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72-426: Access roads provide important access to emergency services, convenient access for industry as well as for a variety of recreational activities, such as sightseeing, fishing, hunting, and off-roading . However, these activities can cause erosion , pollution , species loss , and loss of aesthetic appeal. In addition, the building of roads can lead to further development of "splinter roads" that take off from them, and

144-493: A Range Rover , removing the body, cutting the chassis down to an 80-inch wheelbase, and attaching it to the body of a Series I Land Rover , retaining the Range Rover's V8 engine and coil-spring suspension in a light, maneuverable body. In recent years, the value of early Land Rovers and Range Rovers has risen to the extent that this is no longer practical. CCV trailers now usually base their vehicles around Land Rover Defenders or

216-415: A carbon dioxide removal solution is under debate. An important mitigation measure is "preserving and enhancing carbon sinks". This refers to the management of Earth's natural carbon sinks in a way that preserves or increases their capability to remove CO 2 from the atmosphere and to store it durably. Scientists call this process also carbon sequestration . In the context of climate change mitigation,

288-695: A coalition of conservation groups including the Friends of Juniper Flats, Community Off-road Vehicle Watch, California Native Plant Society, The Center for Biological Diversity , The Sierra Club , and The Wilderness Society who initiated the legal challenge in late 2006. Many U.S. national parks have discussed or enacted roadless rules and partial or total bans on ORVs. To accommodate enthusiasts, some parks like Big Cypress National Preserve in Florida , were created specifically for ORVs and related purposes. However, such designations have not prevented damage or abuse of

360-618: A dedicated off-road driving center and are usually organized by a dedicated trialing body (such as the All-Wheel Drive Club or the Association of Land Rover clubs in the UK, or by a vehicle owner's club. The course consists of 10 to 12 "gates" marked by two garden canes (sticks) and are vertically placed. The gates are just wide enough to get a standard vehicle through. Vehicles start in a stagger, proceeding one by one, and are deemed to have cleared

432-422: A gate if at least one of the front wheel hubs passes between the canes. The vehicle's attempt ends when it comes to a stop (depending on the exact level of skill the trial is aimed at any stopping may end the attempt, or a few seconds may be allowed). Long-wheelbase vehicles are usually allowed to perform a three-point turn if needed, providing the driver declares where the turn is going to be made before they attempt

504-455: A level of high-speed racing that is not characteristic of rock crawling . See article: Rally Rallying is a wide-ranging form of motorsport with various competitive motoring elements such as speed tests (sometimes called "rally racing" in United States), navigation tests, or the ability to reach waypoints or a destination at a prescribed time or average speed. Rallies may be short in

576-541: A majority of ocean plant life and store large quantities of carbon. Deep blue carbon is located in international waters and includes carbon contained in "continental shelf waters, deep-sea waters and the sea floor beneath them". For climate change mitigation purposes, the maintenance and enhancement of natural carbon sinks, mainly soils and forests, is important. In the past, human practices like deforestation and industrial agriculture have depleted natural carbon sinks. This kind of land use change has been one of

648-505: A nutrient desert. Grasslands contribute to soil organic matter , stored mainly in their extensive fibrous root mats. Due in part to the climatic conditions of these regions (e.g., cooler temperatures and semi-arid to arid conditions), these soils can accumulate significant quantities of organic matter. This can vary based on rainfall, the length of the winter season, and the frequency of naturally occurring lightning-induced grass-fires . While these fires release carbon dioxide, they improve

720-401: A person wearing snowshoes to walk on snow without sinking. Some cars are equipped with beadlock wheels, which allow tire pressure to be lowered even further without risking separation of the tire and rim. Upon entering the desert, it is customary for drivers to meet with a pack of other vehicles and a group leader before proceeding. The group leader then leads the pack through the stunts in

792-500: A reduced effect on global warming. For example, nitrous oxide can be reduced to harmless N 2 . Related terms are "carbon pool, reservoir, sequestration , source and uptake". The same publication defines carbon pool as "a  reservoir in the Earth system where elements, such as carbon [...], reside in various chemical forms for a period of time." Both carbon pools and carbon sinks are important concepts in understanding

