OHV Public Enemy Number One?

Once again the far left enviro community launches an unjustified attack on OHV by lumping riders in with drug dealers and vandals who break into government buildings.
The Recreation HQ has seen the new “report” issued by our not-so-good friends at PEER.

New 2010 PEER Report on Violence Against Federal Officers
http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2010/05/27-2

At the bottom of the news release you will see a link to PEER’s 2007 “report” that OHVers posed a major threat to the peace and security of this nation.

Link to 2007 PEER OHV Report
http://www.peer.org/news/news_id.php?row_id=958

After the 2007 PEER report came out, The General intuitively felt the report was bogus. A number of federal law enforcement officers were contacted by HQ and were asked if they had taken the PEER “OHV violence” survey. None of the officers had even heard of the report let alone had filled-out the survey. Rather, it looked like PEER had cherry-picked a hand-full of rangers who had a bias against the OHV community.

The General is a native of Northern California and knows a lot of local, state, and federal law enforcement officers. In fact, many are BRC members and are also regular followers of this blog. Most, if not all of those officers would tell you that commercial dope growers, poachers, those who steal timber and other natural resources, and various other non-OHV crimes are where they focus most of their law enforcement efforts on federal lands. Addressing “OHV crimes” is at the bottom of most of those work piles.

However, The General is concerned that new law enforcement training at federal academies appear to be teaching recruits that OHV recreation is a major crime factor. Newbies to the field appear to consider family OHV recreation as an enemy and one that should considered “guilty” simply because they drive a jeep, own a dirt-bike or ride an ATV.

Those new law enforcement officers in California appear to be relishing the opportunity to set up sting operations to cite riders that venture onto the thousands of miles of roads and trails --- many of which are still on Forest Maps and have carsonites on them -- that are being closed by TMR. Or worse yet, misinterpret the MVUMs and cite or harass riders that are riding on legal routes.

The Recreation HQ urges riders to obey the MVUMs (if you can read and understand them) as various groups like BRC work with rural counties to keep historic OHV trails open for public use. The General would also urge federal line officers to phase in implementation and the subsequent enforcement of the MVUMs just as the state did with the 96dBA sound law or as CHP did with the seat-belt law.

Feedback is welcome on this subject from riders, land managers, and law enforcement.
Feel free to post a comment or send The General a PM at: damador@cwo.com