By Mike Jones, Conservation Manager for West Virginia Rivers Coalition
West Virginia public lands are once again under threat from pending legislation at the state’s Capitol.
Every session, there is an attempt to permit off-road vehicles in all of our state parks, forests, wildlife management areas, and rail trails. SB 770, filed on Thursday, February 5, poses a risk to ecosystems across the state.
West Virginians for Public Lands, West Virginia Rivers Coalition, and WVEC, oppose any motorized trails and off-road vehicles on any state public lands.
We love our public lands just the way they are. We enjoy outdoor recreation, rest, solitude, peacefulness, and refuge in our State Parks, State Forests, Wildlife Management Areas, and Rail Trails. SB 770 will take away that quiet enjoyment of our public lands. Imagine loud ATVs at Blackwater Falls, Babcock, and even in our “Dark Skies” Watoga State Park. Off-road vehicles impact water and streams, cause soil erosion, and degrade our trails. Motorized trails are expensive to build and expensive to maintain. We cannot afford to lose our public lands to off-road vehicles and motorized trails.
There is another serious problem with SB 770. This bill would create a commission with one of its missions to bring motorized trails and ATVS to our State Parks, Forests, and other public lands. The commission is specifically instructed to find the public lands for motorized trails and make that happen. This takes recreation decisions away from the Legislature and the public, and puts these important decisions on the commission, with no oversight and no opportunity for public knowledge and participation.
SB 770 will be considered first by the Senate Transportation and Infrastructure Committee as early as Monday, February 9! It will then be considered by the Senate Finance Committee.
Look for action alerts and other ways you can oppose this bill. In the meantime, feel free to call any member of the Senate Transportation and Infrastructure Committee or the Senate Finance Committee, and tell them you oppose SB 770.
We urge all member groups and all West Virginians to oppose SB 770. Protect our public lands and keep them the way we like them!