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864-700: A single file line. The rationale for this technique is to prevent drivers from becoming disoriented and getting lost. High-speed racing in the desert includes chases and racing at maximum speed through rough desert terrain with numerous pots and bumps. Drivers often use rear-wheel drive and 4-wheel drive trucks with long-travel suspension and wide stance between the front enlarged tires, which maintains optimal stability at high speed. These types of trucks are often called Trophy trucks or PreRunners. Rock racing involves driving over rocks, but unlike rock crawling, does not specify penalties for striking cones, backing up, or winching . In addition, rock racing incorporates

936-415: A standard 100-inch chassis from a Range Rover or Series I Discovery . The Suzuki SJ series of vehicles also make good bases for CCV-spec vehicles. Some vehicles are specially built, taking the form of light "buggies" with tractor tires and "fiddle" brakes (fiddle brakes give the ability to lock a wheel, which enables much better turning, better control descending hills, traction control by slowing or locking

1008-521: A three-judge panel, said a lower court had erred in finding for the State of Wyoming, the plaintiff in the case, and ordered that the rule be put into force nationally. Wyoming had argued that preventing road construction into or on national forests or other lands is a de facto wilderness designation, something that only Congress can do, and that the Forest Service had exceeded its own authority in trying to put

1080-418: A walking pace and a course properly laid out would be drivable without damage. However, the terrain usually includes steep slopes, water, side slopes, deep ruts, and other obstacles that could potentially damage a vehicle if mistakes are made or poor driving techniques are used. As such, the use of modifications can increase the chances of success. RTV trials usually take place on farmland, a quarry site, or at

1152-490: Is a concept within climate change mitigation that refers to "biologically driven carbon fluxes and storage in marine systems that are amenable to management". Most commonly, it refers to the role that tidal marshes , mangroves and seagrass meadows can play in carbon sequestration . These ecosystems can play an important role for climate change mitigation and ecosystem-based adaptation . However, when blue carbon ecosystems are degraded or lost, they release carbon back to

1224-436: Is a natural or artificial carbon sequestration process that "removes a  greenhouse gas , an aerosol or a precursor of a greenhouse gas from the atmosphere ". These sinks form an important part of the natural carbon cycle . An overarching term is carbon pool , which is all the places where carbon on Earth can be, i.e. the atmosphere , oceans , soil , florae , fossil fuel reservoirs and so forth. A carbon sink

1296-418: Is a specific form of off-roading performed on sand dunes . Dune Buggies , Sport-utility vehicles , and ATVs are often used. Vehicles driven on sand dunes are often equipped with a roll cage for safety in the case of an overturn . The tire pressure is often reduced to gain more traction by increasing the footprint of the tire and lowering the ground pressure of the vehicle on the sand, comparable to

1368-526: Is a type of carbon pool that has the capability to take up more carbon from the atmosphere than it releases. Globally, the two most important carbon sinks are vegetation and the ocean . Soil is an important carbon storage medium. Much of the organic carbon retained in the soil of agricultural areas has been depleted due to intensive farming . Blue carbon designates carbon that is fixed via certain marine ecosystems . Coastal blue carbon includes mangroves , salt marshes and seagrasses . These make up

1440-948: Is degraded by chemical weathering and biological degradation . More recalcitrant organic carbon polymers such as cellulose , hemi-cellulose , lignin , aliphatic compounds, waxes and terpenoids are collectively retained as humus . Organic matter tends to accumulate in litter and soils of colder regions such as the boreal forests of North America and the Taiga of Russia . Leaf litter and humus are rapidly oxidized and poorly retained in sub-tropical and tropical climate conditions due to high temperatures and extensive leaching by rainfall. Areas, where shifting cultivation or slash and burn agriculture are practiced, are generally only fertile for two to three years before they are abandoned. These tropical jungles are similar to coral reefs in that they are highly efficient at conserving and circulating necessary nutrients, which explains their lushness in

