Off-road formula skewed

A new survey shows state spending on off-road vehicle recreation is double what the sport contributes, which could mean cutbacks at off-road parks such as Prairie City near Rancho Cordova.

The survey for the state Department of Parks and Recreation concludes that the state has been relying on a skewed formula to collect a share of the state gasoline tax reserved for off-road vehicle recreation.

The 16-year-old formula used an estimate of five illegal, unregistered off-road vehicles for every registered one. That would have meant 202 million gallons of gasoline every year would be consumed by unregistered vehicles. But the new survey puts the ratio far below one unregistered vehicle for every legal one.

"It's a $56 million program and we're looking at a reduction of more than $29 million," said Daphne Green, a deputy director with the department.

The amount apportioned for off-road vehicle recreation from the 18 cents-a-gallon tax is set by the Legislature, which would have to decide whether to adjust the formula.

A budget collapse like that, though, would devastate the department's program, which includes maintaining eight off-road parks, Green said: "It would cripple it."

Some environmentalists have long suspected that people who use street-licensed off-road vehicles for other pursuits, such as fishing or camping, were subsidizing the state off-road recreation facilities.

The survey seems to confirm that the majority of the state's off-highway fuel is consumed in trucks and SUVs rather than in recreation vehicles like dune buggies or ATVs.

"Every time Californians drive on dirt roads to camp, fish or hike, we are paying fuel taxes to promote the same dirt bikes and ATVs that are trashing the land and ruining outdoor recreation for the rest of us," said Brent Schoradt, deputy policy director of the Oakland-based California Wilderness Coalition. "I think this shows the need for the off-roaders to pay their fair share of the program."

Most of the off-road fuel-tax money is spent on maintaining the parks, but a smaller share pays for related functions such as enforcement and environmental measures.

The state's off-highway vehicle program will come under scrutiny in 2007 by the Legislature, which has to renew it or it will expire in 2008.

Green said it would be unwise to gut the program for a growing sport.

Industry representatives, expecting the survey's outcome and responding to a tremendous surge in the sport's popularity, were already searching for other money sources, said Fred Wiley, executive director of Off-Road Business Association. The group is looking at how other states raise money for the sport.

Boosting the registration fee of $24 every two years for off-road recreation vehicles is a possibility, but any new law would have to ensure the money would not be used for anything else, he said.

The characterization of irresponsible riders who leave behind a trail of destruction is unfair, he said. "They've tagged that 1 to 3 percent of the jerks that every group has and that's not really fair," Wiley said.

About the writer:

• The Bee's M.S. Enkoji can be reached at (916) 321-1106 or menkoji@sacbee.com.