We're talking to experts about off-highway vehicle recreation in the vast public lands in Southern Nevada.

That's this week on Nevada Week.

♪♪♪ Support for Nevada Week is provided by Senator William H. Hernstadt and additional supporting sponsors.

(Kipp Ortenburger) Off-highway vehicles, better known as OHVs, provide motorized means to access our outdoor resources.

There are countless types of recreational and travel pursuits within this sector, given the expansive public lands surrounding us and, therefore, there's also countless vehicles and support needs and unique destinations.

All this of course translates to just as many unique economic drivers, and the future seems bright with COVID-19 restrictions ending and a potential new federal lands bill on the horizon that could protect and preserve local OHV areas.

But other considerations are at play of course, the protection of environmentally fragile resources and also the expansion of other industries that require a lot of land.

So what does this mean for the future of local OHV industries?

What impact does it have or could it have on our economy, the environment and of course our own recreational pursuits?

Well, our panel aims to answer these questions.

Please welcome Nikhil Narkhede, OHV program manager for the state's Department of Conservation and Natural Resources; Kevin Bailey, club president of the Vegas Valley Four-Wheelers; Philip Fell, chairperson for the Nevada OHV Commission, and Stephen Leslie, assistant field manager for the Division of Resources at the Bureau of Land Management's Las Vegas field office.

Well, thank you so much for being here.

We really appreciate it.

We want to jump right into the conversation and talk about our first big conversation topic which is what's the state of OHVs in a region like Southern Nevada?

Kevin, I want to go to you.

COVID has been very interesting in this respect.

We've had guests on before talk about some of the other recreational pursuits, outdoor recreational pursuits in Southern Nevada which all have seemed to increase during COVID-19 and not decrease.

Are you seeing the same on the OHV side?

(Kevin Bailey) Speaking from the full-sized four-wheel community, from the Jeeps, the pickup trucks, Outlanders, and the side-by-side world, which is the single two-seat and four-seat sand vehicles out there, we have definitely seen people getting out and recreating.

The wonderful thing about being in the outdoors with your families or friends, social distancing can definitely happen by being in a vehicle with your family.

You're not interacting in a big group together on top of each other.

You're out and about and away from everybody.

Over the last few weeks, we've seen more and more people get out into the Logandale Trail System in Moapa Valley.

The parking lot, the staging lot is full, and it's been full for the last 14 months.

-Kevin, what's your take on it-- let's compare this maybe to the mountain bike sector and bikes were sold out in stores.

Is it similar on the OHV side?

Do you have any sense of if these new users that are coming in here, or is it just everybody's using their equipment now and really getting out?

-I believe that it's definitely users getting out.

People from, you know, the world that I'm in, the full-size rigs, people are getting out and wheeling, as we say.

The challenge that came into play as the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic is parts were not available.

-Nikhil, I want to come to you and maybe just give us some more context on how many users we're talking about.

Do we have any sense of how big our OHV population is either statewide or in a region like Southern Nevada?

(Nikhil Narkhede) Absolutely.

So I would definitely agree that our OHV ridership is increasing.

Currently we've got approximately 48,000 OHV registrations kind of as a number to gauge at least how many OHVs are operating across the state in Nevada.

Even with just our heavy use numbers or increasing numbers through COVID, we do want to make sure that we're recreating responsibly and kind of respecting the land use principles even while we're out riding our OHVs.

-Yes.

And Nikhil, great point.

Let's go to Steve.

Steve, let's talk more specifically about that, and again with a focus on the state of right now, what kind of land use are we seeing?

Kevin mentioned a lot of different types of four-wheel vehicles.

Phil, we're going to get to some other vehicles that we need to include here as well.

Are we seeing a specific type of land use, and then on top of that, what are some of the sensitive areas that are top of mind to an organization like the BLM?

(Stephen Leslie) So I'd agree with both Kevin and Nikhil.

We've seen a meaningful increase in all forms of recreation across BLM lands, especially during the pandemic and over the last 14 months.

We place traffic counters, road counters, so we expect to have, you know, hard numbers on what that increase actually looks like on BLM land in Southern Nevada.

But looking at initial projections, I'd say there's probably been a 50% increase just in the last 14 months alone.

In a place like Logandale, we started seeing that just as soon as closures of other entertainment and recreation opportunities started being restricted at the beginning of the pandemic, just an uptick in phone calls, an uptick in visitation, a real genuine interest in getting out as a safe and, you know, just an excellent way to enjoy public lands in Southern Nevada.

Now, you-- -I'm sorry, go ahead.

-Yes.