1512-437: Is intended to be vehicle-damaging, mistakes and accidents are inevitable. A standard-specification vehicle would not be expected to be able to complete a CCV course, but it would still be possible. The event is run along the same lines as RTV, with a course made up of cane-marked gates. CCV trialing differs greatly from RTV trials in the vehicles used. Since CCV judges adopt an "anything goes" attitude, CCV trials rely on having

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1584-550: Is not without criticism—especially from mining and lumber industry officials, as well as from politicians, libertarian and federalist political groups, and ORV enthusiasts. On January 12, 2001, after nearly three years of analysis, the U.S. Forest Service adopted the Roadless Area Conservation Rule to conserve 58.5 million acres (237,000 km) of pristine National Forests and Grasslands from most logging and road construction. When he entered office,

1656-463: Is off-roading through an area of wet mud or clay, leading to extremely low traction and problems with moving forward. The goal is to drive as far as possible without getting stuck. There are many types of tires that are often used for this activity, including balloon tires, mud-terrain tires and paddle tires . The activity is popular in the United States , although it is illegal on public land due to

1728-416: Is open to non-road-legal vehicles, which greatly increases the scope for modification. The terrain covered will be of greater difficulty than that found on an RTV trial. Since there is a risk of touching rocks and trees with the bodywork, CCV trialing will usually require more careful use of speed to get the vehicle across certain obstacles will attempting to mitigate the risk of vehicle damage. Whilst no trial

1800-424: Is that forests can turn from sinks to carbon sources. In 2019 forests took up a third less carbon than they did in the 1990s, due to higher temperatures, droughts and deforestation . The typical tropical forest may become a carbon source by the 2060s. Researchers have found that, in terms of environmental services, it is better to avoid deforestation than to allow for deforestation to subsequently reforest, as

1872-546: The Dakar Rally , Spanish Baja , Africa Eco Race , Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge , Russian Baja Northern Forest , King of the Hammers , San Felipe 250 and Baja 500 & 1000 , which are a test of navigation skills and machine durability. Off-road parks and motocross tracks also host several events and may be the only legal place to off-road in the area. Off-road vehicle use on public land has been criticized by some members of

1944-673: The Environmental News Service article: Scalia noted that off-road vehicle use on federal land has "negative environmental consequences including soil disruption and compaction, harassment of animals, and annoyance of wilderness lovers. Several environmental organizations, including the Rangers for Responsible Recreation, are campaigning to draw attention to a growing threat posed by off-road vehicle misuse and to assist overmatched land managers in addressing ORV use impacts. These campaigns in part have prompted congressional hearings about

2016-631: The carbon cycle , but they refer to slightly different things. A carbon pool can be thought of as the overarching term, and carbon sink is then a particular type of carbon pool: A carbon pool is all the places where carbon can be stored (for example the atmosphere, oceans, soil, plants, and fossil fuels). The amount of carbon dioxide varies naturally in a dynamic equilibrium with photosynthesis of land plants. The natural carbon sinks are: Artificial carbon sinks are those that store carbon in building materials or deep underground (geologic carbon sequestration ). No major artificial systems remove carbon from

2088-593: The carbon sink of old-growth forest , habitat for wildlife, and soil stability, causing landslides. In January 2023, the USDA and Forest Service under the Biden administration restored protections of the Tongass National Forest under the roadless rule. In a statement announcing the finalization of the restoration of environmental protections, the agency wrote: "The Forest Service received about 112,000 comment documents --

2160-400: The causes of climate change . In the context of climate change and in particular mitigation , a sink is defined as "Any process, activity or mechanism which removes a greenhouse gas, an aerosol or a precursor of a greenhouse gas from the atmosphere". In the case of non-CO 2 greenhouse gases, sinks need not store the gas. Instead they can break it down into substances that have

