By VERNON ROBISON
Moapa Valley Progress
The State of Nevada launched a website last week that may quickly become an indispensable resource to motorized trail enthusiasts throughout the state. The new OffRoadNevada.org website offers a wealth of information for those who enjoy motorized recreation in the outdoor expanses of Nevada.
“OffRoadNevada.org is a great resource for OHV enthusiasts,” said Greg McKay, chairman of Nevada’s Commission on Off-Highway Vehicles. “We invite everyone who rides to visit the site, discover new trails, and to ride smart and safe.”
Perhaps the most useful section of the new website is a section that is devoted to trail maps throughout the state. Trail maps have been posted from various land managing agencies all throughout the state. The map is literally dotted, up and down, with trail-riding destinations. From trails crisscrossing Searchlight and Laughlin on the southern tip of the state; to a dense network of trails in the mountainous areas of Humboldt County all the way up near the Idaho border; the site will include almost everything.
All of the trails depicted on the maps have already been through the public process and are designated for motorized use.
Some of the first maps posted on the site last week were areas in northeastern Clark County. Partners in Conservation (PIC) administrator Elise McAllister was able to send over a variety of trail maps to the site administrators. These maps showed trails which had been designated nearly a decade ago through a long public process bringiong local volunteers together with BLM land managers.
“PIC is very proud that so many roads and trails are designated in southern NV,” said McAllister. “PIC and our many volunteers GPS’d many of those roads that are now designated and open. Volunteers from the MV Rotary Club, the local VFW and American Legion, Chamber of Commerce, various ATV clubs and many more volunteers collected data that made those road designations in southern Nevada possible.”
Included in the online map are services in nearby communities. Special icons show where fuel, restaurants, lodging and other services and amenities are located. This could be helpful in bringing visitors to the rural communities that are in proximity to these trail areas, McAllister said.
“In this respect, the site not only benefits users, it will also benefit businesses and communities,” McAllister said.
Another major function of the site is to provide information about registering off-highway vehicles in Nevada; as well as informing OHV owners of the benefits of registration.
State law, which went into effect in July 2012, requires registration of all OHVs operated in the state. An OHV is defined as a motor vehicle designed primarily for off-highway and all-terrain use. The term includes all-terrain vehicles, off-highway motorcycles, dune buggies, snowmobiles, utility vehicles also known as side-by-sides, or any other vehicle used on public lands for recreation.
Informaton on registration is broken down on the website into simple steps. All forms are available there to download and complete. Registration is relatively inexpensive with annual fees of about $25 to register each vehicle.
The site also extolls the benefits that those collective state-wide registration fees bring to trailriders. More than 60 percent of the registration fees go directly into trailhead amenities throughout the state.
One example of these benefits is hitting very close to home. Earlier this year, PIC was awarded a $133,000 grant for the construction of new restroom facilities at Logandale Trails; as well as the removal of the old restroom building. This was the very first grant ever awarded by the Nevada OHV Registration Program.
“The restrooms at Logandale Trails will be completed around September so that the new restrooms will be in use and the old ones removed before the fall busy season starts,” McAllister said.
Other trail amenities projects to be funded by the 60% portion of the state-wide registration fees include better signage, new trails, trails planning, developing trailheads, building campgrounds, information kiosks, picnic tables and more.
And what happens to the other 40 percent of the registration fees? Twenty percent of the fees go to law enforcement; 15 percent goes to safety, training and education; and only 5 percent is for administering the program.
Despite these benefits, compliance in registering OHVs in the state is still low. The Nevada Commission on Off Highway Vehicles estimates that there are 400,000 OHVs in the state. But as of the end of April only 43,145 were registered. That is only about 10 percent.
McAllister encourages anyone who has not registered their OHVs to go to the OffRoadNevada.org site to learn how to do so.
“It is not very often that so much of our tax dollars or fees go so directly back to services that affect our own experience,” McAllister said. “This is one area where we can really see the benefits coming right back to us at home.”
The website also features a series of videos showing Nevada residents talking about their experiences in off-roading at various locations throughout the state. In at least two of those presentations, the person names Logandale Trails as their favorite spot for OHV trail riding.
Each person featured in the videos talks about ways that they ride responsibly on the trails and promotes smart, legal off-road practices.
For more information visit OffRoadNevada.org.
