damage.


How do you determine the dollar value of a trail in the woods, and why does an ATV trail cost money and a logging road not? Hmmm ...


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## Slippin' (Feb 6, 2000)

I'm with Yooper on that!!!!!!!!

Would like to hear our DNR comment or rebutal.

Any CO's out there?


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## bucklessyooper (Jun 13, 2003)

Furthermore, why isn't a logging road considered "damage"


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