OHV Community Service

The OHV sport is too often the subject of unflattering and even ficticious attacks by the media and environmental groups.  Many of these groups are well funded even if they are misdirected making it very expensive and difficult to respond to their accusations.  One easy and direct way to combat negative impressions is by participating in service projects.  Service projects often directly maintain, improve, or enhance OHV facilities but volunteering to help land managers (BLM and Forest Service Rangers) with non OHV areas is also an effective way to demonstrate our civic spirit.  You will seldom find the opposition working on any kind of OHV facility unless it is to close it down.  I did, however, have an environmental group from a local college work on one of my OHV clean up projects at Searle Station near Ridgecrest, California.  It was very interesting to see OHV enthusiasts and environmental zealots working elbow to elbow and actually getting along.  I think both groups leaned important things about each other that day.  I am sad to report the invitations for environmental groups to join other service projects were universally ignored.  The media tends to portray off road  users in a negative way, often depicting them as lawless and even criminal.  The Bureau of Land Management in southern California fought futilely to correct misinformation about environmental damage near some popular riding areas.  Once the original off road slamming article which was badly distorted had been widely published it tended to override all official communications from the BLM.  It had shown photos of some over-used trails near a popular staging area and represented them as typical of wide-spread damage through a large area.  In reality the damage was very limited and restricted to a few trails where environmental closures had unnaturally concentrated traffic from many trails into one or two paths.

There are usually many opportunities to get involved in OHV related community service projects. Check with your local BLM, Forest Service, or state parks OHV representatives to find projects in your area. Common projects include trail maintenance, signage, and general cleanup and maintenance of camping and staging areas. Get involved with a local RV, OHV. or camping club. They will keep you informed of volunteer service projects and provide you with contacts to develop relationships with other riders. Most organizations sponsor various rides or other events each year that are fun and often educational. Most of the OHV service projects I've worked on included a ride at the end of all the work.

No one enjoys camping, hiking, or riding in an area that is filled with trash.  Poor citizenship by previous users -- or abusers -- often leaves an area covered with trash and fire pits filled with nails, broken glass, and other non-combustibles. By exercising good citizenship and common sense we can make sure we aren't contributing to the problem. We once camped in a remote desert area where there had previously been a "Rave" with a huge bonfire. Apparently they had burned a giant pile of pallets. We dragged magnets through the campsite and picked up about 10 lbs (by actual weighing) of rusty nails that otherwise could have ended up in our RV or OHV tires. We can't put all the blame on raves -- we have found plenty of nails left behind in camp sites frequented almost exclusively by OHV riders. However, most of the service projects I'm aware of collect far more trash that was illegally dumped by nearby residents than could have been hauled in by OHVs -- stuff like sofas, TVs, and toilets!  Yeah, just try hauling something like that on a dirt bike or ATV!  SO...first of all, don't become part of the problem by leaving trash behind. And secondly, volunteer whenever you can for OHV community service projects. Keeping our riding areas clean makes them more enjoyable for everyone and shows the land managers (BLM, forest service, state parks) that we CARE and we are good citizens.  There are certainly more than enough "environmentalists" campaigning to do away with OHV activities.  It is important that we show the land managers -- and the public -- that we are responsible and caring users of our great outdoor resources.  I firmly believe a dedicated off road user is actually more environmentally responsible than some arm-chair activist hundreds of miles away who has no personal connection with the site.

Many service projects are family oriented. Participating as a family allows you to set a good example and allows your children to learn the value of volunteer service. Well-planned service projects will include rider education and opportunities for some family OHV fun. One of our recent projects included kids so young they still had training wheels on their dirt bikes and at least one family with three generations participating.  Working together as a family is also FUN!

Participating in service projects is critical to maintaining and preserving our riding and camping areas. Volunteering for service projects demonstrates good citizenship and shows land managers we care about our facilities. It also helps us as individuals and organizations to develop good working relationships with the land managers and that is critical to preserving our riding and camping areas. There are many well-organized and well-financed groups who oppose all forms of OHV activity and spend millions of dollars every year campaigning against and filing law suits against our sport. In more than 30 years of dirt biking I have found OHV users, in general, to be responsible users who leave an area better than they found it. Of course, just as there are people who show poor judgment in other walks of life you will find a few bad apples in our own OHV community who tend to spoil things for everyone. When you encounter one of these types, try, diplomatically, to educate them to the damage they are doing, not only to the environment but to the future of our sport. Those who rebel against closed trails by riding on them anyway only give the opposition more fuel for their arguments. There are ways to legally appeal trail closures. Some are successful, some are not, but blatantly ignoring signage almost always leads to further limits. In some cases, closures of certain trails may actually be a way to keep others open. I have personally worked on signage programs designed to direct riders to approved trails to avoid having an entire area totally closed to OHV travel.   When we encountered riders violating the signage they were actually grateful when we stopped them and explained the situation and pointed them to legal alternatives they could safely enjoy.  Working with land managers (BLM, state parks, US Forest Service) instead of fighting them produces much better results when it comes to preserving our OHV riding areas. Confrontation and so-called "civil disobedience" only aggravates already hostile situations. Instead, contact your local land managers and ask what you can do to help!

Setting up you own service project. If you can't find a project to your liking, organize your own. I once started promoting an advertised service project to my Desert Rat group for a riding area we occasionally used. The feedback I got was they'd rather put their efforts into areas we used more frequently so I contacted the BLM, who managed the areas we frequented, and worked with them to put together our own clean up project. We didn't have as many people as I had hoped but the hundred or so that showed up were very effectgive.  We did have a good mix of both dirt bikers and environmentalists participate! I was very pleased with the great support from the BLM. I was somewhat intimidated when I learned my contact with the BLM carried a title that included environmental oversight as well as recreation. He turned out be an wonderful asset and our project went well. If you organize your own clean up project you'll need to arrange for a dumpster, trash bags, and toilet facilities. Sometimes the BLM or other responsible agency can help with these basic necessities. I like to solicit support and contributions from local OHV dealers for a free raffle to reward participants. I've also been able to arrange for a free lunch. Funding for service projects can sometimes be obtained through grants from government agencies like your State Parks. Some grants are also available through the OHV industry. You may be able to get local OHV dealers to pony up a few bucks to help with lunch and promotional expenses. We budget some of our UTMA funds to cover our annual High Five cleanup day at Five Mile Pass, in case we aren't able to get outside funding.

In short, service projects are fun as well as productive and rewarding and are critical to continued OHV access to public lands.

Pitch in!