Have to agree with the latter point. Here in Colorado, there have been several nasty and well publicised incidents of destruction by ORV's.
And public money drying up doesn't help a bit. There simply isn't enough to pay for adequate enforcement to catch and punish purely destructive activities. It's far cheaper (unfortunately) to simply close off areas, and collecting fines for "riding in a closed area" is much simpler than getting someone to testify that Individual XX was chewing up a hill side while his friends watched.
Is the answer to have the off highway riders act as part time vigilantes? I don't like the thought, but it is ONE alternative to flat closure.
And public money drying up doesn't help a bit. There simply isn't enough to pay for adequate enforcement to catch and punish purely destructive activities. It's far cheaper (unfortunately) to simply close off areas, and collecting fines for "riding in a closed area" is much simpler than getting someone to testify that Individual XX was chewing up a hill side while his friends watched.
Is the answer to have the off highway riders act as part time vigilantes? I don't like the thought, but it is ONE alternative to flat closure.