I was going to say you also asked about some, you know, sensitive areas and resource concerns that we're always mindful of.

The one thing I would highlight, which I'm sure a lot of people are familiar with, is the threatened desert tortoise, and that always is a factor when we are talking about all forms of recreation, you know, motorized recreation in particular.

-Anything else?

Is there any particular vegetation or-- let's actually take a step back and talk about the vehicles themselves.

You know, are there any major concerns related to any of the OHVs that are having more of a larger macro impact on any of our resources in some of these areas?

-I think for the general public and for the groups that we're talking about like in places like Logandale or Nellis Dunes where it's the Jeeps, the all-terrain vehicles, the single passenger all-terrain vehicles, the side-by-sides where it's two passengers, the larger buggy type vehicles, we're not seeing a lot of additional-- we're not concerned about a lot of additional resource impacts.

As they start getting larger and have higher speed capacities, that's where we see increased impacts and we have some additional concerns.

Those higher speed, larger vehicles, they're heavier.

They can cause damage to soil resources.

They can certainly impact the vegetation communities in a place like the Mojave Desert where it can literally take hundreds of years to recover.

That's a special concern.

And then as you increase speed of course, then you start losing the ability to avoid resources on the ground as you see.

So a Jeep or a side-by-side or even on a motorcycle, the participants have better control over what they're doing and they're not out there for adrenaline, right, they're out there to enjoy the environment and really observe and be a part of it.

-And Phil, I want to come to you and talk a little bit about maybe that ratio of users out there.

You of course or your background is in the two-wheeler aspect here.

We want to talk specifically about that.

How many accessing the terrain are going slow versus speed versus fast and then what kind of terrain is being used there?

Do you have any idea of what the ratio is?

(Philip Fell) It's hard to pin down the actual ratio especially in the last year; so much in the demographic has changed.

The most recent study I've shown is one in three Nevadans own an OHV, so there's a lot of people in Nevada that OHV is near and dear to their heart regardless of what type of vehicle hey're in.

Side-by-sides are the largest from the manufacturer standpoint, the largest increase in sales off the dealer lots.

Similar to what you said with the mountain biking industry, dealers are having trouble keeping stock of all sorts of OHVs but especially side-by-sides, and it is becoming a little problematic with the ease of entry into side-by-sides.

You can get a very high horsepower vehicle that's very capable off the showroom floor now, and not a lot of OHV experience, training and education on potential resource damage and impact to wildlife and environment, similar to what BLM is saying and seeing with a lot of these new vehicles.

Whereas a dirt bike, there's a little bit more of trial by fire, I guess, is the easy way to say where it's hard to take a dirt bike off a showroom floor for your first ride and really get into a sensitive area easily.

Whereas side-by-sides, yes, they're so capable off the showroom floor it's becoming a little bit of an issue on the management side for the BLM.

And it's a tough problem.

I feel your pain on how to manage that and, you know, a lot of the big priority for the OHV Commission is helping to educate users on responsible usage so we can maintain these trails and keep the resource impact to a minimum so they stay open long term and everybody can enjoy them.

-Kevin, I want to come to you there.

Let's talk a little bit more about this balance between growth and access, and then of course preservation, and it all does seem to lead towards that level of understanding, of really understanding how those three balance and how they interweave.

As Phil mentioned, you know, we've got a huge increase in side-by-sides here.

Maybe the learning curve isn't as steep as it is for motorcycles, or I'm assuming a lot of the Jeepers too, the four-wheelers.

You know, give us an assessment.

You're out there boots on the ground.

Is there a good understanding of the balance between those or do we need a lot more education?

-Boundaries are definitely our biggest challenge here in Southern Nevada.

A lot of people think that just because you can see the ground, you can see the trail, you can see the rock, you're going to go off and wheel on it, and that's not the actual truth.

Areas that are open, the Jean Dry Lake Bed, the Nellis Dunes, Nelson area, Bitter Springs, Logandale Trails, the Mesa, Weiser Valley, those are all public lands to recreate on, and we're seeing lots more people get out there.

The challenge is knowing where to go and where not to go.

You'll see a little bit later on just this clip of a cleanup, that's in an area that's close to recreation to full-size vehicles, yet we had to haul junk that people were taking out there and dropping off.

-Kevin, I'm sorry, absolutely.

You couldn't have been-- your timing couldn't have been better.

I did want to transition right to that clip, and let's do that.

Based on this conversation we're having here and the balance between growth, access and preservation, we want to take a closer look at that balance, and we found-- our Nevada Week team found that we didn't have to go that far outside of even where our studio is right now.

