The Wall Street Journal, August 2, 2009
ATV Tourism Has Long-Term Costs
By Cyndi Tuell
ATV use can entail unforeseen and sometimes irretrievable environmental costs while deterring visitation by hikers, hunters and anglers. A report by Kreg Lindberg at Oregon State University showed that in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, traditional, nonmotorized recreation supported as many as 252 local jobs. The number of people who hike, backpack, fish, ride horses and bicycle outnumber off-roaders in that forest by more than 32 to 1. Similar numbers are found across the U.S. How much will it cost to restore watersheds, trout streams and wildlife habitats destroyed by ATVs? How many will be driven to other states to hike, fish and hunt—taking their money with them?
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