My view: Off-roading gets youth outdoors

Bob Gattis |

3/30/2008 - 3/30/08

I've never written a letter to the editor before, but felt I may have something to contribute. I'm no English major, nor a very good writer, just Joe Lunch Pail.

What kind of opportunity does society provide for its youth today? The country is experiencing an epidemic of overweight children who would rather sit on the couch drinking soda pop and eating junk food, while playing violent video games. Perhaps out of boredom they join a local street gang, their first exciting experience tagging public property with spray paint or trying drugs — behaviors that might very well lead to robbery, assault, or even murder.

There is a fantastic alternative for energetic kids. An opportunity to do something active outdoors, getting exercise, with family and friends, learning responsibility through discipline, obeying laws and developing a moral and ethical behavior guaranteeing a healthy environment for future generations.

Responsible off-road recreation has been a part of my life for nearly 30 years. There is a saying amongst the off-road community, "Good roads bring bad people; bad roads bring good people."

Historically, I have found this to be true. Off-road enthusiasts are most often people who are likely to pick up a trashed camp site, beer bottles, bullet casings, as well as numerous other eyesores that the eco-unconscious sect of our society might discard, trashing otherwise pristine public lands.

The closing of public lands to responsible off-road people cheats young people of the opportunity that myself and my father before me had to develop a love and respect for the outdoors. If vehicle use is prohibited in public lands, disabled Americans who use a 4-wheel drive vehicle to access remote locations to camp with their families might have to give up traditions that have been handed down for generations. I sincerely hope that we can use diplomacy and communication to uphold healthy public lands, as well as providing diversity as to how we use these lands.

Bob Gattis is a 33-year-old machinist who works at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
He grew up in Northern New Mexico.