Passport to Texas

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

A couple of years ago, if you owned a motorcycle, an ATV or any other kind of off high vehicle, it was hard to find a place to ride off road.

Steven Thompson manages the off highway vehicle program for Texas Parks and Wildlife

Until recently, Texas had many vehicles and very few legal venues to go to. And it created a situation where it was legal to manufacture these machines, to buy and to own these machines, but there weren’t legal venues to go to. People tended to ride in places that were inappropriate. It was inappropriate because it may have been trespassing onto private land or trespassing on to public land and there may be good reason not to ride there.

The OHV program is trying to change that

There are not any parks where motorized vehicles are allowed. And so my program creates partnerships with the national park service or the national forest service, the Texas Forest Service or working with non-profits like the Texas Motorized Trails Collation. And we have a grant program where we give them money to acquire lands that will be used specifically for motorized recreation. And the parks are designed, they’re constructed, they’re managed and maintained specifically for off road recreation.

The OHV Program has helped create 16 different venues with more in the works.

For more information, visit passsporttotexas.org

That’s our show…with research and writing help from Kate Lipinski… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Off Highway Vehicle Program, Part 2 of 2 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download