As QWR prepares for another busy year in advocacy for
responsible OHV recreation, it wanted to look back at the two issues in 2013 that
generated the most hits/interest by our readership.
It should come as no surprise that our Post Fire Travel
Management Tools (Sept. 25) and Tips for Purchasing a Dual-Sport Motorcycle (July
9) articles were at the top of the list.
Post-fire rehabilitation of destination OHV areas on
Forest Service lands requires a lot dedication, determination, and
dollars/labor. Both the 2012 Mill Fire
and the 2013 Rim Fire highlighted just how catastrophic wildfires can impact
recreational access to public lands. The
fires also illustrated the need for an invigorated forest management program
that includes prescribed burning and timber thinning projects.
In the late 1990s, the California Air Resources Board
(CARB) determined that it was illegal to register off-highway motorcycles for
street use unless they were CARB or EPA certified for highway use. Today, the dual-sport enthusiast has only two
legal options in the State of California.
One, they can purchase a street-legal dual-sport that came from the
factory as such. Or, they can purchase a
used “Green-Sticker” off-highway motorcycle that was purchased new by December
31, 2003 and where the owner had initiated its dual-sport conversion with the
DMV no later than January 31, 2004.
Travel management and other land-use restrictions has
increased the demand for street-legal dual-sport motorcycles so that riders can
connect various trail networks that are separated by paved roads where
non-street legal motorcycles are prohibited.
QWR believes that 2014 holds significant opportunities to
champion responsible OHV use on public lands, but it will require a joint
effort by recreation professionals, industry, grassroots leaders, elected
officials, and agency staff to find solutions to the regulatory challenges that
face our sport.
Post Fire Travel Management Tools
Tips for Purchasing a Dual-Sport Motorcycle
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