A licensing program for off-road vehicles was heartily endorsed by industry association representatives and legislators at the state Legislative Committee on Public Lands meeting in Las Vegas last month.

Gary Clinard of Las Vegas, founder of the Dunes and Trails Club, suggested using an Idaho program as a model. State Sen. Dean Rhoads, R-Tuscarora, suggested putting that on the agenda during the next meeting of the state committee at 10 a.m., Jan. 25 at the Beatty Community Center.

"It's a plan that works. There's no contentious issues in Idaho over it," Clinard said.

The licensing tags were seen as a way to raise funds to improve off-highway vehicle routes.

Leah Bradle, a lobbyist for the Nevada Power Sport Dealers Association suggested a $25 licensing fee for the identification tag, that would go to the Nevada State Parks. Among other things, Bradle said it would help identify owners of abandoned OHVs and those causing damage.

"Our group wants to get involved in the licensing program. We think that it's a good fit for our activities. We supported it in the last two legislative sessions until it got so diluted by special interests," said Ken Freeman, board member of the Southern Nevada Off-Road Enthusiasts.

Senate Bill 434 was introduced in the last legislative session in 2007 but didn't pass.

States like Utah and Idaho use the licensing fees to purchase lands and open parks for off-highway vehicle use, Freeman said. He added funds from the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act have been used primarily for hiking and biking trails, not motorized trails.

Nevada could have off-highway routes like the Paiute Trail, which brings hundreds of millions of dollars to the local economy of Central Utah from off-road vehicle users, Freeman said.

Committee member Assemblyman Pete Goicoechea, R-Eureka, asked how the licensing program would be enforced. He urged some of the funds go to the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Bureau of Land Management and local jurisdictions to help pay for enforcement.

"Users have a consensus this would work. Idaho has volunteered to set up the Nevada program at no charge," Clinard said.

The Nevada Division of Motor Vehicles should issue titles for the off-road vehicles, since the DMV already has a checking system for vehicle identification numbers, Clinard said. But he suggested the Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources get some funding, as they're responsible for protecting the environment.

Charlie Cox, chairman of the Nevada Off-Highway Vehicle Association, said, "We have a consensus of user groups that we would like to see ourselves taxed, that goes into a fund that helps to protect and preserve the land but also gives us a quality off-highway vehicle experience."

The discussion came after Forest Service representatives talked about restricting off-highway vehicle use.

Jenny Wilson, acting district ranger for the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area, told committee members maps showing the permitted routes being distributed to area dealerships would prevent people from pioneering new routes and damaging natural resources.

The Forest Service went through the proper process in the National Environmental Policy Act to hold meetings on the off-highway vehicle routes after the issuance of a 2005 travel management rule, that mandated all off-highway routes be closed unless they are designated open, Wilson said.

But she conceded in response to a question from Sen. Terry Care, D.-Las Vegas, that "the west side of the mountains is certainly lacking in access for the public, so we definitely have an opportunity to revisit that decision."

Wilson said the Forest Service plans to use volunteers to help implement the program restricting off-road highway vehicles in the national forest. Maps of the off-road routes are expected to be ready for all seven geographic areas of the Humboldt Toiyabe National Forest by December 2009, she said.

A representative of the Red Rock Audubon Society said inappropriate use of off-highway vehicles is one of the major complaints heard by the Nevada Board of Wildlife Commissioners. He cited examples of off-road drivers interfering with hunters.

But committee member Assemblyman Jerry Claborn, D-Las Vegas, had reservations about the licensing proposal.

"People that have had off-highway vehicles for 20 years they're not going to want to go down and register them," Claborn said. "All of a sudden we're adding taxes and trying to help our dealers out in Nevada."

Claborn said the national forest service managers would take care of much of the problem, by policing their own areas for off-highway use with the designated routes.

But Rhoads said committee members as a whole supported the proposal for licensing.

"We just need to get together a package everyone can agree on," he said.