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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/141007
__ __ _ 1-- - - --- W ririn' ..'" ••••••,••'•••••,1•••'.. Around By Chuck Clayton '••••• , • • , - -'_-0 - - -- .- ; ;--- - ;- -.- - ---.-. .- ' ••• ',1. The President of the United States dropp ed a time bomb in the laps of America 's off-road motorcycle enthusiasts Wednesday . The device is in the form of a Presidential Proclamation released Feb. 8 , 19 72 and set to explode just six months from now. Unless motorcycle fans and th e industry move very fast , dirt riding as we • know it will be blown off the map of America. It is not yet certain whet her the President 's own policy is to drive America's billion-dollar-dirt motorcycle recreation envisioned by anti-motorcycle b ureaucrats. The political wording of the proclamation seems to offer the public land managers two alternatives I.) control the use of off-road vehicles, at some risk, or 2.) ban the use altoget her. Act ually, granted the ignorance of the U.S. Forest Service, BLM and the Secretaries of Agriculture, Interio r and Defense and others regarding off-road motorcycle trails and knowing the difficulties they have experienced in the past recreation, within the six month deadline alloted time, they have no safe option but to kick us o ut. It looks to me as if we motorcycle folks have no more time to get organized . We have to go with what we know and what we've got. Every enthusiast and organization in motorcycling has a big jo b to do this next six months . Road riders this affects you, too. Anti-m oto rcycle forces aid in the government "divide and -; -ir- In o ur letters we should identify ourselves as de votees to motorcycle recreatio n NOW , THERE FORE, by vitu re of the auth ority vested in me as President of the Uriited Stat es by the Constitu tion of the United St at es and in furtherance of the purpose and p olicy o f the National Envi ronment Policy Act of '69 (42 US C 4321), it is hereby ordered as follo ws: -, Section 1. Purpose. It is the purpose of this order to establish policies and provid e fo r procedures that will insure that the use of off-road vehicles on 'p ub lic lands will be controlled and directed so as to protect the reso urces of those lands , to promote the safety of all users of those lands, and to minimize co n flicts among the various users of those lands. Section 2. Definition. As used in this order, the term: (1) "Public Lands" means (a) All lands under the custody and control of the Secretary of the - Interior and th e Secretary of Agriculture, excep t Ind ian lands. (b) Lands under the cust od y and control of the Tennessee Valley A uthority that are situated in western Kentucky and Tennessee and are designated as "Land Between The Lakes ," an d (c) Lands under th e custody and c o n trol of the Secretary of Defense; (2) "Respective Ag ency Head " m ean s the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of D e f e n s e , the S e cr etary of Agriculture, and the Board of Direc tors of th e Tennessee Valley Authority with respect to public la nds u nder the custody and control of each; (3) " Off-Road Vehicle" m eans any motorized vehicle designed for or capable of cross-co untry travel on or im med ia tely over land, water, sand, snow, ice, m arsh , swamplands , or other nat ural 'terrain ; except that such term excludes (a) Any registered m o t or b o at , (b) Any m ilitary , fire, emergency, or law enforcement veh icl e when N and ask to be kept informed of any actio ns or propose d changes available to the N peop le charged with carrying out -the President's proclamation on off-road vehicles. .g We should try to make appo intments to discuss our needs with public land managers "~ in person . We must all be registered to vote . w Members of motorcycle clubs and associatio ns such as AMA; MIC, etc., should z urge their staffs and officers to ta ke up the leadership that this crucial time demands. ~ Our leaders must stand up for us and tell us what to do, if you and I are to keep the U right to ride freely. I think it is worth fighting for. . t N ext issue 1'll present some of the plans and recommendations that the WMA, MIC and others have been working on. We had hoped to have a whole year to sort out the necessary programs, but it looks as if now we shall have to " go with what we know." If we can all act quickly enough to de-fuse the destructive potential of the President's bomb we are certain to gain millions of acres and thousands of miles of trails tha t will ot herwise be wasted. Jus t as surely, if we fail to act, our spor t will be shunted onto the rockpiles and bulldo zered into such "concentration sites" as Yu cca fiats along wi th th e 4 ·wheelers and the ATV's . The bomb is ticking.... - (After you read th is, see page 22 .) An estimated five million of f-road recreation veh icles - motorcycles , minibikes, trail bikes, snowmobiles, dune buggies , all -terrain veh icles and - others - are in use in the Unit ed States today, and their popularity continues to increase rapidly. The wid espread use of such vehicles on the pub lic lands - often for legitimate purposes but also in frequent conflict with wise land and