Report: Public lands see increase of OHV use

Hampered by lean budgets and growing responsibilities, federal land management agencies have struggled in recent years to keep up with the rising popularity of off-highway vechicle use on public land, congressional investigators said in a report Thursday. The Government Accountability Office said OHV use on public land has grown during the past five years, while the response by the U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management has been limited by dwindling resources and growing responsibilities. The three agencies, which oversee 530 million acres, all reported to the GAO that the main challenge to managing OHV recreation was having too few employees to enforce existing regulations. The report pointed to the BLM's office in Grand Junction, Colo., where a single law enforcement officer patrols 1.3 million acres. "Law enforcement officers have many responsibilities including, among others, enforcing OHV regulations, controlling gang activity, preventing illegal drug activities, and responding to impacts on resources and public safety from illegal smuggling activities along the U.S. border," the report said. Larry Smith, executive director of Washington, D.C.-based Americans for Responsible Recreational Access, said federal actions haven't been adequate to meet the growing popularity of off-road recreation...AP