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Keep Off Road Vehicles Out of Our Parks

Off Road Vehicle (ORV) legislation is about to hit the Assembly floor and the Senate Transportation Committee, and we need your help!

While a few legislators recognize the importance of passing this legislation to protect our public lands and the safety of those using them for passive recreation, there has been an active and coordinated effort from off-road riders who believe they have the right to ride wherever they want. 

The New Jersey Audubon Society needs your help to let the legislature know how much you, their constituent, want this legislation passed! It is important that your legislators hear from you that protecting habitat and preventing illegal riding is important to you. 

Please take action and pass this on to your friends.

Sample Letter for Campaign

Subject: Off-Road Vehicle Legislation (A823/S2055) needed in 2008!

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

Illegal riding of off-road vehicles (ORVs and ATVs) is damaging our public land, harming ecological communities, destroying farmers? properties, increasing private property owners' concerns for their own safety, and decreasing opportunities for eco-tourism in the Sate. The ecological impacts from illegal off-road vehicle use include soil compaction and erosion, habitat degradation and wildlife harassment, loss of vegetation, noise and air pollution. We need your help to stop this illegal riding now!

The solution to illegal and damaging ORV riding is legislation that requires registration and identification of these vehicles as well as increasing the penalties for illegal riding. A823 and S2055 require mandatory registration and tagging of new and existing off-road vehicles. The bills also increase the fines for illegal riders and create stricter penalties for repeat offenders.

In 2002, the State Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) released statistics on the damage caused by ORVs in New Jersey. DEP estimated at that time that 340,000 acres of public land had been negatively impacted by ORVs and that the agency spends $900,000 a year on enforcement and restoration work tied to ORV use. We ask that you support legislation that will help to prevent this extensive damage to land and the expense to the tax-payers to restore land after illegal use.

Residents of New Jersey need your help to make sure this legislation is passed this year and we ask that you support this initiative! New Jersey residents are tired of paying for costs incurred by irresponsible, illegal riders. The ability to identify these vehicles is absolutely vital in curbing the illegal use. I urge you to support A823/S2055, so that State money spent on preserving and stewarding open space is not wasted and our fragile habitat and species are protected.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
November 05, 2008



Background Information

Off Road Vehicle (ORV) legislation is about to hit the Assembly floor and the Senate Transportation Committee, and we need your help!

While a few legislators recognize the importance of passing this legislation to protect our public lands and the safety of those using them for passive recreation, there has been an active and coordinated effort from off-road riders who believe they have the right to ride wherever they want. 

The New Jersey Audubon Society needs your help to let the legislature know how much you, their constituent, want this legislation passed! It is important that your legislators hear from you that protecting habitat and preventing illegal riding is important to you.

Off Road Vehicle legislation is about to hit the Assembly floor and the Senate Transportation Committee.  The Assembly bill has passed the Assembly Transportation Committee and will be sent to the floor for a vote. The Senate Transportation Committee is set to hear this important bill in Committee and it’s important that your legislators hear from You too!

While a few legislators recognize the importance of passing this legislation to protect our public lands and the safety of those using them for passive recreation, there has been an active and coordinated effort from off-road riders who believe they have the right to ride wherever they want. They have been actively reaching out to legislators to tell them not to support this legislation. We need to counter this action so that legislators hear that protection of our natural resources and habitat is important!

The New Jersey Audubon Society needs your help to let the legislature know how much you, their constituent, want this legislation passed! It is important that your legislators hear from you that protecting habitat and preventing illegal riding is important to you and that they should support these pieces of legislation which will provide for registration and identification of off-road vehicles, as well as enforcement and penalties.  

Please take action and pass this on to your friends!!

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