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Show BLM Outlines Off-Road Vehicle 'Ground Rules' Operators of off-road vehicles - four-wheel drive cars, dune buggies, motorcycles, snowmobiles and other cross-country machines will have a clearer set of ground rules for using these and other vehicles on public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management under regulations being proposed by the Interior Department agency. The regulations, if adopted after a time for public comment and review, would establish a framework under which specific areas of the public lands could be designated as (1) open, (2) limited, or (3) closed to off-road vehicles. All public lands administered by BLM. some 473 million acres, ultimately would be designated into one of these three categories of use under the proposed regulations. In announcing the proposed regulations, Secretary of the Interior Cecil D. Andrus said, "Off-road vehicle travel is a recognized use of the public lands, and will continue there will be no blanket closures. These rules, if adopted, would allow us to give careful attention to the benefits as well as the environmental costs of off-road vehicle use on an area by area basis. "In the course of developing these regulations," Andrus continued, "we have received many public comments, and appropriate changes have been made in response In addition, specific area designations would be made through the BLM planning system. That system relies heavily on involvement by user groups, federal, state, county and local agencies, local landowners and other interested persons in developing multiple-use management plans for the public lands " Areas designated as "open" would be those where off-road vehicles may be operated subject to operating regulations and vehicle standards that would be established under the proposed rules. A "limited" designation would mean an area where the use of off-road vehicles would be subject to limitations such as numbers or types of vehicles allowe, times of use, and similar restrictions. A "closed" designation permanently or temporarily prohibits the use of off-road vehicles in that particular area |
