3 minute read
PUBLIC POLICY
ATV operators take in the views of the White Mountains during the Mt. Washington Auto Road’s NH ATV Day.
A Road Map for Analyzing Off-Road Use in New Hampshire
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By Matt Leahy
Over the last ten years, New Hampshire has experienced significant growth in the use of Off-Highway Recreational Vehicles (OHRVs), including All-terrain Vehicles (ATVs). For example, in 2015 there were 54,155 OHRV registrations. That number increased to 77,601 in 2020. Increasingly, advocates view the 1,300-mile network of trails and the number of users as an important part of the economy in the state, especially in the North Country. The annual two-day festival at Jericho Mountain State Park in Berlin illustrates the place this sector has assumed in the economic development plans for our state.
However, this growth has created concerns and conflicts among OHRV users, non-OHRV users, other sectors of the outdoor recreation industry, private property owners, homeowners, and state agencies. These groups are seeking to address many questions and issues, including: • How to quantify the economic impact on the State’s economy? • Should the education and safety requirements for OHRV riders be changed or improved to account for the increased ridership? • Do the law enforcement agencies—NH
Fish and Game Department, NH State
Police, county sheriffs, and municipal police—have the capacity to enforce the OHRV-related laws? • How can OHRV users mitigate the noise and other impacts that property owners whose homes abut existing trails are experiencing?
• What are the effects of OHRV use on state and town roads, including class 5 and class 6 roads? • Is it time for the State of New Hampshire to develop a master trail plan for all recreational trail users?
Fortunately, the New Hampshire Legislature recognized these concerns by approving House Bill 1188. Signed into law by Governor Sununu on July 1, 2022, the bill establishes a five-year study commission to review OHRV use in New Hampshire and make recommendations on legislative solutions. Twenty-two members will sit on this commission, including one appointed jointly by the Forest Society, the Nature Conservancy, and the Appalachian Mountain Club.
Among the questions the commission will look to answer are: • How can the Fish and Game Department, New Hampshire State Police, county sheriffs, and municipal police work together to provide consistency in enforcement of current laws related to
OHRVs? • What are the positive and adverse effects of OHRV activity upon the state and local economies? • What are the effects of noise, dust, and careless or reckless behavior of riders on abutters to trails and roads where
OHRVs are used?
One of the difficulties that has undermined previous attempts to find constructive solutions is the tendency, for example during legislation hearings, for the conversation to split into an “us versus them” debate of OHRV users against nonOHRV users. The Study Commission can counter that problem by providing another valuable service. Specifically, it will be a meeting place and forum for the broad number of stakeholders of this issue.
Finding a mutual understanding among all of those stakeholders admittedly will be a challenge. Yet, OHRV enthusiasts, landowners, non-motorized recreationists, and the communities that host OHRV activity all share one common value: a desire to be outdoors enjoying our state’s natural areas. That common ground should be the starting point for the Commission’s work.
Balancing the desires of those who want to experience the thrill of OHRV riding without degrading New Hampshire’s special natural resources or intruding upon the rights of property owners to enjoy the sanctity of their own special place is achievable. By using that common ground as a guide, the Commission can find this difficult balancing point.
Matt Leahy is the public policy director for the Forest Society.
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