Oregon Public Broadcasting

One northeastern Washington county is reigniting the debate over whether off-road vehicles belong on public roads and highways.

Stevens County proposes to open 15 public rights-of-way to give riders access to scenic areas.

Several neighboring counties have done the same thing, arguing off-road vehicles can be good for the economy. But as Inland Northwest correspondent Doug Nadvornick reports critics are fighting back.

In 2006, the Washington legislature allowed cities and counties to open their roads to off-road vehicles. 

The four northern Washington counties that run from the Cascades east to Idaho jumped right on board. They opened miles of roads.

Ken Barker from an off-road vehicle group based in Colville, Washington was pleased. He says his members want the freedom to tour the backcountry and visit rural towns.

Ken Barker: "We like to go to these destinations because they've got a coffee shop or a favorite hamburger place that we can go to point A, have lunch, breakfast, dinner, coffee or whatever the case is and then tape a loop road back and then go to another place where we might have dinner."

Barker says that kind of economic activity is welcome in places where natural resource industries are struggling.

But there's resistance in some of these counties. Michael Sternberg represents the Quiet Communities Coalition in the town of Republic.

His group has objections that range from noise to safety. For example, Sternberg worries that state law allows riders as young as 13 to drive off-road vehicles unattended.

Michael Sternberg: "If we require kids to be 16 and have a drivers' license before they can operate a motor vehicle, the same should probably hold true for ORV recreation on county roads."

Sternberg's group has gone to court before to stop its county from opening byways to off-road vehicles. And is keeping an eye on future proposals.

The debate will get a public hearing in Stevens County in July.