Survey of Colorado Off Highway Vehicle Users

The Colorado State Parks, in cooperation with the Colorado Off Highway Vehicle Coalition (COHVCO) are conducting a survey of OHV users. This information will be used to evaluate the current state program. to assist in future planning and to improve riding opportunities. Please complete the questions based on your first impressions. All individual responses will remain confidential. A summary of results will be available from the Department on request. If you have any questions on the survey contact Tom Crimmins at 208 762-2298. Thank you for taking time to help.

Your answers are very important to us.

Stuart Macdonald Colorado State Parks

Jerry Abboud COHVCO

Do you currently own an Off-Highway Vehicle, such as those listed below? ( ) Yes ( ) No

If so, we would like to know the type of vehicles and the approximate number of times they are used each year for off-highway recreational purposes on trails or dirt roads.

	Number Owned	Total Times Used in Last Year
Off Highway Motorcycle	________	________
ATV	________	________
Dual Sport Motorcycle	________	________
Snowmobile	________	________
Four Wheel Drive	________	________
Sport Utility Vehicle	________	________

When did you purchase your first Off-Highway vehicle? 19___

Do you belong to a local Off-Highway Vehicle club or organization? ( ) Yes ( ) No

How do you rate your ability (skill) level in riding an Off-Highway Vehicle (circle BEST answer)

Novice		Intermediate		Advanced
1	2	3	4	5

How many years have you been riding/driving an Off-Highway Vehicle? ______ years.

How often do you usually ride your Off-Highway Vehicle for recreational purposes? ______ times per week

During the past 12 months, how many times did you ride your off-highway Vehicle for recreation? ______ times

How long, in miles, is an average Off-Highway Vehicle ride for you (for recreational purposes)? ______ miles

How long, in hours, is an average Off-Highway Vehicle ride for you (for recreational purposes)? ______ hours

During the past 12 months, how many times did you use your Off-Highway Vehicle (for recreational purposes) in each of the following areas? (indicate the number of Times for each area in the spaces provided).

______	National Forests		______	National Recreation Areas
______	BLM lands		______	State Lands
______	OHV Parks		______	Private Lands
______	City/County lands		______	(Other) __________________

Please identify the approximate percent of the time that you use your Off-Highway Vehicles in the general activities listed below. (each vehicle type you use should add up to 100%)

Activity	Off Highway Motorcycle	ATV	4WD
Competition (racing)	______	______	______
Work	______	______	______
Recreational Trail Riding	______	______	______
Hunting	______	______	______
Over-snow Activities	______	______	______

We would like to know how much of your Off-Highway Vehicle rides are spent with each of these types of groups or on these types of rides. (Circle one response for each item)

		Almost		Almost
	Never	Never	Sometimes	Always	Always
I ride alone	1	2	3	4	5
I ride with friends	1	2	3	4	5
I ride with family members	1	2	3	4	5
I ride with a club	1	2	3	4	5
I ride in OHV races or events	1	2	3	4	5
I ride in OHV rides for fund raisers	1	2	3	4	5

When you ride in a group, how large is it? (circle one)

1-2 people

3-4 people

5-7 people

over 7 people

We are interested in finding out where you ride your Off-Highway Vehicle most often. Please list, in the spaces provided, your favorite riding areas, in order of preference. (provide area name, trail name, nearest community or county)

1 ___________________________________________

2 ___________________________________________

3 ___________________________________________

4 ___________________________________________

5 ___________________________________________

For the areas listed above, please provide the following information for each site.

	1	2	3	4	5
Number of times used last year	____	____	____	____	____
Miles from home (one way)	____	____	____	____	____
Hours from home (one way)	____	____	____	____	____
Number of days spent (avg. trip)	____	____	____	____	____

We are interested in finding out under what circumstances you choose an area, road or trail for riding. For the items listed below, tell us what you look for when you ride for recreation. (Circle one response for each item).

