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[
Texas Rivers Protection Association Main Page] [TRPA Membership Application] [TRPA News] [Hidalgo Falls, Brazos River]Updated January 14, 2005
Governor signs anti-ATV Senate Bill 155! (Effective 1/1/2004)
OR V Having Fun Yet?
Imagine that you're [pick one: flyfishing paddling swimming sunning birdwatching hiking...] down your favorite river. The sun is shining, the birds are singing. Suddenly you hear a roar coming up the river toward you. Is it a jet boat? Is it a plane? No, it's an off road vehicle. And it's about to ruin your peaceful day and your favorite river.On rivers mostly in the western 2/3 of the state, ORV's have become the rage. Clubs have formed in some small towns and in the big cities that promote outings to rivers like the Nueces, Llano, Frio, Canadian, Paluxy and even the Upper Sulphur in NE Texas. Campouts, beer parties, and, (due to increased opposition) even "river cleanups" are being held to promote this "family sport". They drive up and down the middle of the river disturbing and destroying the essential bottom microlinks of the food chain. Climb up to any bridge over the Nueces near Uvalde and you'll see dozens of ugly track scars right down the middle of the riverbed.
Some have compared ORVers to canoeists and fishermen and have suggested that all river recreationists share a common need to preserve the public's right to access state owned streambeds. But in fact, traditional river users are quite different from this group. It is very possible to paddle down a pristine river and leave it just as we found it. But an ORV, by its very nature destroys the resource just by being there. Texas Rivers Protection Ass'n. is currently working with landowners, river authorities, Farm and Ranch Associations, Texas Agri Commission, and legislators to stop this irresponsible destruction of our rivers. TRPA supports the efforts of groups such as Stewards of the Nueces and Friends of the Frio - grassroots groups of riparian landowners, ranchers and citizens that support legislative efforts to deny linear riverbed access to recreational all-terrain vehicles.
[Austin Chronicle Story, 12/27/2002] [Texas Dept. of Agri Press Release, 12/19/2002] [TP&W 4x4 Slide Show] [San Antonio Express-News Story, 01/03/2003]
Scientific Studies on 4x4 Impact:
Off-Road Vehicles and Their Impact on Stream Environments - http://www.sdafs.org/tcafs/content/orvpol.htm
Off-Road Vehicles: A Growing Threat to Public Lands and Waters - http://www.americanlands.org/forestweb/offroad.htm
Off-Road to Ruin - How Motorized Recreation is Unraveling California's Landscapes - http://www.calwild.org/resources/pubs/ORV_report.pdf
Taken For A Ride: How off-road vehicles damage the nation's wildest lands. A report from the National Off-Road Vehicle Coalition -Overview: http://www.tws.org/standbylands/orv/blm_wsa.htm; Report with Pictures: http://www.tws.org/standbylands/orv/Blm_wsa.pdf; Report (text only): http://www.tws.org/standbylands/orv/blm_wsa_text.pdf
Download your free Adobe Acrobat Reader here
Click on the thumbnail images for full-screen JPEG images. Pause pointer on the thumbnail image for embedded comment.
Many of the vehicle photos are from the 4x4 website but were subsequently removed. The photos speak for themselves.
More photos can be viewed at: http://www.txrivers.org/nueces/nueces-pix.html
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