2232-510: The differential gear ratio to obtain characteristics suitable for low-speed operation for traversing obstacles. Commonly, rock crawlers have a " spotter ", who is an assistant on foot by the vehicle to provide information about areas out of the driver's field of view All progress is made at low speed and the emphasis is on skill rather than on finishing first, although trialing can be highly competitive. There are three traditional forms of off-road trialing. During some competitive events, such as

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2304-498: The greenhouse gas carbon dioxide from the air, forests function as terrestrial carbon sinks, meaning they store large amounts of carbon in the form of biomass, encompassing roots, stems, branches, and leaves. Throughout their lifespan, trees continue to sequester carbon, storing atmospheric CO 2 long-term. Sustainable forest management , afforestation , reforestation are therefore important contributions to climate change mitigation. An important consideration in such efforts

2376-589: The BLM failed to follow route restrictions established in the agency's conservation plan, resulting in the establishment of hundreds of illegal OHV routes during the previous three decades. The plan violated the BLM's regulations, specifically the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA) and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). The ruling was considered a success for

2448-421: The BLM's proposed designation of additional off-road use on designated open routes on public land. According to the ruling, the BLM violated its regulations when it designated approximately 5,000 miles of off-road vehicle routes in 2006. According to Judge Illston the BLM's designation was "flawed because it does not contain a reasonable range of alternatives" to limit damage to sensitive habitat, as required under

2520-612: The Bush administration's reversal of the 2001 law. On May 28, 2009, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack issued a directive giving the secretary of agriculture final authority on most road development and timber activity in National Forests, for a period of one year. In 2011, a federal appeals court in Denver, Colorado, upheld the government's authority to prohibit Western states from building roads on public land. The unanimous ruling, issued by

2592-719: The District of Columbia rejected the state of Alaska's challenge that, while aimed at the Tongass National Forest , would have nullified the national rule. The Alaska case was the final litigation challenging the rule nationwide. The court held that no further challenges are allowed, because the statute of limitations has run out. Trump's Forest Service removed most of the Tongass National Forest from roadless area designation in October 2020, allowing road construction and logging in more than 9.3 million acres of forest. Clear-cut lands lose

2664-570: The IPCC defines a sink as "Any process, activity or mechanism which removes a greenhouse gas, an aerosol or a precursor of a greenhouse gas from the atmosphere". Globally, the two most important carbon sinks are vegetation and the ocean . To enhance the ability of ecosystems to sequester carbon, changes are necessary in agriculture and forestry. Examples are preventing deforestation and restoring natural ecosystems by reforestation . Scenarios that limit global warming to 1.5 °C typically project

2736-672: The National Environmental Policy Act. Illston found that the Bureau had inadequately analyzed the route's impact on air quality, soils, plant communities and sensitive species, such as the endangered Mojave fringe-toed lizard , pointing out that the United States Congress has declared that the California Desert and its resources are "extremely fragile, easily scarred, and slowly healed". The court also found that

2808-940: The National Parks", Abbey describes road construction as "unnecessary or destructive development" and the loss of wilderness as a consequence of what he called "industrial tourism", where once-secluded natural areas become popularized and degraded . Off-roading Off-roading is the act of driving or riding in a vehicle on unpaved surfaces such as sand, dirt, gravel, riverbeds, mud, snow, rocks, or other natural terrain. Off-roading ranges from casual drives with regular vehicles to competitive events with customized vehicles and skilled drivers. Off-road vehicles are either capable of or specifically developed for off-road driving. These vehicles often have features designed specifically for use in off-road conditions such as suspension lifts , off-road tires , skid plates , snorkels , roll cages , or strengthened drivetrains . Dune bashing

2880-772: The Turkey Run in Idaho and other events around the United States, point systems may be used to determine rewards. RTV (Road Taxed Vehicle) trialing is the most common form of trialing. As the name suggests, it is for vehicles that are road-legal (and thus required to pay road tax ). This excludes vehicles that are highly modified or specially built. RTV-class vehicles can carry a wide range of suspension modifications, as well as off-road tires (provided they are road-legal), recovery winches, raised air intakes, etc. Vehicles on RTV trials are usually best described as "modified from standard"—they use

