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Officials aim for ATV riders to accept change
Jim Harken, center, a public information officer for the Arizona Game and Fish Department, gives two men an earful during a role-playing exercise that was part of training volunteers to educate off-highway vehicle operators about riding responsibly.
Deanna Dent, Cronkite News Service
"I told you to get outta here," the ATV rider says, flinging his helmet to the ground and storming toward two men handing out maps of official off-roading trails. "I come out for a ride and you guys are out here closing the place down."
"Whoa, whoa," one of the men replies, holding his ground. "We're just here trying to talk to people about responsible riding."
A state law taking effect Jan. 1 will require off-highway vehicle owners to a pay a registration fee that will fund more law enforcement and allow officials to mark legal trails, among other provisions. The National Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, meanwhile, are coordinating on rules to force riders to stick to designated trails on federal land.
In the end, however, saving Arizona's open spaces from improper off-highway vehicle use could come down to encounters such as this one, a role-playing exercise for volunteers who will counsel riders as part of the OHV Ambassadors program.
"I believe the onus is on the people that are out there and the people that are riding," said Jim Harken, an Arizona Game and Fish Department spokesman who played the angry rider in the exercise. "They're the ones that are ultimately going to make it happen."
The cost of the decal to register vehicles has yet to be set, but it's been estimated at around $23 annually.
Supported by a broad coalition including environmental, off-highway vehicle and hunting groups, the law will require riders to stick to designated trails and will make certain types of riding illegal, including damaging wildlife habitats, property or cultural or natural resources.
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