OFF-ROAD ABUSE TEARING UP NATIONAL MONUMENT IN ARIZONA

[nosmokes]

If these asses could stay on designated trails and keep their guns in their cases and pack out their empty beer cans and tequila bottles then they might not find the rest of the outdoor community solidly against them. But I'm fairly well acquainted with this particular area in question and it is entirely too fragile to handle this type of heavy ORV traffic. And the Sonoran desert is possibly the most biologically diverse desert in the world. Add to this the Ancient Indian remains and there is more than ample reason for closing off the monument to ORVs.
--###--

original-peer

For Immediate Release: December 5, 2007
Contact: Carol Goldberg [phone]

OFF-ROAD ABUSE TEARING UP NATIONAL MONUMENT IN ARIZONA

— Sonoran Desert National Monument Overwhelmed by Off-Road Traffic and Impacts

Tucson, AZ — The Sonoran Desert National Monument is considering banning off-road vehicle traffic altogether because of the resource damage and user conflicts, according to internal memos released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). Agency officials cannot cope with the “exponential” increase in recreational demands on the nearly half-million acre federal preserve south of Phoenix – particularly abusive off-roading by excessively large groups.

Minutes from an internal “Emergency Resources Protection Meeting” of the Sonoran Desert National Monument staff held on March 5, 2007 and other agency records, obtained by PEER from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) under the Freedom of Information Act, indicate that –

* Growing problems prompted the official Resource Advisory Council to recommend a total ban on off-road vehicles entering the Monument;
* Attempts to restore damaged areas are being thwarted by repeated improper off-road intrusion. One BLM staff member noted that “volunteers are not enough to restore all the damaged areas. Volunteers are also getting tired of seeing their work destroyed…”
* In 2006, there were 73 illegal off-road “incursions” into the three congressionally designated wilderness areas inside the Monument (the North and South Maricopa Mountains and Table Top). All told, Arizona BLM recorded 280 wilderness violations last year by off-roaders.

The Sonoran Desert National Monument is an increasingly popular recreational destination in between the burgeoning populations of Phoenix and Tucson. One of the fastest growing components of Monument visitation is off-road traffic, allowing ever bigger groups to damage remote and sensitive areas.

“Reckless off-roaders are trashing Arizona’s natural heritage,” stated Southwest PEER Director Daniel Patterson, adding that the Sonoran Desert is the most biologically rich of the world’s deserts. “America’s national monuments must be protected from vandalism and environmental destruction, even if that means keeping off-road vehicles out of monuments.” Patterson is an Ecologist who formerly worked with BLM.

The BLM documents cite a wide range of growing headaches arising out of off-road groups, from improper disposal of human waste to the intensive law enforcement presence needed. Unfortunately, the deteriorating situation at Sonoran Desert National Monument is becoming prevalent on public lands across the Southwest, where off-road vehicles are now, by far, the number one law enforcement problem, according to agency statistics compiled by PEER.

“Due to the abuse, it is not surprising that BLM managers are considering an off-road vehicle ban for the Monument,” concluded Patterson. “Without effective enforcement it appears doubtful that abusive off-roading on our public lands can be stemmed.”

###










complete release including links to related sources here

[ixion]

1. deserts are fragile ecosystems

it can take decades or more for something to grow back once it has been burned or destroyed.

[CRF450]

5. Over here on the east side...

It takes only one summer for a single dirtbike trail to almost fully grow back over. When I was still living with my dad, I had a few little trails going back into the woods, they'd grow back over in no time if I didn't keep riding on them:)

[ixion]

7. yeah, it's that way in the midwest, too...

but in the desert, scarce water means things grow slowly. I was camping down there alot at one point, and you're not even supposed to gather wood for fires.

[CRF450]

8. Very true.

The western states like California and Arizona is a huge haven for offroaders. Though it does depend on the area out thier too. Tracks from ORV's on large sand dunes can dissapear in no time on a windy day.

[CRF450]

9. Whoops, meant that for your second post.

[sinkingfeeling]

2. They should ban off-road traffic.

[blondeatlast]

3. I love the Sonoran desert and I grew up in it and am raising my very eco-minded son

in it (our house is just outside a preserve).

The off-roaders can scar it up in a weekend. This traffic needs to be very severely curtailed.

[CRF450]

4. I'm an off-road enthusiast, and shit like this pisses me off to no end!!

Personally I cant blaim many offroaders for not staying on designated trails, because environmentalists have forced alot of parks to close down, and then the ones that remain open get crowded and deamed not very safe to ride at anymore. But whats worse than just wandering off of designated trails is the trash and beer cans these assholes leave behind.

I hang out with offroaders alot and most of them are very decent people regardless of political standing (since most of them are repubs) and then theirs many who are who are beer drinking dickhead rednecks that just wanna tear shit up, do doughnuts on their quads and showoff how much mudd they can throw in the air from a mudpit.

I love the sport, I do my part to try and keep the trails clean and tread lightly, but it only takes a few bad apples to ruin it for the rest us responsible offroaders.

[MadHound]

6. Frankly I think that they should ban off road vehicles from all parks,

They damage fragile ecosystems, destroy watersheds, pollute, usually at a greater rate than cars, cause noise pollution, and the riders are, for the most part, assholes who don't respect nature and trash it with litter and the junk they toss.

[CRF450]

10. Pollute more than cars?

Well it depends on what type of vehicle your talking about. Large dune buggies/sand rails, do eat through gas way faster than most SUV's. But dirtbikes and quads dont burn as much especially with todays 4 stroke engines, which they'v pretty much replaced all 2 strokes just about. On many offroading trips on my 450 4 stroke dirtbike, I burned through the whole tank in about 75 miles, thats 37.5mpg. Hardly pollutes more than a car.

Should they be banned? Your sounding just like the rethugs who want to ban stuff based on their political agenda's.