Oh boy! Here's a thread that's on its way to having a line drawn through it.
I could point out any number of trails/tracks locally that are eroded, washed out messes.......due to 'offroad' use.
I could also point out considerably LARGER areas that are eroded washed out messes...due to the nature of the mother.
MOST of the problems brought about by off road vehicles are due to the nature of the OPERATOR. The untended fires, beer cans, trash in general. Not to mention referigerators, washing machines, sofas and bags full of slightly used diapers.
Generally, people are slobs at the least...heinous havoc wreakers at the worst. It's the small % of people that pick up after the much larger % that leave the woods in any sort of decent condition at all.
I'd just as soon run over a tree-huggers head as give him the time of day. The local 'tree-sitters' that closed down a riding area with their 'demonstrations' AFTER years of court process defined a legal timber sale should sit in prison (read: tent and a water bottle in the AZ desert) for about 10 years.
That doesn't mean I think off-road vehicle use (in the hands of MOST persons) is beneficial to all things and every person.
We have a local timber company that is pretty good at letting riders on their lands. On their reforested lands even. But after a couple years of riders insisting on riding IN that area where it is clearly posted to STAY OFF (maybe they thought they were doing the project a 'benifit'??)..whadd'ya think happened? Well...the area was CLOSED of course.
If common sense were a common commodity, there wouldn't be the polarization in the environmental 'community' today.
But, people being basically STOOPID...that's not going to happen.