All terrain vehicles (ATVs), are they a blessing or a curse? It will not be surprising to hear that the number of ATV units in Canada, year after year, has been steadily increasing. Riders, non-riders and regulators are engaging in multiple debates related to ATVs. The most compelling of these debates revolves around issues related to negative impacts to the environment and safety or health concerns. The debates on these issues are complex; impacts are weighted against the many benefits to workers, to recreationalists and to the economy from the advent and evolution of the ATV. To better understand this cross Canada phenomenon, a short review of the evolution, a description of the use and a summary of the environmental impacts of ATVs is offered here.

Advent and Evolution

It was a strange sight indeed when the Polaris dealer put wheels where the skis and track were on the snow machine. But it worked and summer had its own version of snowmobiling. This happened more than 40 years ago and probably was not very common. Time passed and a 3 wheeled trike version came on the scene and revolutionized getting around on the farm or in the wild. Stability was a problem, tip-overs were frequent and the 4 wheel version (quad) became the industry standard. We can debate who or which came first but the realty remains the machine ---ATV, trike, quad, Argo, etc.---, continues to evolve. 2 wheel drive evolved to 4 wheel drive to many wheeled drive; the ATV is unstoppable. Small motors became more powerful. Machines have grown larger frames, can travel faster, and have more towing power. Machines are now available so that driver and passenger can sit 2 and 3 side by side. The evolution of the ATV would appear to be on a bigger, faster, stronger trend. (2-3 image ‘atvs’ here somewhere)

As with many manufactured products there is a huge ATV after market industry. Included are the expected: spare parts, safety gear and clothing, and there are the extra ordinary: heavy duty axels, larger tires, snorkel exhaust systems, winches, duck blinds, plough blades, rotor tillers, spray booms, trailers, an so on.

The manufactures are listening to the consumers who want more out of their machines for work and more out of their machines for play. Billions of dollars spent in this sector is not to be scoffed at. Economics can play a major role in politics and governing. It is doubtful that there is a community in Saskatchewan that one could not buy a new or used ATV. The after market sales is worth billions to Canadian retailers. Sales of clothing, box attachments, trailers, plough blades, rotor tillers, and spray booms are sold through all kinds of retail stores (e.g. Sears, Canadian Tire, COOP). After all the accessories are purchased there are insurance and operating costs to be considered (gas, repairs, food, hotels). Out of the 3.3 billion dollars spent in Canada, in 2005, on direct activities involving ATVs just less than 25% was spent on accommodation and meals outside the home.

According to COHV 2007, 24,000 Canadians are employed directly or are self-employed serving the ATV riders. In 2006 the members of the council accounted for the sale of 89,006 new ATVs in Canada (about 90% of all new ATV sales). A recent survey indicated that ATV use is roughly distributed as follows: 66% recreational, 10% commercial fleet and 24% private property/farms.

What might the future like look? The evolution of the ATV will continue to meet the demands of its riders. Manufacturers will need to think about commercial, private, and recreational riders. There are an estimated 1,050,000 currently active ATVs in Canada. In 2005, Canadians spent 3.3 billion dollars on direct activities involving ATVs. Retailers expect the growth in operating ATVs to increase by 5.8% annually out to 2010 (COHV 2007). This could mean more than 1,300,000 active machines by 2010. Retailers understand the markets that keep them in the business and regulators, although lagging a few years behind, continue to try to ensure safety of citizens and environment.

ATVs at Work

The ATV (quad) and earlier versions have revolutionized work environments. Remote landscapes and nearby pastures that normally had not been accessible by other motorized means can now be accessed by use of ATVs. Commercial enterprises or whole industries like oil and gas seismic, mineral exploration, forest operations, linear infrastructure maintenance, and ranching, farming and outfitting all have their fleets of ATVs to help them work more efficiently. It is not hard to imagine the 100,000 of kilometers ATVs travel on Crown and private lands.

What are examples of benefits from the commercial use of ATVs? Efficiency of access for resource exploration and management is universal. Canada’s economy relies on the exploration and development of natural resources. ATV use has given the oil and gas and mineral exploration sectors effective access to remote sites. Efficiencies gained over walking or building new access for larger motorized equipment are apparent. Big game outfitters can shuttle their hunters to a favourite hunting spot and look in on them during the day. Farmers can efficiently check germination and moisture content across their fields and crops. Fruit growers are able maneuver in amongst their trees and vines to trim, prune and harvest in their orchards. Even the private –domestic- riders can rotor till their gardens, trailer away yard debris or clear away that foot of snow that fell last night.

So whether they are oil and gas crews traveling seismic lines, forestry crews traveling boundary lines or ranchers traveling fence lines work has become more efficient.

Resource management can benefit from use of ATVs. Many of the crews using ATVs could be equipped with Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and these will help industry keep track of their activities on the land. Enhanced record keeping and monitoring should lead to better business and sustainable management decisions.