			Almost		Almost
	The places I ride should:	Never	Never	Sometimes	Always	Always
	be forest roads	1	2	3	4	5
	be challenging to my strength	1	2	3	4	5
	have safe drinking water available at trailheads	1	2	3	4	5
	have long loops	1	2	3	4	5
	provide long distance (point to point) riding opportunities	1	2	3	4	5
	be located away from human activities (buildings and roads)	1	2	3	4	5
	start where I am staying (i.e. campgrounds)	1	2	3	4	5
	have signs posted at trailheads indicating trail length	1	2	3	4	5
	require a permit if money goes into development and maintenance of the trail system	1	2	3	4	5
	have restrooms available at trailhead	1	2	3	4	5
	have technical challenges	1	2	3	4	5
	have markers at regular intervals along the trail	1	2	3	4	5
	have maps available at trailhead	1	2	3	4	5
	be well maintained	1	2	3	4	5
	have signs posted at trailheads indicating trail difficulty	1	2	3	4	5
	be controlled for erosion	1	2	3	4	5
	have a variety of scenery	1	2	3	4	5
	be subject to seasonal closures to avoid resource or habitat damage	1	2	3	4	5
	be patrolled by land managing staff	1	2	3	4	5
	have gas stations nearby	1	2	3	4	5
	be free to user if on public land	1	2	3	4	5
	be patrolled by local OHV clubs	1	2	3	4	5
	be multi-use (many recreation user groups allowed)	1	2	3	4	5
	have loading ramps available at trailhead	1	2	3	4	5
	have directional and difficulty signing at trail junctions	1	2	3	4	5
	have primitive campsites	1	2	3	4	5
	have routes connecting to other riding areas	1	2	3	4	5
	have signs showing all the uses allowed in the area	1	2	3	4	5

We are interested in learning where you believe the money from the Colorado OHV Registration Fund should best be spent. Please rate the following items on a scale of:

'1' = Extremely Important to '6' = Least Important

______ trailhead informational signing

______ erosion control

______ law enforcement

______ trail maintenance

______ restroom facilities

______ trail signing

______ information patrols

______ loading ramps

______ closing illegal trails

______ trailhead construction

______ area/route maps

______ campground development

______ trail system planning

______ new trail construction

______ purchase riding areas

______ drinking water at trailhead

______ volunteer support

______ purchase rights-of-way for

______ barriers to keep people on trails

______ fee collection

______ education & safety programs

______ event area maintenance

Which of the following categories best describe you?

______ White, other than Hispanic

______ Hispanic

______ Black

______ Asian

______ Other

Age ___________ years

Gender M F

Highest level of formal schooling you have attained?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12	13 14 15 16	17 18 19 20 21 22
(Elementary thru high school	(College)	(Graduate school)

Zip Code _______________

Circle the answer that best reflects your feeling on the issue.

		Strongly				Strongly
		Disagree	Disagree	Mixed	Agree	Agree
	I am aware of the Colorado State Parks OHV Program	1	2	3	4	5
	The Colorado OHV fund is effectively used to provide riding opportunities	1	2	3	4	5
	Trails in my riding areas are well maintained	1	2	3	4	5
	I can find adequate riding opportunities within a reasonable drive from home	1	2	3	4	5
	There is a need to reduce noise and air polution from off-highway vehicles	1	2	3	4	5
	Grants to the federal agencies are a good way to ensure OHV opportunities	1	2	3	4	5
	The state should be more involved in management decisions for OHV areas	1	2	3	4	5
	It is necessary for riders to volunteer their time for riding opportunities to remain available	1	2	3	4	5
	I support user fees, other than registration, if the money goes directly back to help with management of the specific riding area	1	2	3	4	5
	Most OHV damage occurs during hunting season	1	2	3	4	5
	A portion of the money in the OHV fund should be spent to develope OHV parks and riding areas closer to cities and towns	1	2	3	4	5
	Most of the trail closures have been done for good reasons	1	2	3	4	5
	Personal involvement in the agency management process is necessary to avoid additional land closures	1	2	3	4	5
	The riding areas in Colorado provide a wide range of riding experiences	1	2	3	4	5
	Misuse of OHV's during hunting season is a problem that should be addressed	1	2	3	4	5
	More should be done to inform OHV users on ways to avoid resource impacts	1	2	3	4	5

If you would like to include additional comments on the above items or any other issues, please use a separate sheet and enclose it inside the questionaire

Thank you for your help in this survey.