A video detailing the damages of ORV use on America’s public lands following the general theme of George Wuerthner’s book Thrillcraft: The Threat of Motorized Recreation has been posted online:
Thrillcraft Video
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A video detailing the damages of ORV use on America’s public lands following the general theme of George Wuerthner’s book Thrillcraft: The Threat of Motorized Recreation has been posted online:
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I applaud your efforts to inform the public of the extreme damage done by ORVs. This summer in Fremont County’s Island Park, Idaho, I witnessed numerous examples of the distressing effects of ORV use and abuse including accidents, dust, vegetation loss, a lack of consideration of other people, and the harassment of wildlife. I don’t have the exact statistics for the Sand Dunes in Fremont County, but this summer there were several serious accidents including one death from ATV use. Over the Labor Day weekend alone there were many serious accidents of which I believe three required life flights to Idaho Falls. Another problem though not addressed in the excellent video is what happens when the hauling of the trill vehicle is not given proper safety consideration. In Idaho, at least, there have been numerous accidents and deaths when trailers which have been incorrectly attached create mayhem on the highway. Again, congratulations on your efforts to awaken the public of this tragic threat to our public lands.
Grace,
I agree with your concerns about hauling atv’s. Several years ago, while driving home on Memorial Day weekend, I was involved in a situation where the oncoming vehicle started swaying back and forth and just after I got past them I saw atv’s and a camp trailer slingshot across both lanes.
The people were pulling a big camp trailer and an atv trailer behind it. If I had been just seconds behind I would have been seriously injured or killed. I turned around to make sure everyone was okay but they didn’t realize that I was the person they almost hit. Fortunately the people were okay but their atv’s and camp trailer weren’t.
Take home message, don’t pull two trailers with a pickup truck.
My husband and I hike and cross-country ski in the Wilderness areas of the Shoshone National Forest and, without exception, every summer we see tracks of ORVs in these areas and in the winter tracks of snowmobiles (which I consider to be ORVs) going into and out of the wilderness. The FS does not have enough staff and equipment to monitor these transgressions on our wilderness areas and the people who ride them know that. It is tragic what they have done and continue to do in the wilderness. This also is a sore subject for those of us who would like to be able to ride our bikes on these trails, but we stop at the Wilderness signs and turn around. They have NO integrity.
ATV’s and snowmobiles should both be banned from public lands unless they’re being used as rescue vehicles!
No wonder so many Americans are so fat and unhealthy requiring expensive health care when their condition has deteriorated to a very critical state. Anyone who cares about the environment would not approve of noisy and disruptive machines in pristine wildlife areas. We are in the animals’ homes and it’s time to respect that. And yes, I’m also for banning cars in Yellowstone.
I just returned from Denali in Alaska and the restrictions on auto use there make it a whole lot different from the Yellowstone experience.
Since that’s a national park Palin had nothing to do with that –I would imagine she’s opposed to the restrictions.
Barb said: “…And yes, I’m also for banning cars in Yellowstone.”
Barb,
The mission of the NPS is to preserve “unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the national park system for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations.”
The National Park Service manages lands for the recreation/enjoyment of U.S. citizens. The only land management system that truly prioritizes preservation over recreation is the National Wildlife Refuge system (managed by FWS). Note: The NPS is required under the American with Disabilities Act (1990) to grant access to public lands to all people. Some will only be able to view the parks from cars or other motorized forms of transportation.
Moreover, not sure if you are aware of this but the road through the northern portion of the park is actually a US highway that provides the only access to Cooke City, MT from November through April.
Yellowstone is a HUGE area that contains very few roads which get very high usage for a few short months of the year. During those months, these roads provide access to over 3 million visitors who have experiences that many scientists believe help them form values, attitudes that, in turn affect their policy-related judgments concerning our nations conservation priorities. In essence, they believe that such experiences help people to become conservationists.
Still want to ban cars from Yellowstone?