Exciting times!
We are living in exciting times. The future of Maryland Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) on public lands is dynamic and hangs in a precarious balance. As of 2011, Maryland does not have any significant OHV access on public lands, citing excessive environmental damage.
While the 2011 closure decision might have seemed like the darkest hour for Maryland OHVs, it has also been our biggest triumph. Realizing that OHV area user group for state lands, Maryland chartered a new OHV stakeholder working group which began to bridge the concerns of the State with the needs of the OHV community to build sustainable multi-use trails.
While a little less than two years has lapsed, we now find ourselves embarking on a journey together. The OHV community has rallied on grass-roots level and the Maryland OHV alliance was born. We share the zest for OHVs with the tranquility of nature. Maryland’s OHV alliance does not have single face; we are amateur racers, we are Marylander’s employed by the OHV industry as dealers, parts supplies and repair shops, we are multiple family generations raising strong children during OHV outings.
The alliance’s main goal: To create sustainable, world-class OHV multi-use trails within Maryland’s forests and parks.
The alliance has a busy year planned, and 2013 has kicked off with a whirlwind of activity. We’ll keep you updated on the following pages with our work, but to summarize there are many opportunities for the OHV public to be heard though meetings or sending comments to written plans.
Nobody will ever care as much about OHV use in Maryland as you do. Consider joining us and together we can keep Maryland’s public lands open to the public.