2952-473: The U.S. government and environmental organizations including the Sierra Club and The Wilderness Society . They have noted several consequences of illegal ORV use such as pollution , trail damage, erosion , land degradation , possible species extinction , and habitat destruction which can leave hiking trails impassable. ORV proponents argue that legal use taking place under planned access along with

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3024-501: The U.S. president at that time, George W. Bush , modified these regulations to allow a more autonomous approach, wherein state governments would be permitted to designate their own roadless areas. On September 20, 2006, U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Laporte ruled against the Bush administration's plan to reverse the Clinton-era regulations, saying that the Bush plan "established a new regime in which management of roadless areas within

3096-520: The agencies are ignoring unregulated use "with significant consequences for the health of our public lands and communities, and adverse effects on other authorized public land uses." Video games that allow users to off-road include Forza Horizon , Dirt Series , MudRunner , Grand Theft Auto V , Dakar Desert Rally , and the MotorStorm series. [REDACTED] Media related to Off-roading at Wikimedia Commons Carbon sink A carbon sink

3168-457: The atmosphere on a large scale yet. Public awareness of the significance of CO 2 sinks has grown since passage of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol , which promotes their use as a form of carbon offset . Soils represent a short to long-term carbon storage medium and contain more carbon than all terrestrial vegetation and the atmosphere combined. Plant litter and other biomass including charcoal accumulates as organic matter in soils, and

3240-400: The atmosphere, thereby adding to greenhouse gas emissions . The methods for blue carbon management fall into the category of "ocean-based biological carbon dioxide removal (CDR) methods". They are a type of biological carbon fixation . Scientists are looking for ways to further develop the blue carbon potential of ecosystems. However, the long-term effectiveness of blue carbon as

3312-413: The correct vehicle to a much greater extent than in an RTV trial. Competitors can design and build vehicles that are much more optimized for off-road use, than in the lower ranks of trialing. CCV vehicles have powerful engines, high ground clearance, light, minimalist bodywork, and good approach and departure angles . For many years, in the UK, the ultimate CCV vehicle could be built by taking the chassis of

3384-409: The course (this puts a strong emphasis on ground-reading ability). This can also be called a "shunt", where the driver has to attempt a gate and then shout "shunt". They are then allowed a space of one and a half car lengths to reverse and line the car better to enter through the gate The course between the gates is a "section": between the start line and the first gate is "Section 1", the part between

3456-415: The discussion was the "travel planning process", a complex analysis and decision-making procedure to designate appropriate roads and trails. Both the Forest Service and BLM have been engaged in somewhat similar travel planning processes now for years, but some of the committee members didn't seem to think those processes were going along so well. "The BLM has identified travel management on its lands as ‘one of

3528-480: The driver with the lowest score is the winner. Since the terrain covered in RTV trials should be well within the capabilities of any reasonably capable vehicle (even in standard form), these trials emphasize driver skill and ground-reading abilities. Skill and experience have a larger bearing on success than having a well-equipped and modified car. Cross Country Vehicle (CCV) trialing is the next step up from RTV trialing and

3600-420: The earth 15 times. A $ 4.5-billion maintenance backlog exists on National Forest roads, according to the agency's own estimates. One example of roadless area conservation is Alaska 's Denali National Park , which is prized for its expansive roadless area. There is but one 90-mile (140 km) access road into the park; only official vehicles are permitted after 30 miles (48 km). Roadless area conservation

3672-529: The encroachment of human settlement and development in sensitive areas. In the United States, about 30%, of National Forest lands in 38 states and Puerto Rico are roadless areas, making up 58.5 million acres (237,000 km). These areas provide critical habitat for more than 1,600 threatened, endangered, or sensitive plant and animal species. Roadless rules are also seen as a way to save taxpayers money. America's National Forests are currently covered with 386,000 miles (621,000 km) of roads, enough to encircle