ATVs at Play

Recreational use of ATVs may be one of the country’s most active growth sectors. 66% of all machines in use can be categorized as recreational. The ATV provides the recreationalist the ability to access areas that normally do not have motorized vehicle access (to go where no person has gone before). This freedom appeals to riders. Places that would have been a difficult lengthy walk are now weekend visits: across the dunes, up the hills (or mountains), or into the forest.

Clearly the recreational rider gains benefits from use of the ATV. Fisherpersons travel into remote lakes or river sites. Ice fishers can access the ice earlier than the heavier pickups can. A well accessorized ATV carries on it the ice shelter or in the hunting season, the blind. Hunters, although they have to pay attention to restrictions, can gain access to prime habitat for their hunt.

ATVs can be the vehicle that brings folks together. The social event of the weekend may include 200, 400, 700 ATVs (quad rally). Quad rallies are not uncommon in Saskatchewan. Areas on the west and east side of province continue to attract, annually, 100s of riders for organized rallies. Quad or ATV clubs help organize these events. More clubs and organizations like the Canadian Off-Highway Vehicle Distributors Council (COHV) understand the popularity of quadding. They are advocating the benefits of ATVs to Canadians and are concerned and are dialoguing about apparent negative impacts.

ATV (quad) rallies are very popular. Focused businesses can do well. Saskatchewan regularly sees 400+ machines coming together for a weekend rally. What is a rally worth to the local area? There are many possible estimates but consider this one: 400 machines @ $10,000 each $4,000,000 400 sets of clothes and helmets @ $500 $200,000 200 rooms for weekend @ $100 $20,000 400 meals/2 days @ $100 $40,000 Gas, repair, oil, tires @ $50 $20,000 Insurance @ $50/machine $20,000 Total $4,300,000 Spent locally ………….. $80,000

As with many sports today there are those that turn ATV recreational riding into an extreme sport. Hill climbing, cross country racing, or mud bogging all have an element of risk or challenge that can not go unanswered. It is when the many or the extremes are involved that negative environmental impacts become obvious.

ATVs and Environmental Impacts

The ATV is a multiple hundred pound motorized vehicle. It leaves tracks and for some places in the environment one track is too many. Where is one track too many? - a question whose answer can be as different as the individuals who are responding. (image ‘trail’ here somewhere) On behalf of the environment and safety, individuals and organized groups are responding. They are asking hard questions about ATV tracks, ATV noise, ATV emissions, ATV safety and ATV rider ethics. These questions are being asked because of the incredible growth in the number of recreational ATVs in use and partly because of how ATV riders are seen to behave.

ATVs have become ubiquitous on the trails. So much so there are numerous clashes between trail users (walkers often have different recreational objectives than quad riders). Accusations of excessive noise, smoky emissions, wildlife and livestock harassment and destruction of the environment are being made to regulators (municipal and RCM Police, provincial governments).

Manufactures of ATVs have put substantial effort into designing mufflers and efficient combustion engines for their machines. It is expected that these efficiencies will continue to improve. The jury is still out regarding how much the engines of sport vehicles like, ATVs, snow machines, motorcycles, and boats contribute, relative to other motorized vehicles, to green house gas emissions.

Regulators, as much as they are able, investigate and act upon accusations related to the environment. These investigations are showing interesting and alarming trends. Working together towards a safer future is a report of the New Brunswick All-terrain Vehicle Task Force (2001). This report provides an excellent understanding of ATV use in that province.

It is fair to say that research into impacts on the environment from ATV use has lagged behind the growth in use of ATVs. More and more research is becoming available for regulators to review as they contemplate regulation and policy. The regulatory systems across Canada are also trying to catch up.

It is apparent that many riders and clubs are sincerely concerned about the environment. They are concerned about use conflicts, noise, emissions, and environmental destruction. Many riders do not understand the negative impact that the ATV can have on the environment. Several proponents from the railway and highway sectors have taken the time to explain how ATVs can damage their right of ways. Damages have led to costly repairs and potentially disastrous events. ATVs running along the shoulder of the grade cause disturbance to the slopes and with weather events like rain and runoff can initiate erosion that undermines the driving surface of the grade. This has led to slumping and the railway ties and rails or road surface has shifted. The railway sector contends that the shifting rails, given the weight of a train, could lead to derailments. Very few ATV riders would think that driving on right of ways is a serious problem with potentially devastating outcomes. An understanding through education could help reduce these special concerns.

The environment is more expansive than the railway or the highway right of ways. ATVs have been reported to be the cause of: destruction of crops, plantations, fences, other property, sensitive floral and faunal species, bogs, fens, and hill side slopes. Their riders have harassed wildlife and livestock, they’ve littered, cleaned their machines in fish bearing waters and turned doughnuts on newly seeded areas (areas of slope stabilization programs). The ATVs have damaged soil structure (compaction), started fires, dispersed weeds, disturbed wildlife during critical seasonal periods (rearing young) and spilled hazardous materials (grease, oil, gasoline).

