A group called Rangers for Responsible Recreation has launched a campaign to have Congress evaluate the damage caused by off-road recreational vehicles and enact tougher penalties for abusing state and federal land.

The group, which formed June 28 and works under Washington, D.C.-based PEER — Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility — want ATV and motorcycle riders to stick to the trails and not destroy public land, said Jeff Ruch, executive director or PEER.

Ranger Ron Kearns, who lives south of Quartzsite and owns an ATV, said the group wants to stop violators, not law-abiding riders. “I always like to say we don’t want to outlaw the ATVs, we want to outlaw the outlaws,” he said.

The group is collecting comments and signatures on the Web site www.peer.org to forward to members of Congress.

Off-road riding is a popular pastime in states such as Arizona; however many ranchers and the newly formed group have expressed their dismay with riders who destroy the desert.

The land impacted includes wildlife refuges, parks, forests and U.S. Bureau of Land Management property.

Ruch said the first step is to have Congress call for an evaluation of the problem to determine how much federal and state property is destroyed and at what cost to taxpayers and wildlife.

Along with tougher penalties, the group is asking for the government to allocate more law enforcement personnel to keep tabs on riders.

The Arizona Game and Fish Department estimates 29 percent of Arizonans use off-road vehicles.

One of those riders is Dennis Hultman, a 56-year-old who lives on county land in east Mesa. He said that as each year passes there are fewer and fewer places where he can ride, forcing more and more ATV enthusiasts to fight for a select number of spots.

“Where’s the areas where people can go to ride their fourwheelers or dirt bikes or whatever and not worry about going off the trail?” Hultman asked.

Hultman said most riders are pretty responsible, and it’s a shame that they are punished for the actions of a few. He said education might be the answer rather than harsher penalties.

Matt Chew, of Phoenix, a former state parks natural resources planner and a member of Rangers for Responsible Recreation, said the trouble comes as urban development expands outward, intersecting with the desert land where many riders like to travel.

The side-effects for the urban population come with noise, dust and altercations that arise when people try to stop the riders, he said. The environmental impact comes as the trails are destroyed, drainage patterns change and vegetation is damaged, he said.

The current penalty for illegally riding on forest service land is a fine of no more than $500 and no more than six months incarceration. Those who abuse U.S. Bureau of Land Management land face a punishment of no more than $1,000 and incarceration of no more than one year.