Four-wheeling: off-highway vehicle use growing.

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Introduction

Four-wheeling through mud, snow, and woodsy trails continues to grow in popularity in Montana, with the state's off-highway vehicle (OHV) owners spending nearly $123 million during 2008 and paying more than $1.4 million into the highway trust fund via gasoline taxes. But a recent survey of OHV recreationists found that the sport is thriving amidst worry from enthusiasts that growth will hamper access because of poor behavior from a few riders.

At the request of the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, the Bureau of Business and Economic Research conducted a survey of 580 Montana households whose members own registered off-highway vehicles. Of these households, 424 completed a Computer Assisted Telephone Interview inquiring about their OHV use for a response rate of 73 percent. The Bureau gathered information on out-of-state OHVers by using Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research (ITRR) activity reports.

The Bureau used several basic assumptions to derive statewide impacts from OHV activity, including:

1) Fuel usage depends on size and age of machines, as well as the speed and terrain the machine is used on. Based on information from active OHVers, we assumed an average fuel consumption of 29 miles per gallon of gas.

2) Based on interviews with Montana OHVers, residents travel between 15 and 20 miles per activity day on their OHVs and spend about $21 for fuel per activity day.

OHV Numbers

OHV owners who use public lands are required to register with the Montana Department of Justice, Title and Registration Bureau. Figure 1 shows the number of OHVs registered since 1995. Recent changes in the titling of OHVs resulted in a large increase in the number of registered machines. People with unregistered OHVs took advantage of the perpetual license for recreational vehicles and trailers. In 2007, about 54,000 OHVs were registered with the state of Montana.

Activity Days and Destinations

One measure of the sport's popularity and potential impact is the number of "activity days," a figure roughly defined by the estimated number of OHVers and their average number of outings per season. Since OHV riding is a dispersed outdoor activity, precise counts are virtually impossible; however, we derived an estimate using survey data. Using the number of OHVs and the average number of days typical participants use their machines, we estimate the number of activity days for resident OHV use is between 1 and 1.5 million days.

ITRR estimates that about 2.7 percent of nonresidents participate in OHV activities. This translates to about 277,500 individuals. A conservative estimate of nonresident activity days is 300,000.

Most OHV activity occurs in Southwestern Montana, which is a hub from a participant standpoint as well as a destination.

Expenditures

The Bureau estimated OHV-related spending for residents in the 2008 survey. The sample size for nonresidents was too small to make reliable estimates of nonresident expenditures.

Bureau estimates for total activity days provide the basis for estimating expenditures per day. We used spending per day, rather than per outing, because OHV outings generally are only one day.

The Bureau found that residents typically don't incur lodging costs and spend little on eating, drinking, and other expenses. A majority of residents (Table 1) don't make expenditures in most of the spending categories. Residents' median expenditures were about $41 per day, all on gasoline for machines and transportation. The median is that number where half of the population is above and half is below. Medians are used for calculations because the averages were skewed by a few big spenders.

Even though resident OHVers are not considered part of the economic base, they spend a substantial amount of money in Montana (Table 2). Residents spend about $43 million on trip expenditures, nearly all for gasoline and another $80 million on yearly expenses. Over three-quarters of yearly expenditures are spent on OHVs and trailers.

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Key Issues

The Bureau survey also offered an opportunity for respondents to comment on what they thought was the most important issue facing off-highway vehicle recreation (Figure 2). Access to trails was the most frequently cited issue, with 60 percent mentioning access issues. About 23 percent of residents mentioned safety, particularly personal responsibility. Many of the personal responsibility comments reflected a view that the activities of a few were ruining riding opportunities:

"A lot of trails have been closing. A few people who don't follow rules ruin it for the rest."

"Off-highway vehicle users who go off trails get them shut down."

"Drivers staying on the trails. Young people are riding everywhere, they're going to close it because of it."

Respondents mentioned closures of trails in the Belt Mountains, the Bitterroot Valley, and elsewhere by the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service. But many commented on the need for shared trails, responsible riding, and the need to limit OHV access to control weeds.

In short, OHV users make the call to preserve the sport:

"People should go by the rules and stay on marked trails. Don't go on property that's not posted," said one. Another said, "People who don't respect the land and rules cause huge erosion and set a bad example for the rest of off-road vehicle users."

Gasoline Use

Gasoline usage estimates are important because they suggest tax amounts contributed to the state highway trust fund by OHVers. The Bureau asked each respondent the average distance traveled on a typical OHV outing. Resident OHVers travel an average of about 21 miles per day.

The Bureau used several additional items on the questionnaire to estimate and verify gas usage, specifically about each working OHV a household owned. Table 3 shows the questions and the results compiled from respondents' answers.

These results were then used to calculate the average amount of gasoline used each year by OHVs in Montana. This average was then multiplied by the number of privately owned OHVs.

OHVers in Montana used about 5.3 million gallons of gas during 2008. Residents use about 4.4 million gallons, and nonresidents about 900,000 gallons. Resident OHVers contribute over $1.2 million to the Highway Trust Fund with nonresidents contributing an additional quarter of a million dollars (Figure 3).

Summary

In summary, off-highway vehicle riding is a growing sport in Montana, with significant economic impacts. Responsible riders worry that its future is threatened by a few irresponsible enthusiasts. A viable future for OHV use includes a balance that promotes responsible riding.

James T. Sylvester is an economist at The University of Montana Bureau of Business and Economic Research.

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