Causer Snowmobile-ATV Funding Bill Earns House Approval

HARRISBURG – The state House has approved legislation, sponsored by Rep. Martin Causer (R-Turtlepoint), to require the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) to maintain separate ATV and snowmobile management accounts.

“This bill is all about bringing fairness and accountability to the collection and distribution of funds for ATV- and snowmobile-riding opportunities in the Commonwealth,” Causer said. “People paying registration fees for their ATVs expect those funds to be used to maintain and develop trails for their use. Separating the accounts will help to ensure that is happening.”

Currently, the number of trail miles on public lands for snowmobiles outnumbers those for ATVs by a 10-to-1 ratio.

At a public hearing on the legislation last year, Causer pointed to an example in Cameron County where people are paying their ATV registration fees but have no opportunities to ride on public lands in the county. “On more than 131,000 acres of forests, there is not one single trail on which people can legally ride their ATVs. It simply doesn’t make sense,” he said.

House Bill 970 now goes to the Senate for consideration.