(Photo credit: Don Amador)
The Growing Importance of OHV Clubs Establishing Partnerships with Land Managers
The single most important factor of the current OHV recreation advocacy equation is recognizing that diverse partnerships function as a synergistic force multiplier in managing motorized use on designated roads, trails, and riding areas.
Today, partnerships are a core element of any successful local, state, or federal OHV program. In 2025, OHV management is not just about getting a few riders together to build a trail. Rather, it is a holistic joint user/agency approach at the unit level that incorporates multiple objectives into trail projects that also seek to address related forest health, soil loss, water quality, post-wildfire recovery, safety education, law enforcement, fuel reduction, and protection of cultural resources.
Another trail management partner of growing import is the Power Sports Industry, which has stepped up to the plate with grant programs such as the Motorcycle Industry Council’s Right Rider Access Fund, Yamaha’s OHV Access Initiative Grant Program, and the Polaris T.R.A.I.L.S. Grant Program. In addition, many states have an OHV grant program to help support the efforts of local and federal land agencies to offer the public high-quality and environmentally sound OHV recreational opportunities.
For example, California State Park’s OHMVR Division has a grant program that supports county and federal OHV recreation programs throughout the state. Those funds help fund unit OHV operations or help maintain and/or build new trail-based recreation facilities, including trails, campgrounds, and staging areas.
OHV recreation on public lands has evolved into a highly complex and diverse partnership-related “Systems approach” concept. It is important to highlight those partnerships to illustrate the evolution of managed motorized trail opportunities. Recently, Don Amador, Western States Representative for the Motorcycle Industry Council, was privileged to do an area review of just such an effort. For example, the Bureau of Land Management has recently built more than 8 miles of new 50-inch trails along major access roads for dirt bikes and ATVs as part of its safety strategy to separate smaller OHVs from larger vehicles. Because of that partnership, the agency continues its trail-armoring projects.
The BLM trail projects and post-wildfire trail clearing efforts are made possible by their partnerships with the Redding Dirt Riders’ volunteer workers and California’s OHMVR Division Grants Program.
Trump Administration Hiring Freeze Puts Seasonal Jobs in Jeopardy
On Jan. 20, the Trump administration issued an Executive Order (EO) that directly impacted the outdoor recreation community by placing a hiring freeze. The EO forced the National Park Service (NPS) to halt hiring seasonal employees like park rangers, concessionaires, and trail and maintenance workers. The EO will profoundly impact the management and preservation of our public lands. Seasonal employees play a vital role in managing our forests and protecting natural and cultural resources, particularly during peak recreation seasons and periods of heightened wildlife risk. MIC has endorsed a letter from the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable to Doug Burgum, secretary of the Interior, opposing the EO.
Historically, seasonal recreation staff have been critical to the NPS, particularly during tourism season when there is an increased demand for public services and facilities. The hiring freeze would immediately impact the substantial maintenance backlog, delaying critical projects that enhance access to outdoor recreation and becoming more costly the longer they are on the backlog.
The Forest Service will still be able to hire more than 11,000 temporary firefighting positions nationwide. As the intensity and frequency of wildfires continue to grow, the Forest Service is fortunate to be able to continue to fund these critical positions. Unfortunately, most other seasonal positions are not exempt from the hiring freeze. The Forest Service will have less staff to do a vast array of vital recreation work, including trail, bathroom, and campground maintenance.
The Senate Confirms Transportation and Interior Secretaries
On Jan. 28, the Senate confirmed Sean Duffy as secretary of transportation by a vote of 77-22. At his confirmation hearing, Duffy said he would prioritize road safety to reduce fatalities on American roadways. He noted more than 40,000 deaths in traffic accidents each year and said he would focus on large construction projects and reducing the red tape that he said “slows critical infrastructure projects.” In 2010, Duffy won election to the U.S. House of Representatives for Wisconsin’s Seventh Congressional District, remaining in office until 2019.
