Sign up for
Position in Support
of Access to Public Lands
INTRODUCTION AND GENERAL POSITION
The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) supports recreation access to public lands by the use of off-highway motorcycles, dual sport motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles (referred to here as OHMs and ATVs).
This access benefits all of us. It should be managed by trained staff in such a manner to meet the needs of participants.
While AMA recognizes that no single recreation type is appropriate for all public lands, there are certainly many places where OHM and ATV use can exist in harmony with the other values, resource development and protection, cultural heritage protection and other recreational uses, for which public lands are managed.
Management of our national public lands is guided by the Multiple Use - Sustained Yield Act of 1960. The act is meant to encourage a wide variety of activities, so long as they also can take place in harmony with natural resource values. So long as OHM and ATV recreation can be managed responsibly, it should be encouraged.
THE BENEFITS OF OFF-HIGHWAY MOTORCYCLING
The AMA supports off-highway motorcycling and ATV recreation because of its benefits.
Most easily documented among these is the enhancement of the economy. Representative studies have found annual tourism-related expenditures of $500,000 in Colorado and $3 Billion in California.
But our public lands benefit as well. Off-highway motorcycling and ATV enthusiasts are known to be public-spirited, volunteering their time for such activities as trail maintenance, area clean-ups and safety patrols.
Off-highway motorcycling and ATV recreation is a physically demanding activity performed exclusively in the out of doors. Taking part provides the same personal stress reduction and exercise benefits to the individual found in other physically demanding out door activities.
It is a social and family activity. Participants enjoy developing friendships with other like-minded individuals as well as the enhanced quality of life to be found with a pursuit in which all family members can take part.
Broader benefits also exist. In our increasingly urban and suburban landscape, the preservation of green space is increasingly important. Public lands designated for off-highway motorcycling and ATV recreation remain undeveloped green space.
Recreational trails and dirt road travel routes are corridors allowing the surrounding land and high level canopy to remain as natural habitat for plants and wildlife.
These routes of travel offer a natural experience to a broad range of visitors. Such opportunities to experience these natural settings instills a greater appreciation for the value of open space and our natural resources.
SPECIFIC AMA POSITIONS
The AMA supports management that recognizes the value of OHM and ATV recreation, and that works to improve such recreation sites and activities.
The AMA supports actions by land managers and agencies that increase quality OHM and ATV recreation opportunities. This includes increases in trail mileage, maintenance of trails and development of trail head and trail side amenities and facilities.
The AMA supports actions by land managers and local jurisdictions to secure and protect access to historic and established routes of travel into and across public lands.
The AMA supports actions that invite OHM and ATV enthusiasts to participate in the public lands management process. This includes the encouragement of volunteer efforts, participation in program and project-level decision making and acts to implement program and project decisions.
The AMA supports legislation and administrative actions that recognize the value of, that improves professional management for and that develops or strengthens funding sources for OHM and ATV recreation opportunities.
The AMA supports the development of collaborative efforts with other recreation and special interest groups, especially those interested in trail-based recreation, in order to improve understanding and respect among all members of the trails community and which would tend to enhance the diverse recreational trails opportunities available to all Americans.
The AMA supports scholarly research that objectively portrays the role of off-highway motorcycling in its relationship to participants, the environment and society. It is expected that researchers will make every effort to develop an understanding with OHM and ATV enthusiasts of the purpose, method and proposed use of their studies.
The AMA recognizes that there may be situations that justify an emergency closure of recreational lands or trails despite a lack of scientific documentation. However, if such a closure is performed, the responsible agency has thereby created an obligation to immediately commence objective scientific study to determine how and whether the lands or trails may be reopened for their former recreational uses.
The AMA will assist and encourage its membership and other enthusiasts to develop cooperative relationships with land managers and land management agencies. This can include encouraging volunteerism, working with management document activities and interacting with other recreational and local interests.
The AMA opposes actions that restrict reasonable OHM and ATV recreational opportunities, that prevent enthusiasts from participating in a meaningful manner in the public lands management process, that reduce the quality of opportunity or that limit legal, existing routes of travel into and through public land areas.
The AMA opposes actions that restrict or discourage OHV and ATV enthusiast participation in the public lands management process.
The AMA will, where necessary, take steps to challenge decisions resulting in inadequate or inequitable quality recreational opportunities for OHM and ATV enthusiasts.