Earlier posts addressed the dubious "poll" by USA Weekend. I say dubious, because the "poll's" proposition, "Should ATV's Be Banned From National Parks" seems curious, when ATV's are ALREADY banned from National Parks (but not National Forests).

Northern Virginia Trail Riders President Elizabeth Schelin's letter to the membership, reprinted below, eloquently addresses the issue with some constructive alternatives:

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Subject: wet blanket

Northern Virginia Trail Riders - http://www.nvtr.org

Hey all,

I sure do -- with all sincerity -- appreciate the enthusiasm that seems
to have arisen over the USA Weekend poll about ORV use in national
parks. The fact that ORV use is already NOT allowed and never was
allowed in national parks seems to have been overlooked. Obviously USA
Today means national forests, which are another beast entirely (under
agriculture, not interior, and set up for resource management, not
preservation).

Any organization that is too dumb to do its homework isn't going to pay
attention to any of the results, and even anti-ORV groups know they are
too unrepresentative (or simply wrong, in this case!) to be useful or
relevant.

*** These polls are simply tactics to get you to visit and to "feel
involved" with their site -- all the while turning you into advertising
fodder. ***

So! May I suggest a way you can spend the same amount of time and REALLY
make a difference. Emailing your US senators and representatives is
literally two clicks away from these sites:

http://www.senate.gov/
("Connect with your Senator," middle left)

http://www.house.gov/
("Write your Representative," scroll down to bottom left)

Send them a line as brief as "I'm from your district and strongly
support responsible Off-Road Vehicle use on public lands."

Or more time-sensitive: "Don't support the CARA bill!" (For background
on that one, see the listbot message from Smackover Motor Sports of
4-18. Can't find it? Contact dirtbike@arkansas.net or me.)

This is truly quick, and sends the message where it really counts. I
went from start to finish for my two senators and one rep in less than
three minutes total.

Roost um!
Elizabeth Schelin, prez NVTR.

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Tree Farmer

 

Tree Farmer,

Here is a little data that I gathered off the US forest service web page. The area is the Gifford Pinchot National Forrest, it is located in SW Washington state.

User Miles of Trails
Hikers 532
Horses 440
Bicycles 319
Motorcycles 162
ATV 31

We see who the government listens to. The horse riders have over 10 times the amount of trails than ATV's. They even have more trails than bicycle riders? Go figure.

We (ATV) riders need to change the opinion of our congressmen & women as per the info in your post.

 

U.S. bans snowmobiles in most parks 4/28/00

By H. Josef Hebert

ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON - The National Park Service yesterday issued a broad ban on the recreational use of snowmobiles at nearly all national parks, recreational areas and monuments.

The off-road vehicles have had "significant adverse environmental effect" on the park system, the agency said.

The only exceptions to the ban were parks in Alaska and the Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota, where Congress specifically allowed use of snowmobiles, and in cases where the vehicles are considered necessary for access to adjacent private lands or inholdings, the agency said.

The ban applies to 10 national parks from Acadia in Maine to Sequoia and Kings Canyon in California.

Snowmobiling also no longer will be allowed in 15 national seashores, monuments, parkways, historic sites, recreational areas and scenic trails.

Included in the ban was the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Decisions on applying the ban to Yellowstone National Park in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming and to Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming were delayed until November because of continuing snowmobile studies at the two parks.

"The time has come for the National Park Service to pull in its welcome mat for recreational snowmobiling," Assistant Interior Secretary Donald J. Barry said. He called snowmobiles "noisy, antiquated machines that are no longer welcome in our national parks."

"The snowmobile industry has had many years to clean up their act and they haven't," he added.

More than 180,000 snowmobiles are used in national parks, and critics have complained that they account for significant air pollution, noise and damage to wildlife and the park environment.

The action came in response to a petition filed more than a year ago by the Bluewater Network and more than 60 other environmental and conservation groups.

They contended that the National Park Service had not enforced its own regulations, dating to the 1970s, that required close monitoring of snowmobiles and other off-road vehicles in parks, and a ban if they were found to harm the environment.

"The Park Service is finally waking up to the lasting harm motorized thrill-craft such as snowmobiles cause to parks," said Sean Smith of the San Francisco-based Bluewater Network. He is a former park ranger at Yellowstone.

"Snowmobile use is hurting parks and discouraging visitors," added Kevin Collins, a spokesman for the National Parks and Conservation Association, a private park advocacy group. "People want to enjoy the parks free from noise and pollution."
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What's next!!! Ahhhh,,,,major sniff sniff head lowered morale down.

 

The only exceptions to the ban were parks in Alaska and the Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota, where Congress specifically allowed use of snowmobiles.
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Thank you Polaris and Artic Cat for your lobbying efforts. And all who called