Stopping Them in Their Tracks
By Lily Auliff

Off-highway-vehicles (OHVs) have extensively damaged the Nueces River beds and banks, according to Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD). Truck, jeep, and all-terrain vehicle traffic has halted riparian vegetation growth, destroying bird and mammal habitat, allowing bank erosion, and increasing water temperatures to levels unsuitable for sensitive fish. In some sections, the runs and ruts created by OHVs have disrupted stream flow.

“These vehicles come by the hundreds - some of them drive all night long,” describes Jeannie Dullnig of Stewards of the Nueces, an organization founded to stop the damage caused by OHVs. “We’re not talking about dirt bikes and three wheelers either,” she adds, saying the majority of vehicles are trucks, jeeps, and hummers.

Legislation is desperately needed to stop this destruction of our state’s natural resources, argues the Texas Living Waters Project, which brings together the National Wildlife Federation, the Sierra Club, Environmental Defense, and the Texas Center for Policy Studies. Stewards of the Neuces, TPWD, and many owners of adjacent lands agree.

The effects of OHV traffic have been most pronounced on the Nueces River in south Texas and the Frio River in the Hill Country, probably due to their accessible, wide, relatively flat, and often dry banks, says Brian Sybert of the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club. Houston area waterways have been less impacted, although damage is not unheard of.

All riverbeds and portions of their banks are owned by the state of Texas. And, TPWD, the General Land Office, and the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC) all have some power to control activities that affect wildlife and water quality on state lands. But, the agencies don’t feel they have explicit legislative authority to regulate OHV use.

To fix this, Texas Living Waters and other groups are advocating several changes to state laws. The most obvious would be to prohibit the recreational operation of OHVs on state-owned river beds, while maintaining public access for less damaging activities like birdwatching, boating, fishing, swimming, and tubing. Texas Living Water suggests that the legislation be modeled after the Dune Protection provisions of the state’s Natural Resources Code, which prohibit recreational vehicles on sand dunes but do not limit public access to the beach.

If the legislators are not willing to go that far, they could provide TPWD with the explicit authority and direction to limit OHVs on riverbeds.

Advocates emphasize that any new laws should feature appropriate exceptions to accommodate access for adjacent landowners.

Some leaders of the OHV community are fighting changes to the current laws. “We in the off-road community are also concerned with the environment – most of us anyway,” says Kevin Curry of www.texas4x4.com, a cyber club for ORV drivers. “Part of the problem is, however, there’s insufficient proof OHVs are causing all of the damage we’re being for blamed for. The rivers in question are being enjoyed by far more people than just OHV enthusiasts.” Responsible OHV enthusiasts are being grouped with the few who don’t care, he adds, and emphasizes that most always try to leave a site cleaner than when they arrive.

The state’s Joint Committee on Water Resources will be considering legal options during the interim between legislative sessions. Citizens are encouraged to voice their opinions to their own representatives and to this body, which includes Senators J. E. “Buster” Brown, David Bernsen, and Teel Bivins and Representatives David Counts, Robert Cook, and Robert Puente.

Sybert adds, however, that the OHV problem is just a reflection of much bigger issues that need to be examined. “What it comes down to is that we desperately need more public land, of all types,” he explains. Because Texas has such a low percentage of space for public use, it is difficult to redirect damaging activities away from riverbeds to less sensitive areas. We also need much better access to public lands, especially rivers that are banked by private acres, so people don’t have to drive on sensitive terrain to reach their favorite spots, he says.

A solution that might satisfy all is to set aside public areas dedicated to OHV use, says Sybert. Funding is in fact available from TPWD to build parks with “motorized trails.” However some enthusiasts might argue that driving along a designated trail in a park full of other OHVs can hardly be called off-roading.