Natural and Scenic Resources at 10 National Parks to Get Better Protection From Off-Road Vehicle Damage

New Pilot Program To Beef Up Visitor Education and Law Enforcement Following Lawsuit Settlement

May 22, 2008

America’s national parks are our national heritage. Yellowstone, Yosemite, Zion, Joshua Tree, Glacier: these are some of America’s most popular parks, as famous for their dramatic beauty as for their quiet solitude and incredible wildlife viewing opportunities. For many Americans, national parks represent a very rare chance to escape the harried, noisy life in the city, to see natural systems at work.

But increasingly, the jarring world of the city is creeping into our national parks. Case in point — off-road vehicles. While off-road vehicles aren’t allowed in many national parks at all, ecological damage and recreational conflict are on the rise from illegal use. In addition, there are numerous parks that allow off-road vehicles, but have not necessarily met all of their legal obligations for managing such recreation.

Existing law gives park administrators the ability and responsibility to control off-road vehicle use inside parks, but in many cases, funding shortfalls or political pressures have resulted in the problem being ignored. With the recently announced settlement of a longstanding lawsuit, park administrators have finally acknowledged the severity of the problem and pledged to take new action to protect park resources from off-road vehicle damage.

“Off-road vehicles do not belong in National Parks -- they pollute clean water, disturb wildlife, and drive away other park visitors,” said Wildlands CPR Legal Liaison Sarah Peters. “Nonetheless, we are pleased that the Park Service will more closely monitor and fully enforce the use where it is allowed.”

As a result of this important settlement, ten parks will become part of a new national pilot program. Officers will conduct special public outreach campaigns and enforcement activities over the next three years, including officer training and working to set fines high enough to create a deterrent.

The 10 national parks participating in the pilot program are: Big Thicket National Preserve, Tex.; Death Valley National Park, Calif.; Joshua Tree National Park, Calif.; New River Gorge National River/Gauley River National Recreation Area, W.Va.; Ozark National Scenic Riverway, Mo.; Parashant National Monument, Ariz.; Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, Calif.; Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Mich.; St. Croix National Scenic Riverway, Wis.; and Wupatki /Sunset Crater Volcano National Monuments, Ariz.

The success of the program may serve as a model that can be adopted by other national park sites across the country to curb harmful, illegal use of off-road vehicles. The program will also help ensure that in parks where off-road vehicle is legal, that it is not negatively impacting the environment.

Bluewater Network, a division of Friends of the Earth; Wildlands CPR; National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) and dozens of other organizations initially filed a rulemaking petition in 1999 requesting that the Park Service take action to prevent off-road vehicle damage in the national parks. After meetings between the plaintiffs and the Park Service in July 2004, the agency conducted an internal survey of illegal, off-road vehicle use at all national park sites. The 256 responses made available to the plaintiffs demonstrated that off-road vehicles are causing widespread damage in America’s national parks. At Joshua Tree National Park in California, for instance, park managers reported that off-road vehicles are often illegally used on park trails—risking the safety of visitors enjoying those same trails on foot or on horseback. Today, miles of tire ruts scar the park’s fragile desert landscape.

In 2005, the three groups joined together to file a lawsuit after the NPS failed to adequately respond to the petition or the results of their internal survey. More importantly, they had failed to adequately manage off-road vehicle impacts and use in the parks.

The settlement requires the Park Service to develop environmental impact statements and special rules governing the ongoing, legal use of off-road vehicles at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in Utah, and Cape Lookout National Seashore in North Carolina. It also requires similar action before the Park Service can permit off-road vehicles at Amistad National Recreation Area in Texas or at Big South Fork National Recreation Area in Tennessee.

In parks where the Park Service has lawfully authorized use of off-road vehicles, the settlement requires the agency to reinforce its commitment to resource protection. Specifically, park superintendents power to terminate or suspend off-road vehicle use is reaffirmed. Such use may be suspended or terminated if the Park Service has concerns about damage to park trails or other resources, or if a park doesn’t have sufficient law enforcement capacity to monitor and manage off-road vehicle use. These parks must also openly display the rules designating where off-road vehicles may lawfully operate so all visitors are made aware, including those most common park visitors, who would like to avoid off-road vehicle noise and pollution, by visiting only non-motorized areas of a park.