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Keep limits on use of off-road vehicles on public lands.Allowing off-road vehicles in national forests is hardly the best way to celebrate the 250th anniversary of U.S.independence this year.Yet in a draft memo that would open up forests to ATVs, the government states, “As the United States marks 250 years of independence in 2026, we must shine a light on our nation’s greatest natural treasures and ensure every American can recreate on these majestic lands.” The Trump administration — in the form of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins — wants to let off-road vehicles on millions of acres of national forest land.That’s on top of President Donald Trump repealing two executive orders that had protected other public lands, including most national parks, from ATVs, dirt bikes and other off-road vehicles.The first, from 1972, established strict criteria for the use of off-road vehicles on federal land.The second, signed in 1977, authorized the immediate shutdown of off-road driving if ecological damage resulted.Allowing motorized vehicles on public lands is just one in a series of actions that show a lack of understanding of and care for our public lands.Here’s what is happening right now.The Forest Service is expected to issue a proposal repealing the Roadless Rule — a Clinton-era regulation — that prevents road-building in nearly 60 million acres of undeveloped land.Then there is the Bureau of Land Management, which seeks to repeal a Biden-era rule that allowed public lands to be leased for conservation purposes.At the U.S.Fish and Wildlife Service, officials want to open 95% of wildlife refuges to hunting and fishing.So much for being a refuge.The combined moves by this administration show disdain for public lands, de-emphasizing conservation and care for wildlife.While outdoor recreation is good for adults and kids alike, the presence of motorized bikes and vehicles damages forests and other public lands.The weight of ATVs can cause soil erosion, destroy vegetation and damage habitat for wildlife.There is potential to pollute streams, and, of course, the pollution resulting from ATV noise.Many riders go off-trail, creating unauthorized trails and roads.These vehicles don’t belong on most public lands, and current rules and executive orders — from both Republican and Democratic presidents — have served to protect the wild.In the Agriculture Department memo, reviewed by The New York Times, the U.S.Forest Service was directed to identify which closed “roads, trails, areas, airstrips and waterways” in each national forest could be available for year-round recreation access.More immediately, the memo called for allowing off-road vehicles in areas awaiting wilderness protections.The Forest Service makes those recommendations to Congress, and usually as the process is underway, future wilderness areas are protected — the designation is assumed, in other words, until Congress decides otherwise.Stripping this safeguard could affect some 5 million acres, mostly in Montana and Idaho.While authorities that operate public lands in the United States must balance competing interests, introducing off-road vehicle traffic to what should be quiet forests — places where humans go to renew and refresh themselves — will damage the environment and the outdoors experience.Rather than allow the degradation of forests and other public lands, the federal government should work with states and local governments to identify areas where off-road vehicles can recreate without causing damage.Off-road enthusiasts should spend less time advocating for space where these vehicles don’t belong and more time working to develop parks that can be fun while not damaging the environment.ATV users must be educated, too, so they understand the damage their “fun” can leave behind.After 250 years, the United States has created an incredible public land legacy — areas that belong to all of us, not just for use today but to protect for all the generations to come.Links below are provided by a third-party ad network (RevContent).This publication does not endorse or guarantee the products, services, or claims featured.