Near the end of one of several fairly recent posts here on Oregon coastal travel, I sounded off about some long-held views I've had on motorized recreational contraptions in national parks and other natural settings. Regarding so-called off-highway vehicles - also known as off-road vehicles - in the Oregon Dunes, I wrote:

It seems extraneous and inappropriate to subject the sands of a prime national dunes park to the whims of motorized thrill seekers. True, this is one of those recreational land use controversies that will never die. I understand that jet-skiers, dune-scaling OHVers and riders of All Terrain Vehicles (or ATVs) in our national forests have become a force to contend with and fiercely defend their interests, dubiously framed as "rights." I think that beyond passenger vehicles traversing known roads, internal combustion engines should not intrude in any designated recreation area within local, state or national parks, or any on beaches, as is the case in southwestern Washington state. Mountain bikes and horses on hiking trails ignite similar tussles, but I'd grant both some slack, as they're not spewing gas and noise. As for the dunes: the silence, the wind, the environment, contemplation of the geologic history, examination of plant life, walking, bonfires, wading in the surf, natural solitude - this is what the experience should be about. If you want revving engines, go to a monster truck rally, or take to the road in your Harley.

Little did I know then that a related controversy was already on its way to being solved. Current national park restrictions limiting the use of OHVs, ATVs and motorized boats, jet-skis and snowmobiles were threatened last year during an official revisitation of established policy; as a later-re-assigned assistant to then-U.S. Interior Sec. Gale Norton plotted with manufacturers of OHVs and ATVs to weaken protections and open up more national parklands to the heinous class of hopped-up motor-gizmo jockeys who think life is just one big exhaust pipe. But the grassroots response was fierce, as apparently many people understood the hideous impact of off-road vehicles and other motorized recreation devices on the environment of our nation's treasured national parks. Leading the charge was National Parks Conservation Association; here is some especially salient testimony to a Congressional subcommittee just last June by NPCA's president Thomas C. Kiernan.

The Los Angeles Times reports the park service was today to issue final rules upholding the original restrictions: there will be no weakening of current protections limiting areas in national parks where off-road vehicles, all-terrain vehicles, jet-skis and motorboats can be used.

Having just returned from Glacier National Park with an even deeper appreciation of quiet, majestic natural spaces that are best traversed by foot; by passenger vehicles on paved and parks roads; and bicycle; I say "Bravo." I especially appreciate Glacier's policy of barring the preternaturally oversized critters known as recreational vehicles from major byways in the park such as Going to the Sun Road. RVs would be not only a desecration of the viewlines for other drivers but dangerous as well on the curving, mountainous Glacier thoroughfare. Having driven extensively on coastal Route 101 along the Oregon Coast earlier this summer, I can't claim that the many RVs seemed to be in danger of driving off a scenic cliff. But they slowed down traffic horribly, even for easygoing tourists like my wife and I, and noticeably blighted the visual environment.

I'd be quite happy to see RVs banned from coastal stretches of Route 101 in Oregon and California. The industry would beat back any such attempt, I'm sure. But many of the RVs I saw in coastal Oregon - and it was hundreds - were hauling sport utility vehicles behind them for tooling around more easily later. Does anyone really need to take TWO vehicles on vacation at once? Cripes, folks, just take your SUV, and rent an efficiency unit or vacation cottage/home. These places don't have to be crummy at all; many can be had in great settings and for reasonable prices, even. I speak from experience. It'd be a lot more civic-minded than carting your fat cottage on wheels along the Pacific Coast, and probably cheaper too, considering the price of gas these days.

TECHNORATI TAGS: OFF-ROAD VEHICLES, NATIONAL PARK SERVICES, NATIONAL PARKS CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION, GLACIER NATIONAL PARK, RECREATIONAL VEHICLES, OREGON COAST