resources land management practices, environmental values, and o ther types o f recreational activity - h as d em onstra t ed th e need fo r a unified fe de ral policy to ward the use o f such veh icles on the p ublic lands. ri conquer" tric k. We, all of us, must immediately write lett~rs to the President, his 1J, secre taries and commisio ners, distric t and regional foresters and ou r V. C. g: Congressmen (Call the ,Federal information service in the white pages under U.S. ~ Government, for the addresses of these men) . Cl adversely affect their aesthetic or sc enic value. used for em ergency purp oses, and (c) A ny veh icle whos e us e is ex pressly auth o ri zed by the respective agency head under a permit, lease , license, o r cont ract ; and (4) "Official Use " means use by an employee, agent, or designated representative of the f ederal government or one of its contractors in the course of his employment, agency , or representation. Section 3. Zones of Use . (a) Each respectiv~ agency h ead shall develop and Issue regulations and administrative instructions , within six months of the date of this order, to p rovide ,for administrative designation of the specific areas and trails on public lands o n which the use of off-road vehicles may be permitted , and areas in which the use of off-road vehicles may not be permitted, and set a date by which su ch designation of all publi c lands shall be completed. Those regulations shall direct that the designation of such area an d trails will be based upon the protection of the resour ces of the public lands, promotion o f the sa fety o f .a ll users of those lands, and minimization of conflicts among the various uses of those lands. The.- regulations shall further require that the designation of such areas and trails shall be In accordance with the following- - (1) Areas an d trails shall be located to m inimize damage to soil, watershed, vegetation, or other resources of the public lands. (2) Areas and trails shall be locatedto minimize harrassment of wildlife . or significant disruption of wildlife h abitats. (3) Areas and trails shall be located to minimize confl icts between off-road vehicle u se and other existing or proposed recreational uses of the same or ne ighboring public lands, and t o insure the compatability of .su ch uses with existing c o nd itio ns in populated areas, taking into account noise and other factors. (4) Areas and trails shall not be lo cat ed in officially designated Wilderness areas or Primitive areas. Areas and trails shall be locat ed in areas of the National Park System, Natural Areas, or Natio nal Wildlife Refuges, and Game Ranges, only if t h e res pective agency head determines that off-road vehicle use i n such locations will n o t natural, (b) The re sp ective agency head shall insure adeq u a t e o p portu ni ty for public p articipation in the promulgation of su ch regulations and in the designation of areas and trails under this section." (d ) The limit ations on off-road vehicle use imposed under this section shall not apply to official use. Section 4 . Operating Conditions. Each respective agency head shall develop and publish , with in one year of the date of this ' o r d e r , regulations prescribing operating co nd it io ns for off-road veh icl es on the p ublic lands. T h ese regulations shall be directed at protecting resource values, preserving public . health , safety , an d welfare , and minimizing use conflicts. 5: Section Public In formatio n . The resp ecti ve agency head shall insure th at areas and trails where o ff-road vehicle u se is permitted are well mark ed and sh all provide fo r the pub lication and distribution of information, including maps , d escribing su ch a reas and trails and explaining the conditions o f veh icl e use. He sh all seek cooperatio n o f relevant sta te agenc ies in the dis semination of th is in formation. Section 6 . Enforcement. The respective agency head sh all, where au th o rized by law, prescribe appropriate penalties for violation of regulations adopted pursuant to this order and sh all establish procedures , for the enforcement o f those regulations. To th e ex ten t permitted by law, he may enter in to agreements with state or local governmental agencies for cooperative enforcement of laws and regulations rela ting to off-road veh icle use. Section 7. Consultation. Before issuing th e regulations or administrative instructio ns required by this o rder or designating areas fo r, trails as required by this order and those regulations and administrative instruc tions , the Secretary of the Interior shall, as appropriate, consult with the Atomic Energy Commission. Section 8 . Monitoring of Effects and Review. (a) The respective agency head shall monitor the effects of the 'u se of off-road vehicles on lands under their jurisdictions. On the basis of the information gathered they shall from time to time am en d or rescind designations of areas or. o ther actions taken p ursu an t to this order as necessary to further the policy of th is order. (b) The 'Co u ncil on Environmental Quality shall maintain a continuing review of the implementation of th is o rder. lsI Richard M. Nixon Pr esid en t February 8, 1972