Take a look.

♪♪♪ The desert may be deceptively still sometimes, but it is, in fact, full of life.

This site, called the Great Unconformity, sits at the edge of Las Vegas where the city meets the open land.

(John Asselin) We have this urban nature interface that's all around the city.

So, you know, 360 degrees all the way around is nature right up against the urban area, and people dump in those places.

We're not in the trash removal business.

We have one person who is a contractor from Great Basin Institute, and he is the desert cleanup coordinator.

It's one guy for 3.1 million acres of land.

So what he does is coordinate with other people and other groups to come out and get volunteers to help clean up some of these areas.

Here at the Fort Apache Caves, in another area where homes and businesses bump up against the desert, volunteers from the off-road community have come together for a cleanup.

(Nicole Taylor Sharp) Even though two hours ago, believe it or not, this area was raining, snowing, wet, I still had 50 to 60 crazy off-roaders that showed up and ready to put up or shut up and clean up the desert.

So I asked Junkluggers if they'd come out and donate some trucks; bringing out two trucks today.

We've got one truck almost already filled up in less than an hour.

(Justin Jones) In my district we have a lot of undeveloped lands like this, a lot of BLM lands and county lands, and people just drive up and dump their garbage over here.

We have people who are shooting off fireworks.

I picked up a lot of fireworks while I was out here today.

So it just looks pretty trashy.

(Jack Barnum) It irks me to no end to know that people are that lazy.

We have this wonderful garbage disposal system in our city, and why are they dumping it out here?

It's because it's free.

In addition to being unsightly, there are a host of economic and environmental costs associated with littering and dumping in the desert.

It's really on us as residents, as citizens, to get out here and do our part, to clean up after those who aren't doing their part.

(Tiffany O'Brien) I feel it's important to bring the kids out, to have a sense of community, to make sure that we take care of our community and our lands.

We are a big Jeep community so we use a lot of our lands for off-roading, and we want to take care of them as much as we can so we can still utilize them.

-Well, thank you, Heather.

We really appreciate that, and what a great transition too.

Let's talk a little bit about the future here.

And to Kevin's point, a lot of garbage but so thankful for our OHV users here, so engaged in the cleanup.

Nikhil, I want to come to you.

We also of course have a state OHV commission that is also as equally engaged statewide, and a grant program that I wanted you to speak to.

I was looking through some of the priorities of that grant program yesterday, and a lot of alignment here.

Of course there is enhancement, restoration, planning, mapping, a lot of things that can really move OHV use into the future.

What are the top priorities for the commission?

-Absolutely.

So we do have the OHV grant program that's available.

It awards approximately $1 million per year in order to mitigate some of these issues that we're seeing on our public lands.

We definitely want to prioritize the rider experience.

We want OHV user groups, clubs, such as the one that we just saw, using these grant funds to build partnerships with our federal land managers.

I think right now with our increased visitation, this is the opportunity for, you know, multiple generations of OHV users to really step forward and push that kind of stewardship of our public spaces.

So again, the priority of our OHV grant program is to focus on projects that improve the riders' experience and then improves the education and outreach component of responsible OHV recreation.

-And I noticed, I went through some of your local awardees.

Steve, we'll talk to you in just a sec.

Some of the local BLM offices are recipients of those grants, a lot of metro police and sheriff's offices also are recipients of the grants, and then there are some nonprofits there, but I noticed not a lot.

We've got one of them right in front of us, Vegas Valley Four-Wheelers.

Are they eligible for this type of grant funding?

-Absolutely.

We encourage groups like Vegas Valley Four-Wheelers to come in and pick up some of those grant funds and put them to a project that's really important to that user group.

A similar example of a most recent project in Clark County is a partnership with the ATV Dunes and Trails Club down there to take care of the Lovell Canyon Trail System, and that's out at the Spring Mountains Recreation Area.

So again, building that partnership between the OHV user groups and their local land manager.

-Let's talk a little bit more about the user group specifically here.

Phil, of course you have your feet in both boats, so to speak, or both Jeeps I guess is a better term here.

Being that you are a commissioned member on that commission and you're a user yourself, let's talk about the priorities and transition to that user side of your role.

What are some of the priorities that you see as we look into the future of OHV use?

-Yes.

For me personally as a user, my priority is always trails.

Like it's no secret to anybody that's been to a Nevada OHV Commission meeting, that's really what I try to drive home because that's what people are going out and trying to enjoy.

They're trying to enjoy the trail.

So whatever I can do to help get funds to improve our trail system, that gives more people opportunity to go out and enjoy the outdoors, enjoy OHV, and to get away from people.