On Jan. 30, the Senate confirmed former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum as secretary of the Interior with significant bipartisan support and a 79-18 vote. At his confirmation hearing, Burgum addressed the importance of outdoor recreation and was praised by several senators for playing a pivotal role in establishing an office of outdoor recreation in North Dakota. Burgum is also committed to reauthorizing the Great American Outdoors Act passed in 2020. “The amount of deferred maintenance we have is probably even greater today across the park system than in 2020. Therefore, we have to continue to invest in our national parks,” said Gov. Burgum.
Recent Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Activity
- Coeur D’Alene, Idaho -The BLM approved business plans to collect day-use fees and improve the visitor experience at three recreation sites managed by the Coeur d’Alene Field Office. Collecting or increasing fees provides the BLM with resources needed to cover higher operational, maintenance and emergency response costs associated with additional use. New fees will go into effect six months after the Federal Register Notice published on Jan. 10. The approved Coeur d’Alene business plans include Mica Bay Boater Park, Windy Bay Boater Park and Killarney Lake Campground and Access; and Huckleberry Campground. The plans will double the $10 overnight camping fee to $20, as well as establish day-use fees at Mica Bay Boater Park, Killarney Lake Campground and Access, and Huckleberry Campground. Because the general use at the sites has shifted from overnight camping to regular day-use activities over the past five years, the Coeur d’Alene Field Office will establish a day-use fee for groups of up to 10 people, or per vehicle, to keep up with the required maintenance. The day-use fee will be implemented at $5 in 2025, with the potential to be raised to $7 in two years, and to $10 in four years. The Mica Bay Pavilion reservation fee will initially increase to $80 with a phased approach up to $100. The economic and social climate would be considered in implementing the fee escalation.
- Grand Junction, Colo. – The BLM published a Federal Register Notice announcing a plan to charge fees at campsites in the Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area. BLM will use the profits to pay for maintenance and improvements at current and future sites. The national conservation area spans Delta, Mesa and Montrose Counties.
- Roswell, N.M. –The BLM is seeking public comments on a proposal to change fees at the Rob Jaggers Campground and the Valley of Fires Recreation Area Campground in Lincoln County. The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 authorizes the BLM to regulate the use of public lands and the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act authorizes the BLM to collect recreational fees when sites and areas meet specific criteria. As proposed, RV camping fees would increase at both campgrounds by $5 or $7 to $25 per night; camping fees with horse corral access at Rob Jaggers would be $30 per night; tent camping at Valley of Fires would increase by $8 or $3 (depending on the site) to $15 per night; the dump station fee at Valley of Fires would increase by $15 to $30 or be included in camping fees (the fee is already $30 at Rob Jaggers); at Valley of Fires the daily cost for use of a group campsite would increase by $10 to $35 (the cost is already $35 at Rob Jaggers); a new site-specific annual pass at Valley of Fires would cost $30; and the fees for all day-use single vehicles at Valley of Fires would be $5 (currently it is $3 if there is only one person in the car).
- Twin Falls, Idaho– The BLM Burley Field Office management implemented an annual seasonal motorized travel closure in the South Hills area, south of Twin Falls, from Jan. 16 to March 15. The closure is intended to prevent resource damage and protect crucial mule deer winter range and sage-grouse habitat. The area remains open to the public for non-motorized use. There is an online map, and signs are posted in the area to notify the public of the temporary closure of the following roads and any two tracks or trails tied to these roads.
- Roswell, N.M. –The BLM is seeking public comments on a proposal to change fees at Haystack Mountain and Mescalero Sands North Dune off-highway vehicle areas near Roswell. The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 authorizes the BLM to regulate the use of public lands and the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act authorizes the BLM to collect recreational fees when sites and areas meet specific criteria. As proposed, the fees for all day-use single vehicles with up to nine occupants would be $5 (currently, it is $3 per car for single occupant and $5 per car for up to nine occupants); day-use fees for vehicles with 10 or more occupants would remain $15; camping with no hookups, a new fee, would cost $10 per night; camping with hookups, a new fee, would cost $20 per night; once a newly established dump station is constructed at Haystack there would be a $30 dump station charge; and once a newly established group shelter is constructed at Haystack there would be a $25 a day fee.