PETITION CLOSED

  • The time period for signing this petition has ended.
Stop off-road vehicle abuse on our Forests and BLM lands
  1. Signatures
    136 out of 500
    Petitioning
    1. Director, Colorado State Parks (Mr. Dean Winstanley)
  2. Created By
    Center for Native Ecosystems
About this Petition Petition Letter

Colorado residents are especially encouraged to submit this petition. Thank you!

Colorado's National Forests and BLM lands have seen an explosion in off-road vehicle (ORV) use in recent years with in-state ORV registrations increasing 223% between 1995 and 2008, resulting in over 133,000 ORVs registered  each year. While some riders take care to use their vehicles responsibly, many others disregard signs and closures, go off trail, creating thousands of miles of illegal trails. This irresponsible use often causes destructive gullies and erosion, damages water sources and wildlife habitat, and spoils the quiet backcountry experience sought by hikers, backpackers, and other non-motorized recreationists.

Current ORV registration fees -some $3.2 million annually - are used almost exclusively to promote and expand ORV use on public lands without funding critical law enforcement and habitat restoration.  More than 40 Colorado organizations are demanding that a portion of these fees go to pay to restore public lands and waters damaged by ORV users and to enforce their proper use.

IMPORTANT: Please add in a personal sentence or two at the top of the letter stating where you like to recreate in CO (outside of Wilderness).

Photo (c) Peter Arnold, Inc.

Recent Signatures

Support for New ORV Program

Dear Mr. Winstanley and the Colorado State Parks Board,

Colorado's National Forests and BLM lands have seen an explosion in off-road vehicle (ORV) use in recent years with in-state ORV registrations increasing 223% between 1995 and 2008, resulting in over 133,000 ORVs registered each year. While some riders take care to use their vehicles responsibly, many others disregard signs and closures, go off trail, creating thousands of miles of illegal trails. This irresponsible use often causes destructive gullies and erosion, damages water sources and wildlife habitat, and spoils the quiet backcountry experience sought by hikers, backpackers, and other non-motorized recreationists.

It's time to rein in these abuses. One way to start is by requiring ORV users to pay to fix some of the problems they've caused. Send a letter by completing the form below to take immediate action.

Current ORV registration fees -some $3.2 million annually - are used almost exclusively to promote and expand ORV use on public lands without funding critical law enforcement and habitat restoration. More than 40 Colorado organizations are demanding that a portion of these fees go to pay to restore public lands and waters damaged by ORV users and to enforce their proper use.

Not surprisingly, the ORV lobby is rallying against this common-sense approach. The Colorado State Parks Board that will make this decision has gotten over a thousand letters and emails from off-road vehicle users - now it's critical that the Parks Board hears from conservationists and non-motorized recreationists.

Please take action now. Ask the State Parks Board to dedicate some funding from ORV fees to restoration and enforcement of Colorado's National Forests and BLM lands.

Sincerely,

[Your name]

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