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3744-496: The environmental impact. Mud plugging, as practiced in the United Kingdom , refers to the motorsport of classic trials , where the main objective is to complete a challenging course of (mostly unpaved) roads and (often muddy, and frequently uphill) off-road terrain. This form of motorsport is one of the oldest to survive to this day, dating back at least to the 1920s. Rock crawling involves driving over rocky terrain, with

3816-457: The first and second gates is "Section 2" and so on. An RTV course is often laid out so that each section is progressively more difficult, although this is not always the case. If a driver fails to complete Section 1 they are given 10 points. If the attempt ends in Section 2, 9 points are awarded, etc. A clear round results in gaining only 1 point. A day's event will consist of many different courses and

3888-446: The form of trials at a single venue, or several thousand miles long in an extreme endurance rally. Depending on the format, rallies may be organised on private or public roads, open or closed to traffic, or off-road in the form of cross country or rally-raid. Competitors can use production vehicles which must be road-legal if being used on open roads or specially built competition vehicles suited to crossing specific terrain. Mudding

3960-442: The future than keeping existing forests intact. It takes much longer − several decades − for the benefits for global warming to manifest to the same carbon sequestration benefits from mature trees in tropical forests and hence from limiting deforestation. Therefore, scientists consider "the protection and recovery of carbon-rich and long-lived ecosystems, especially natural forests" to be "the major climate solution ". Blue carbon

4032-456: The goal being to get as far as possible with the fewest penalties. Penalties are received for striking cones, using a winch to get unstuck, going out of bounds, and going in reverse. These rules lead to the sport being technical, with drivers having to plan ahead to reduce the penalties they receive. Vehicles used for rock crawling are usually modified with different tires , suspension components that allow greater axle articulation , and changes in

4104-546: The greatest management challenges’ it faces," stated committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman , D-NM. "Likewise, the Forest Service has identified unmanaged recreation — including ORV use — as one of the top four threats to the management and health of the National Forest System. Despite these statements, it seems to me that neither agency has been able to successfully manage off-road use." "Existing rules for managing off-road vehicles are not being enforced," Bingaman added, and

4176-498: The growing impact of unmanaged off-road vehicle use. The House Natural Resources Committee Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands held an oversight hearing on "The Impacts of Unmanaged Off-Road Vehicles on Federal Land" on March 13, 2008. A second hearing on off-highway vehicle (OHV) management on public lands was held by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on June 5, 2008. The Senate committee hearing

4248-839: The large-scale use of carbon dioxide removal methods over the 21st century. There are concerns about over-reliance on these technologies, and their environmental impacts. But ecosystem restoration and reduced conversion are among the mitigation tools that can yield the most emissions reductions before 2030. To enhance carbon sequestration processes in oceans the following technologies have been proposed but none have achieved large scale application so far: Seaweed farming , ocean fertilisation , artificial upwelling , basalt storage, mineralization and deep sea sediments, adding bases to neutralize acids. The idea of direct deep-sea carbon dioxide injection has been abandoned. Broad-base adoption of mass timber and their role in substituting steel and concrete in new mid-rise construction projects over

4320-425: The latter leads to irreversible effects in terms of biodiversity loss and soil degradation . Furthermore, the probability that legacy carbon will be released from soil is higher in younger boreal forest. Global greenhouse gas emissions caused by damage to tropical rainforests may have been substantially underestimated until around 2019. Additionally, the effects of afforestation and reforestation will be farther in

4392-504: The multiple environment and trail conservation efforts by ORV groups will mitigate these issues. Groups such as the BlueRibbon Coalition advocate for the responsible use of public lands for off-road activities. Noise pollution is also a concern and several studies conducted by Montana State University , California State University , University of Florida and others have cited possible negative behavioral changes in wildlife as

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4464-507: The national forests would, for the first time, vary not just forest by forest but state by state. This new approach raises a substantial question about the rule's potential effect on the environment." On November 29, 2006, Judge Laporte issued an order to ban road construction on 327 oil and gas leases issued by the Bush administration since January 2001, most of them in Colorado, Utah, and North Dakota—areas that were already protected before

