Strategies and Tactics for Managing ORV Use

Twelve strategies, organized under six topical categories, are described:

No Action / Status Quo

Existing environmental and social conditions are acceptable.

Modify Visitor Use Practices

Educate Visitors to Adopt Low Impact Practices
This strategy provides information that encourages the adoption of ORV use practices that prevent or minimize resource or social impacts.

1)    Educate Visitors to Adopt Low Impact Practices
        1.1    Promote Selection and Use of Resistant Routes
        1.2    Promote Adoption of Low Impact ORV Use Practices
        1.3    Promote Actions that Reduce Visitor Conflict
        1.4    Require Attendance at an ORV Low Impact Workshop

Regulate Visitor Use Practices
This strategy regulates ORV use by prohibiting particularly damaging practices or by requiring practices that prevent or reduce resource or social impacts.

2)    Regulate Visitor Use Practices
        2.1    Prohibit Particularly Damaging Practices
        2.2    Increase Enforcement Efforts
        2.3    Prohibit Practices that Cause Visitor Conflicts

Modify Location of ORV Use

Encourage Dispersal of Traffic in Remote Areas
This strategy seeks to prevent or reduce resource impact by distributing ORV traffic over a large number of routes so that individual routes are lightly used and able to recover on an annual basis. This strategy will generally be effective only in remote or infrequently visited areas.

3) Encourage Dispersal of Traffic in Remote Areas
3.1 Encourage Visitors to Avoid Existing Routes in Remote Areas

Encourage Concentration of Traffic in Popular Areas
The areal extent of resource impact is reduced with this strategy by promoting the repeated use of a common set of routes. Options for implementing this strategy range from indirect (educational) to direct (regulatory). Generally, greater concentration of traffic will result in greater reductions in the areal extent of resource impact. However, the severity of impact will increase on the routes receiving concentrated use, requiring maintenance to sustain traffic and limit development of multiple treads.

4)    Encourage Concentration of Traffic in Popular Areas
        4.1    Encourage Visitors to Use Existing Routes
        4.2    Require Visitors to Use Existing Routes
        4.3    Concentrate Use by Designating Access Points
        4.4    Select and Mark Resistant Routes
        4.5    Require Use of Designated Routes in Selected Areas
        4.6    Require Use of Designated Routes in Selected Management Units

Reduce Use in Problem Areas
Resource or social problems are addressed by reducing use in problem areas. Significant problems are often common in only a few popular areas.

5)    Reduce Use in Problem Areas
        5.1    Discourage Use in Problem Areas
        5.2    Make Access to Problem Areas More Difficult
        5.3    Establish Quotas for Use in Problem Areas

Reduce or Prohibit Traffic in Sensitive Areas
Resource impacts in areas with sensitive natural or cultural resources are regulated by reducing or prohibiting ORV traffic.

6)    Reduce or Prohibit Traffic in Sensitive Areas
        6.1    Discourage Traffic in Sensitive Areas
        6.2    Establish Quotas for Traffic in Sensitive Areas
        6.3    Prohibit Traffic in Sensitive Areas

Modify the Resource

Maintain Marked Routes
Routes receiving concentrated traffic are maintained or constructed to sustain traffic and limit development of multiple treads.

7)    Maintain Marked Routes
        7.1    Add Fill Material in Problem Areas
        7.2    Use Geosynthetics in Problem Areas
        7.3    Construct At-Grade Routes
        7.4    Construct Above-Grade Roads

Rehabilitate ORV Routes
Recovery of soils and/or vegetation on ORV routes closed to use is accelerated through resource rehabilitation efforts.

8)    Rehabilitate Closed ORV Routes
        8.1    Restore Substrates
        8.2    Restore Vegetation

Modify ORVs

Modify ORVs to Reduce Impacts
Modifications to ORVs are made to reduce their potential for contributing to resource or social impacts.

9)    Modify ORVs to Reduce Impacts
        9.1    Specify ORV Weights, PSI/Displacement, Clearance, Engine Size, or Tires
        9.2    Relate ORV Access to ORV Specifications
        9.3    Establish Noise Specifications by ORV Type

Restrict Particularly Damaging Types of ORVs
This strategy seeks to reduce social or resource impacts by restricting or prohibiting Particularly Damaging Types of ORVs. Restrictions may be area-specific, management unit-specific, or Preserve-wide.

10)    Restrict Particularly Damaging Types of ORVs
        10.1    Discourage Use of Particularly Damaging Types of ORVs
        10.2    Prohibit Use of Particularly Damaging Types of ORVs
        10.3    Restrict Use of Particular ORV Types in Sensitive or Problem Areas

Modify Timing and Amount of ORV Use

Modify Timing of ORV Use
This strategy is based on the recognition that the sensitivity of soil, vegetation, and wildlife to ORV impacts vary by season. Impacts are reduced by limiting or prohibiting use during times of high resource sensitivity. Even social problems, such as crowding and conflicts, may be reduced by shifting use away from peak use periods.

11)    Modify Timing of ORV Use
        11.1    Discourage Use During Times of Resource Susceptibility
        11.2    Prohibit Use During Times of Resource Susceptibility
        11.3    Regulate Timing of Use to Reduce Crowding and Conflict

Reduce ORV Use in General
This more restrictive strategy seeks to reduce resource or social impacts by limiting visitation.

12)    Reduce ORV Use in General
        12.1    Increase ORV Use Fees
        12.2    Reduce Number of ORV Permits
        12.3    Make Access More Difficult
        12.4    Limit Length of Stay
        12.5    Require Certain Skills
        12.6    Regulate Area of Use to Reduce Conflicts