Editor,
I coordinate volunteers in the Price office of the Bureau of Land Management. My position is funded by Utah State Parks and Recreation through off-highway-vehicle registration fees. I have read many comments about the damage from all-terrain-vehicle users. I would like to make a few positive comments about the volunteer time rendered by OHV users.
I work in the San Rafael Desert, maintaining about 640 miles of trails enjoyed by hikers, bikers, horse riders and OHV users. During the three years I have worked at the BLM I have coordinated approximately 7,000 volunteer hours from the OHV users to help maintain the trails. The OHV clubs help with educating riders about trail usage. They provide litter bags, distribute maps and help maintain the trails. In a four-month period, OHV users helped install signage on the trails and produce a San Rafael trails map. The printing of 30,000 maps was paid by OHV registration fees.
I have heard concerns from environmental groups about the trails, and I’ve invited them to participate with trail maintenance, but I haven’t had one hour of volunteer time from those groups.
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