A Cronkite News Service Weekend Special

REPAIRING DAMAGE FROM OFF-HIGHWAY VEHICLES NO EASY TASK

NOTE: This story moved Wednesday, April 9. We recommend it for weekend use.

With BC-CNS-Repair-Box

Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 (thumbnails, captions below)

By NORA AVERY-PAGE
Cronkite News Service

TONTO NATIONAL FOREST _ Surrounded by illegal off-highway vehicle trails, this one patch, with a replanted cactus taking root, marks an effort repair at least some of the desert near Mesa.

Boy Scouts planted the cactus and several others dotting this landscape, and groups representing riders, hikers and others often volunteer to help repair damage off-highway vehicles cause here.

“There’s a lot that can be done, but it takes a lot, lots of funding and manpower,” said Tammy Pike, OHV and trails coordinator for the Tonto National Forest. “We try to reach out and have as many people help us as we can.”

Tonto sees more than 900,000 visits each year from off-highway vehicle riders, and land managed by the state and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management also is attracting more and more riders as Arizona’s population grows. The Arizona Game and Fish Department estimates that off-highway vehicle use has more than tripled since 1998.

A bill being considered by the Arizona State Legislature would create a registration fee for off-highway vehicles that would help fund, among other things, projects to repair damaged landscapes.

Damaged areas can be restored if there is sufficient money and effort, officials say, but the scale of the damage makes it makes it virtually impossible to repair everything.

Another part of the problem: The desert is more fragile than some might think.

The topsoil in the desert is thin and easily compacted by off-highway vehicles. And when one vehicle crosses a patch of desert, others usually follow, creating a permanent trail. The little rain that does fall can’t get into the compacted soil, making it difficult for desert plants to reestablish themselves even if a trail is abandoned.

“People have the impression that the Sonoran Desert is tough because it has the spikes and rough stuff, but it is actually very fragile,” said Art Wirtz, district ranger with the Tonto National Forest’s Mesa Ranger District.

Land managers can be strategic in the way they re-plant the landscape, Wirtz said.

“We plant prickly pear and cholla cactus because ATVers don’t like them and they’re easy to plant,” he said.

Edward Glenn, a professor in the Soil, Water and Environmental Science Department in the University of Arizona’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, noted that there are still wagon train marks where the Oregon Trail crossed the desert.

“It gets worse and worse over time,” Glenn said. “We’re kinda playing catch-up. The very best thing is to prevent the damage.”

Glenn said there are soil treatments that can help the desert recover. Bulldozers and tractors can be used to loosen the soil, and watering, mulch and special seeding techniques also can help.

Through the Arizona State Parks Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation Fund, land management agencies including the BLM and national forests can apply for grants to help with repair and cleanup. The main intent of that money, however, is to promote the management of legal trails.

“It’s very difficult to repair the desert,” said Ellen Bilbrey, a spokeswoman for State Parks. “It would take billions and billions of dollars.”

Rep. Jerry Weiers, R-Glendale, is sponsoring SB 1167, a revived version of a failed bill that would create a $20-$25 annual fee for each off-highway vehicle to maintain and build trails, restore damaged areas, educate riders and provide more law enforcement. It also would make certain activities misdemeanors, including driving off paths in a manner that damages wildlife, property or natural resources.

A strike-everything amendment to another bill, Weiers’ bill has passed the House and is headed back to the full Senate.

Weiers said the bill, which would raise an estimated $4 million to $6 million a year, is needed to help prevent further damage from off-highway vehicles.

“The main question is not whether or not we can repair it but how many more billions of dollars worth of repair we will have to do if we wait,” Weiers said. “We need to get active right now. The main thing is to stop the damage today. If people stop tearing it up, you don’t have to fix it.”

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PHOTOS: Click thumbnails to see full-resolution images and download

CAPTION FOR BC-CNS-DESERT REPAIR: An off-highway vehicle rides on an illegal trail in the Tonto National Forest near Mesa. A bill that would make OHV users pay an annual registration fee would be used, in part, to raise money to help repair damaged landscapes. Officials and experts say it’s possible to repair areas damaged by off-highway vehicles but the scale of the damage makes it impossible to repair everything. (Cronkite News Service Photo/Nora Avery-Page)

CAPTION FOR BC-CNS-DESERT REPAIR: An area of the Tonto National Forest near Mesa is fenced off for a re-vegetation project to repair damage from illegal off-highway vehicle trails. A bill that would make OHV users pay an annual registration fee would be used, in part, to raise money to help repair damaged landscapes. Officials and experts say it’s possible to repair areas damaged by off-highway vehicles but the scale of the damage makes it impossible to repair everything. (Cronkite News Service Photo/Nora Avery-Page)

CAPTION FOR BC-CNS-DESERT REPAIR: An area of the Tonto National Forest near Mesa is fenced off for a re-vegetation project to repair damage from illegal off-highway vehicle trails. A bill that would make OHV users pay an annual registration fee would be used, in part, to raise money to help repair damaged landscapes. Officials and experts say it’s possible to repair areas damaged by off-highway vehicles but the scale of the damage makes it impossible to repair everything. (Cronkite News Service Photo/Nora Avery-Page)

CAPTION FOR BC-CNS-DESERT REPAIR: An area of the Tonto National Forest near Mesa is scarred by an illegal trail made by off-road vehicles. A bill that would make OHV users pay an annual registration fee would be used, in part, to raise money to help repair damaged landscapes. Officials and experts say it’s possible to repair areas damaged by off-highway vehicles but the scale of the damage makes it impossible to repair everything. (Cronkite News Service Photo/Nora Avery-Page)