Senate votes to protect rivers from vehicles
Access for off-road drivers would be limited or banned


04/17/2003

By CHRISTY HOPPE / The Dallas Morning News


AUSTIN – Recreational trucks and motorbikes would have limited access or be outright banned from sensitive rivers and streams under a bill the Senate tentatively approved Wednesday.

Public waterways in Texas are some of the last remaining public lands where four-wheel-drive and other vehicles can freely roam.

"Operating motor vehicles in Texas rivers is not sustainable," said bill author Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo.

Some off-road drivers have argued that the environmental damage they do is small compared with pesticide runoff and erosion caused by grazing cattle.

Ms. Zaffirini said that in most cases, the ills of recreational driving outweigh the benefits.

"I just don't think it's good enough to say, 'I want to drive my ATV on the river,' " she said.

Ms. Zaffirini produced pictures and reports from recreational vehicle Web sites that showed a herd of about 40 trucks crisscrossing the Nueces River, including one person trying to repair a radiator leak in the river.

She said she worked closely with recreational groups to provide some access in areas that can reasonably tolerate the impact.

Under the bill, cities, counties or river authorities could adopt a local plan for freshwater areas in their area. If the plan is approved by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, vehicles would be allowed access to the area for a nominal fee.

The area must have good water quality and the plan must show vehicle use won't harm the fish, water or vegetation, Ms. Zaffirini said.

Violators who ignore access plans to run the river would be subjected to a Class C misdemeanor, which would increase to a Class B offense upon the third infraction.

Exempted from the law are government right of ways and private road crossings. Also, farmers on their own agricultural land, those operating camps and retreats, agents checking mineral leases and those on emergency runs can drive across river beds without violating the law.

Four senators opposed the measure, saying that it would harm people such as hunters or landowners riding all-terrain vehicles across a river. Others said they were concerned that the bill was too broadly written and could unintentionally limit access to small creeks and dry beds.

Ms. Zaffirini said that the bill's intent was to encompass navigable waterways, but that she would amend the bill to ease concerns when it comes up for final review Tuesday. The bill would then go to the House for consideration.

E-mail choppe@dallasnews.com

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