You know, similar to what Kevin said, part of the experience is being out in nature and being away.

So as we get more and more people using these trails, we need an expanded network so that use is kind of dispersed over a greater area and not everybody's congested into one spot.

One of the things I think you're seeing is a little bit of gap in how the state of Nevada has managed or the state of Nevada's BLM has managed the rec and resource management plans recently.

We're a little bit behind in the management plans from the federal land managers to where there's not a lot of designated recreation sites.

So user groups can't always apply for these funds to maintain the trails even though they're riding.

If they're not designated by the federal land manager, they can't officially go out and maintain these sites and these trails.

So it puts the user groups wanting to pick up and maintain the trails that they ride but not able to because the federal land managers are behind in a lot of their planning and scoping documents.

So we're in a little bit of a tough situation with that in Nevada.

-Steve, I want to go to you.

Maybe walk us through the process of something like a resource management plan.

The brief research I've done, it looks like each one is designated per office so there are a lot more local in that way.

Does the process really begin and end at the local office, and how and why maybe would some of these resource plans be late, so to speak?

-Yes.

So as you pointed out, resource management plans for the BLM are down to the district level, so Las Vegas is within the Southern Nevada district in Nevada.

Those plans are put together with a lot of input from the public including recreation groups, from other types of interest groups, from other cooperating federal agencies, state agencies, and the decisions that are put together in those plans are then under the authority of the state director.

There really are Nevada-related plans.

The current plan for Southern Nevada was published in 1998, so you're not wrong that we are kind of behind the curve in adapting to current situations.

Those plans are very sort of large-scale, broad land use allocations.

In our current plan, we do identify special recreation management areas.

Generally back then, it was good to focus on dispersed recreation opportunities.

A much lower population in Southern Nevada back then, not as much interest in the different recreation opportunities, of course also different uses; we are a multi-use agency.

So where we see that we've really fallen behind is a good observation, as is staying in tune with what the current demands are in the land, and how we step down from those plans to address that is a priority of our office moving forward.

-Yes.

I mean as you said, 1998, our population has doubled of course not only more people accessing that land but for so many other uses.

I want to get a better idea too, Steve, of just what kind of input on a plan like that are you getting from user groups that we have around our virtual table here, being that seems to be a big part of that; informing those plans on usage is so important.

What is BLM doing to kind of incorporate that feedback?

-So just as an example, we've talked about the Logandale Trails area near Moapa, and that is probably one of our priority areas for planning for motorized recreation.

Now, that is not an area designated as a special recreation management area under our current plan so, you know, what we've heard from user groups, from the public, we've done a lot of outreach through formal recreation surveys to really try and understand what kind of outcomes people are looking for in that area.

We will be initiating a process to complete a site-specific recreation area management plan that would address some of the questions that have come up today about designated trails, about designated areas, improved infrastructure, meeting the demands of users that are out there, and also trying to understand what the general public in Southern Nevada is looking for in a site like that.

-Kevin, I want to come to you and get your perspective as well, and I wanted to bring into the conversation a federal lands bill that is being proposed right now.

Senator Cortez Masto is one of the main sponsors, the Southern Nevada Economic Development and Conservation Act.

Looking through that bill, there's more than 100,000 acres that would be designated for OHV use.

I was looking at their map this morning.

They seem to be areas that have small designations for more open use and not trail use necessarily.

That kind of sounds encouraging maybe to the layperson as myself, but let's hear from you.

When you're looking at a big landsbill like this, is that enough expansion, enough use for OHV?

-We always want more land to be able to recreate on.

The challenge with this current bill right now is there is a good chance that they're going to designate it as wilderness, and when designated it will eliminate access of two-wheel vehicle, four-wheel vehicle that is motorized.

It's basically a land that you can walk on.

We need more public lands for us to be able to recreate.

Based on the fact that over the last 10 years, our population has doubled and people are getting out more and recreating on a consistent basis.

Don't deny access, increase access, increase awareness.

That's the key.

-And what do you think is the solution there?

Is it going back to these resource management plans and making sure that those potentially designated wilderness areas at least have certain parcels that are accessible via some of these trail systems that already exist?

-My personal opinion right now, everything that is currently open needs to retain being open for generations to come.

Don't close more, open more.

-Thank you as always for joining us this week on Nevada Week.

Now, for any of the resources discussed on this show, please visit our website at vegaspbs.org/nevada-week.

You can always find us on social media at @nevadaweek.

Thanks again, and we'll see you next week.

♪♪♪