Please write to your Illinois Senator and Representative to
Oppose SB 1521 & 1804; HB 2816 & 2273

Dirt-bikes, 4-wheelers and other all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) can cause major damage to trails and natural areas, dangerous safety threats to riders and bystanders, and high levels of noise. Now ATV riders want to build these dangerous, noisy facilities in our state parks, and limit the Illinois Department of Natural Resources' ability to enforce the laws protecting safety and wildlife at ATV facilities and events.

ATV riders are pushing two legislative proposals that jeopardize our state recreation areas, safety, and wildlife. Both proposals deal with how funds from the Off Highway Vehicle Trust Fund are spent by the IDNR. SB 1521 and HB 2816 would remove a long-standing prohibition against these funds being spent in state parks, and SB 1804 and HB 2273 would cap expenditures from the Fund for enforcement and administration at 15% annually. Both proposals put our parks and natural areas at risk:

SB1521 & HB2816 WOULD PROMOTE ATV FACILITIES IN OUR STATE PARKS, FORESTS AND RECREATION AREAS
SB 1521 and HB 2816 would remove a long-standing prohibition against using funds from the Off Highway Vehicle Trust Fund to build ATV facilities on land owned by the IDNR. Currently, these funds are used for ATV facilities on private land. The negative impact of ATVs (dirt bikes, 4-wheelers, etc.) on both human health and the environment has been well documented.

Our state parks and other IDNR lands should be safe, quiet places for families to relax and recreate, as well as for protected wildlife habitat. Allowing ATVs to roar through our parks is inconsistent with these uses.

SB 1804 & HB 2273 WOULD LIMIT ENFORCEMENT OF LAWS FOR ATVs -
Illegal ATV use is a major problem throughout the state. Burial mounds at Cahokia Mounds (Illinois World Heritage Site), have been irreparably damaged by illegal ATV use. Illegal ATV use has also irreparably damaged some Illinois Nature Preserves. Landowners throughout the State have night mares dealing with property damage and the loss of peace and quiet caused by illegal ATV use. Levees, such as the ones along the Mississippi in Madison County, have been damaged by illegal ATV use. Illegal ATV riders are very difficult to catch since they can speed away and are hard to identify. Public land managers do not have the law enforcement resources they need to protect our lands. When citizens try to get help to protect their private property, they are typically told there are not enough law enforcement resources to catch the illegal ATV users. SB 1804 and HB 2273 would limit ATV fund expenditures on law enforcement to 15%, jeopardizing public safety and the environment. This 15% pays for only one conservation officer to cover the whole state to regulate ATV riders.

HOW ATVs THREATEN OUR HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT
Human Health Impacts:
Noise generated by ATVs does more than annoy people. Scientific research has shown that relatively continuous exposure to sound levels exceeding 70 decibels (e.g. freeway traffic), can be harmful to hearing. ATVs routinely produce between 81-111 decibels. This is roughly the equal of a rock concert or busy street.

Noise also can cause increases in heart rate, blood pressure and blood cholesterol, as well as effects to the digestive and respiratory systems. Persistent, unrelenting noise exposure could cause these temporary stress reactions to become chronic stress diseases, such as high blood pressure or ulcers. The elderly, young, and individuals with existing health problems are at greatest risk.

Environmental Impacts:
In a quiet forest or countryside, the noise from the average motorcycle can be heard from up to 7,000 feet away. The louder engines can be heard from over 11,500 feet, which is a distance of over two miles.

Like humans, exposure to ORV noise can result in hearing damage or even loss. This has severe consequences for animals dependent on their hearing for finding prey, avoiding predators, and breeding. Long term impacts include altered movement patterns, behavioral changes, and stress related health problems. One study found that small mammals became unusually aggressive and disoriented after exposure to a motorcycle race.

Please write or call your Illinois Senator and Representative ASAP! Tell them to oppose the ATV Bills cited above.

UPDATED STATUS OF ATV BILLS
SB 1521 and SB 1804 were passed out of the House Ag. and Conservation Committee last week. During the hearing, Rep. Winters urged the sponsor to compromise by limiting and clarifying the intent of the bills - specifically, for S.B. 1521, to limit ATV trails to only official "Recreational Lands", and not other IDNR lands, such as state parks, forests, conservation areas, Nature Preserves, Land and Water Resource areas, etc.

We really need constituents of Rep. Dave Winters to call his office (Springfield or local), thank him for speaking out to defend our state natural areas against damage from ATVs, and urge him to continue working to amend the ATV bills or at least get "intent of the legislature" language in the record on the floor. Both bills have already passed the Senate. S.B. 1521 is already on the third reading in the House, and it seems the proponents are trying to rush it through in order to keep us from building more of an opposition.

Rep. Winters: (815) 282-0083 (Rockford Office); (217) 782-0455 (Spgfld. phone)
FAX: (217) 782-1139. Email: RepWinters@aol.com