In July 2018, Regional Parks was awarded $28,878 by the California Off-Highway Motor Vehicle (OHV) Recreation Program. The primary use of this grant is to address illegal OHV use and trespassing, which damages the protected parkway and nature areas.
The California OHV Recreation Program defines an OHV as “any motor vehicle operated off-highway. A highway licensed vehicle is an OHV when operated off of the highway. Some of the more common OHVs include all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), dirt bikes, sand rails, recreation utility vehicles (RUVs), golf carts, snowmobiles, go-carts, jeeps, recreational off-highway vehicles (ROVs) and 4x4s.”
“Our goal is enforcement and education,” says Michael Doane, Chief Ranger of Regional Parks. “This grant has allowed us to purchase two Suzuki DRZ-400 Dual Sport Motorcycles to better enforce our ordinances against OHV use in Sacramento County Regional Park facilities.”
The target locations for enforcement are:
- Dry Creek Parkway (Rio Linda)
- Deer Creek Hills Woodland Preserve (Past Sloughhouse, near Rancho Murieta)
- Cosumnes River Preserve (South of Elk Grove)
- Illa Collin Conservation Preserve (Mather)
- American River Parkway
The only legal facility for OHVs in the area is the Prairie City State Vehicular Recreation Area in Rancho Cordova. For OHV safety information, including training, visit the California OHV ATV Safety Training webpage.