Education is a key theme of national, provincial and local ATV organizations. These organizations recognize that the actions of a few will ultimately serve to identify the limits for all recreational use of ATVs. The worst examples of negative ATV impacts are not pretty.

Consider an isolated wet area, fen or bog, accessed by ATVs and 4X4s for ‘mud bogging’. Mud bogging is a day’s event where motorized vehicles drive through wet areas for fun. The objectives seem to be to get as muddy and stuck as many times as possible while riding across the wet area. Vehicles need to be pulled out of the mud by others. Often the machines have been altered to enhance their performance (heavy duty axels, larger tires, powerful engines and even snorkel exhaust systems). Web sites have shown ATVs and 4X4s pickups turning natural grass or sedge areas into a wet slimy (image ‘slimy’ here somewhere) muddy field. It is not likely that the wet area will recover to its natural state for decades.

Another example of negative impacts to the environment is rutting by ATVs. Hill climbing is an irresistible challenge. The riders travel up and down hills. Hills can be just the banks of water bodies (lakes, rivers, and streams), roads, pipeline/utility corridors or real hills and mountain slopes. (image ‘slopes’ here somewhere) Multiple trips remove the covering vegetation and leave wheel ruts. Erosion from subsequent rain events send silt into water bodies or mud down the slope.

Safety is also a mainstream message of ATV organizations. Governments and health authorities are alarmed at the statistics of injuries and fatalities being reported across jurisdictions. In a five year period (94-99), in Canada, there were over 7000 people hospitalized and 141 fatalities. In Saskatchewan just less than 300 were hospitalized and there were 9 fatalities. Health care costs can be significant in the long term. Spinal cord and severe head injuries may preclude those who have suffered these from ever entering or returning to the work force. Estimates indicate that provincial health care costs could be 1 to 4 million dollars of lifetime care for individuals suffering such injuries.

One alarming statistic for health care agencies is the number and rising number of injuries to children (less than 16 years of age). Studies from various jurisdictions indicate the 20 to 47% of injuries occurring involved children (NB_ATV 2001). Statistics indicate injuries and fatalities happen to children under 14, in particular, when a full sized machine is involved. Warning tags on the full sized machines indicate no one under the age of 16 should operate it.

ATV Regulation

The regulatory picture varies from province to province. Virtually all provinces have a working definition of an all-terrain vehicle, many have minimum age limits (16 unless other wise exempted), there are rules about driving on the traveled portion of highways and there may be a need for insurance. In Saskatchewan, through the wildlife hunting regulations, there are use restrictions and in some wildlife management zones time restrictions for when ATVs can be used. A few Rural Municipality councils enforce bylaws related to restricted ATV use. In their planning and development statements there are clear rules related to ATV use on lands that are administered by the Rural Municipality. Saskatchewan has several acts that prohibit destruction of the environment. The acts are not specific to ATV use. ATV use here in Saskatchewan is not heavily regulated.

Enforcement of acts, regulations or bylaws can be difficult for officers. ATV riders are attracted to the great outdoors. In one example, from Alberta in 2000, the government was planning to post 30 enforcement officers in an area to prevent rowdy recreational riders on the May long-weekend from tearing up a popular forest zone. Hooligans wreaked havoc in the area in previous years. Over 140 charges and warnings were laid and/or given (CP 2000). It’s unlikely the government will have the resources to attend to all locations where ATV riders could gather for their recreational activities.

More often, concerned individuals and organizations are approaching governments with their concerns related to ATV use. They want government to enact laws and then enforce the laws. Strict mandatory penalties are being demanded for operating ATVs in prohibited areas, chasing (molesting) wildlife, operating on beaches or in dune areas or wetlands, and for alcohol related offenses. Provinces and municipalities would most likely acknowledge that the resourcing of such enforcement plans would be difficult.

Here in Saskatchewan the regulation of ATVs will need to be tempered with social and geographic realities. Any ATV responsible use management discussions need to include directly rural and northern areas.

Isn’t it time for Saskatchewan to have a comprehensive understanding of what ATVs mean to the province and what the people of Saskatchewan expect of their use in the future?

References (COHV 2007) Canadian Off Highway Vehicle Distribution Council news release of January 30, 2007

(NB_ATV 2001) Working together towards a safer future: a report of the New Brunswick All-terrain Vehicle Task Force, 2001

(CP 2000) Alberta government to crack down on rowdy off-road enthusiasts, Canadian Press, May 12, 2000

Images ATVs are from web versions of Outdoor Canada ATV Buyers Guides 2006 and 2007. http://www.outdoorcanada.ca/gear/index.shtml

Other images: from Lindsey Leko





















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