A Threat to Public Lands
Dirt bikes, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), snowmobiles, and other off-road vehicles are major sources of air, water, and noise pollution nationwide. Most already in use are powered by two-stroke engines, which are antiquated, highly-polluting, and inefficient. Off-road vehicles are a major source of pollution on America's National Parks, Monuments, Forests, and other public lands, adversely wildlife exposed to exhaust, polluted waters, and contaminated foods.

• In Yellowstone, snowmobiles produce up to 68% of the Park's annual carbon monoxide pollution, even though snowmobiles are outnumbered by case 16 to one.
• According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), two-stroke engines dump 25-30% of their fuel unburned into the air and water.
• In Canyonlands National Park, dirt bikes and ATVs repeatedly drove in and polluted Salt Creek, the Park's only clear, perennial stream.

>> Details and more examples of off-road vehicle pollution and impacts on land, waters, and wildlife. 

A Threat to Public Safety and Health
Today, off-road vehicles rank among the most serious human-made threats to safety and health on public lands and waters. The pollution generated by off-road vehicles also poses a direct threat to visitors and public employees. Newer models of every type of off-road vehicle are becoming more powerful, faster, and capable of reaching further into the backcountry.

• Jet skis account for 9% of all registered boats, but Coast Guard figures show that they are involved in 30% of boating accidents and 40% of boating injuries.
• At Yellowstone's west entrance, Park rangers now wear respirators and hearing protection in the winter to reduce their exposure to toxic snowmobile exhaust and harmful noise.
• Also in Yellowstone, snowmobiles have been clocked at speeds over 85 mph, nearly twice the legal speed limit in the Park.

>> Details and more examples of off-road vehicle impacts on public health and safety. (PDF)

Off-Road Vehicles Are Everywhere
By the most conservative estimates, there are at least 11 million dirt bikes, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), snowmobiles, and jet skis in the United States, and they can go almost everywhere on our nation's public lands and waters.

• The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) manages 262 million acres of public land across the West and in Alaska. Nearly 93 percent of this land in the continental U.S. is open in some form to off-road vehicles.
• In Utah, 94 percent of BLM land -- more than 22 million acres -- is open to dirt bikes, ATVs and jeeps. In Montana and Nevada, off-road vehicles can access 99 percent of all BLM land.
• America's National Forests are criss-crossed by more than 400,000 miles of roads and routes. At least 60,000 additional miles of "ghost roads" have been blazed, largely by off-road vehicles.
• In the entire National Forest system -- covering more than 190 million acres in 155 forests -- only 2 forests, the Hoosier in Indiana and the Monongahela in West Virginia, do not allow off-road vehicle use.
• According to the International Snowmobile Manufacturers Association, there are 130,000 miles of "signed and maintained snowmobile trails" in the United States.