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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR Feldman

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1/31/08

2/11/08 HB

SHORT TITLE Study Off-Road Motorized Vehicle Use

SJM 40/aSRC/aSCONC

ANALYST Woods

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY08

FY09

NFI

NFI

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Relates to SJM 13

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Original Responses Received From

Energy, Minerals and Natural resources Department (EMNRD)

Department of Game and Fish (DGF)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of SCONC Amendment

Senate Conservation Committee Amendment to Senate Joint Memorial 40, as amended, clarifies

language. Specifically, it strikes Senate Rules Committee Amendments 1, 3 and 4. The amended

language now reads:

[Page 1] “A JOINT MEMORIAL REQUESTING THE ENERGY, MINERALS

AND NATURAL RESOURCES DEPARTMENT, THE TOURISM

DEPARTMENT, THE NEW MEXICO DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,

NEW MEXICO STATE UNIVERSITY'S RANGE IMPROVEMENT TASK

FORCE AND THE DEPARTMENT OF GAME AND FISH TO COOPERATE IN

CONDUCTING A STUDY ON OFF-ROAD MOTORIZED VEHICLE USE.

[Page 1] “WHEREAS, there is not a New Mexico centralized, organized database

on which to assess and compare the economic, social, historic, cultural,

archaeological and environmental contributions and impacts of non-motorized

outdoor recreation, including hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, snowshoeing,

Senate Joint Memorial 40/aSRC/aSCONC – Page

2

cross-country skiing, horseback riding, bird watching, mountain biking,

archaeological exploration, natural resources education, agriculture and ranching

with motorized recreation; and"

[Page 2] “NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF

THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the energy, minerals and natural resources

department, the tourism department, the New Mexico department of agriculture,

New Mexico state university's range improvement task force and the department of

game and fish be requested to cooperate with other state agencies to conduct a

study and recommend actions to resolve user conflicts, prevent…"

[Page 3] BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be

transmitted to the secretary of energy, minerals and natural resources, the secretary

of tourism, the director of the New Mexico department of agriculture, the chair of

New Mexico state university's range improvement task force and the director of the

department of game and fish.

The amendment adds no appropriation to the legislation.

Synopsis of SRC Amendment

EMNRD indicates that Senate Rules Committee amendment to Senate Joint Memorial 40

requests that the Tourism Department and New Mexico Department of Agriculture, in addition to

the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department and the Department of Game and Fish

cooperate with other state agencies to conduct a study on off-road motorized vehicle use. The

amendment also adds the activities of snowshoeing and cross country skiing to the list of

activities mentioned in a “whereas" clause in the SJM, as activities which could be impacted by

off-road motorized vehicle use.

The amendment adds no appropriation to the legislation.

Synopsis of Original Bill

Senate Joint Memorial 40 requests the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department and

the Department of Game and Fish to cooperate with other state agencies to conduct a study and

recommend actions to resolve user conflicts, prevent future resource damage, and provide greater

safety protections for motorized recreation users.

There is no appropriation attached to this legislation.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

EMNRD indicates that off-road motorized vehicle use is a popular and growing activity in New

Mexico on both public and private lands. In 2005, the Legislature enacted a new statute that set

certain minimum safety standards for OHV use, established new registration and use fees for

OHVs, and established the Off-Highway Vehicle Safety Board to implement the Off-Highway

Motor Vehicle Act. The Board is attached to the Tourism Department. The EMNRD Secretary

and the Director of the State Parks Division both have permanent seats on the Off-Highway

Vehicle (OHV) Safety Board as does the Director of DGF. The memorial states that there is no

Senate Joint Memorial 40/aSRC/aSCONC – Page

3

New Mexico centralized, organized database on which to assess and compare the economic,

social, historic, cultural, archaeological and environmental contributions and impacts of non-

motorized outdoor recreation (including hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, horseback riding, bird

watching, mountain biking, archaeological exploration, natural resources education, agriculture

and ranching) with the contributions and impacts of motorized recreation. The memorial

enumerates the information and policy issues implicit in escalating problems with resource

impacts and user conflicts between motorized and non motorized recreation. As a member of the

OHV Safety Board, EMNRD is familiar with and has seen evidence of some of these problems,

including:

For example, enforcement of existing OHV laws and regulations is a cornerstone

problem issue. Not all law enforcement agencies in New Mexico are fully aware of

the requirements of the 2005 law and may not be enforcing it consistently. Federal

land management agencies also are experiencing enforcement problems. With only

two enforcement officers for all the National forests in New Mexico, the Forest

Service is presently assuming reliance on DGF personnel to provide enforcement.

The study would identify the scope of the enforcement problem as well as make

recommendations of actions needed to bring enforcement capabilities in line with

needs.

Destruction of resources and damage to private property, particularly in the

agricultural sector, needs to be analyzed. Assessment of adequacy of safety

protections for motorized recreation is appropriate and timely. Further information

about the relative contributions and impacts of motorized versus non-motorized

recreation would be helpful. In addition to helping inform policy and action by the

State of New Mexico, the study could bear on the outcome of the U.S. Forest

Service “Travel Management Plan" process, which is shaping how OHV use will

occur in national forests in New Mexico.

DGF states that the Department of Tourism and Motor Vehicle Division have certain authorities

and administrative responsibilities under the Off-highway Motor Vehicle Act. The Off-highway

Motor Vehicle Safety Board, created by the Act, is comprised of a myriad of State, private and

Federal representatives and has overlapping authority with study components contemplated by

this memorial. Presently, fees are collected from the registration of off-highway vehicles that are

used on public lands and deposited in the “Trail Safety Fund" established by statute (66-3-

1001.1C, 66-3-1004.1, 66-3-1019 NMSA 1978). EDG concludes that some work has been done

compiling scientific literature reviews of

(1) the potential impacts of roads and associated motorized vehicle traffic on

wildlife and habitats; and

(2) the importance of U.S. Forest Service Inventoried Roadless Areas for wildlife

and wildlife habitat conservation and quality wildlife-related recreational

experiences. Both reviews are currently available on the Department’s website.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

DGF indicates that it fully recognizes that significant conflicts exist between off-highway vehicle

use, wildlife associated recreation and resource conservation. To produce the study Department

staff will necessarily refocus time toward research, analysis and presentation of study results.

Senate Joint Memorial 40/aSRC/aSCONC – Page

4

CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP

DGF notes that the memorial relates to SJM 13, which resolves to protect watersheds, natural

resources, archaeological sites, rangelands by establishing a mandatory filter in evaluating any

potential designated routes and provide safe access for OHV’s (SJM 13, page 5, lines 12-25).

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

DGF advises that the U.S. Forest Service is presently conducting an assessment of their Forest

Travel Management Plans within the respective national forests. Local and regional interests

have expressed substantial interest in this planning effort and prospective implementation.

Consideration may appropriately be given to the implications, respectively, of the proposed study

and the federal planning effort.

WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT ENACTING THIS BILL

EMNRD suggests that “without the benefit of the conclusions and recommendations of a study,

state and local governments will continue to address the motorized, non-motorized problems and

conflicts in the present manner."

BFW/mt:nt:bb