President Barrack Obama has designated 19 national monuments since 2009, more than any other president. The idea of more national monuments may sound great to some, but to us in the off-road community, it hits us where it hurts.
President Obama has recently designated three national monuments. These actions may not seem like much, but to an off-roader, it means that said areas automatically do not allow any new roads or trails for motorized vehicles.
The more national monuments that get assigned, the less places available to go off-road. The places that people and generations have been going to for years, places where folks get to enjoy the outdoors and the trails cannot happen any more.
The monuments that were recently designated were the 700,000-plus-acre Basin and Range National Monument in eastern Nevada, the 330,000-acre Berryessa Snow Mountain Monument in Northern California, and the Waco National Monument in Texas.
The monuments are not area specific; they can be designated anywhere. The SEMA Action Network (SAN) is fight to help stop the designation of more monuments as well continuing the fight for off-roading.
SAN is looking after these issues for not only the enthusiast, but for the companies that offer the products for the industry as well. SAN understands that it is harder for businesses to market off-road products when there are fewer places to enjoy them.
There is no issue with the creation of national monuments, but there needs to be something done to control how large of an area can be designated. Closing down large areas, closing down the surrounding trails, and restricting access is not needed for these monuments that are hundreds of thousands of acres in size.
Another issue in current legislation is HR 999 and S 1040, which have been introduced in both the U.S. House and Senate directing the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to study requirements proposed by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) for recreational off-highway vehicles (ROVs).
ROVs generally accommodate a side-by-side driver/passenger in a compartment equipped with roll bars and can attain speeds greater than 30 mph. The CPSC’s proposal includes restrictive lateral stability and vehicle handling requirements that could potentially limit use. The NAS would be forced to study whether the requirements are necessary or if they actually undermine ROV capabilities and intended uses.
HR 999 and S 1040 recognize that an industry standard allows more flexibility than a government mandate for future design changes to safely provide the level of performance that is expected by ROV enthusiasts.
Want to step up and help the fight? You can do so by contacting your one U.S. Representative and two U.S. Senators in Washington, DC immediately to request their support for HR 999/S 1040. Do not know who your representatives are? You can visit the SEMA Action Network to find out, do you part in helping the off-road community!
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