4536-538: The natural environment on which human-powered and equestrian recreation depends and alter the remote and wild character of the backcountry. Motorized recreation monopolizes forest areas by denying other users the quiet, pristine, backcountry experience they seek. It also presents safety and health threats to other re-creationists. In 2004 the Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia listed several problems that result from ORV use in natural areas. From

4608-643: The policy. In 2004, several environmental organizations sent a letter to Dale Bosworth , Chief of the United States Forest Service , and described the extent of damage caused by ORV use, including health threats to other people: It is well-established that the proliferation of off-road vehicles and snowmobile use places soil, vegetation, air and water quality, and wildlife at risk through pollution, erosion, sedimentation of streams, habitat fragmentation and disturbance, and other adverse impacts to resources. These impacts cause severe and lasting damage to

4680-419: The quality of the grasslands overall, in turn increasing the amount of carbon retained in the humic material. They also deposit carbon directly into the soil in the form of biochar that does not significantly degrade back to carbon dioxide. Much organic carbon retained in many agricultural areas worldwide has been severely depleted due to intensive farming practices. Since the 1850s, a large proportion of

4752-831: The result of some ORV use. Some U.S. states have laws to reduce noise generated by off-road and non-highway vehicles. Washington is one example: "State law requires off-road and other non-highway vehicles to use specified noise-muffling devices (RCW 46.09.120(1) (e) maximum limits and test procedures). State agencies and local governments may adopt regulations governing the operation of non-highway vehicles on property, streets, or highways within their jurisdiction , provided they are not less stringent than state law (RCW 46.09.180 regulation by local political subdivisions)". The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) supervises several large off-road vehicle areas in California's Mojave Desert . In 2009, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston ruled against

4824-478: The spinning wheel) for the best performance. Vehicles are required to meet certain safety regulations. Roll-cages must be fitted and be built to a suitable standard, recovery points must be fitted front and rear and fuel tanks must meet certain standards. A 4-point harness for all occupants is required and a fire extinguisher is recommended. In some countries off-road activities are strictly regulated, while others promote cross-country off-road endurance events like

4896-501: The standard chassis, drive-train, and body that the vehicle was built with, but are fitted with a wide array of modifications to assist in the trailing. Whilst modification is not necessarily required for an RTV trial, at the very least the vehicle would be expected to have some underbody and over-the-body protection such as skid plates or roll cages, often made from durable stainless steel , aluminium or mild steel . RTV courses are intended to be non-damaging and driven at little more than

4968-408: The system into effect. "The Forest Service did not usurp Congressional authority because the roadless rule did not establish de facto wilderness," the court said in a decision written by Judge Jerome A. Holmes, who was nominated to the court by President George W. Bush. The roadless rule is the law of the land after surviving its final legal challenge on March 25, 2013, when the U.S. District Court for

5040-445: The vast majority of which were in favor of restoring roadless protections. The agency reviewed, analyzed and applied this input, alongside the input received during the October 2020 rulemaking, to inform USDA’s final decision. USDA also consulted with Southeast Alaska Tribal Nations." A notable American proponent of roadless wilderness areas was writer Edward Abbey in his book Desert Solitaire . In his essay "Industrial Tourism and

5112-555: The world's grasslands have been tilled and converted to croplands, allowing the rapid oxidation of large quantities of soil organic carbon. Methods that significantly enhance carbon sequestration in soil are called carbon farming . They include for example no-till farming , residue mulching, cover cropping , and crop rotation . Forests are an important part of the global carbon cycle because trees and plants absorb carbon dioxide through photosynthesis . Therefore, they play an important role in climate change mitigation . By removing

5184-458: Was convened to find out why the agencies are failing to grapple with the negative impacts of off-road vehicle use on US public lands and what the agencies might need to start doing differently. For the first time in perhaps a decade, members of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee grilled leaders of the Forest Service and the BLM about why off-road vehicle use is being allowed to damage America's national treasures. Taking center stage in

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