ATV study fails to consider economic impacts

Vilas County ATV Alliance (VCAA) claims that opening county highways (CTHs) in Boulder Junction (BJ), Manitowish Waters (MW), and Winchester (Win) to ATVs:
1. “Will have “significant impact to all of Vilas County.”
2. “The Wisconsin ATV/UTV Economic Impact Study of 2023 (“Study”) underscores the considerable positive impact that the ATV/UTV industry has on local economies.”
The “Study” was paid for by the Wisconsin ATV/UTV Association (WATVA). Not only did WATVA pay for the “Study,” but the results are based on interviews where the interviewees were selected and questioned by members of WATVA (or WATVA’s management organization).
The fact that ATV riding is incompatible with all other land-based recreation other than snowmobiling, and the effect of that incompatibility on non-ATV tourism economics, is completely ignored.
While the “Study” fails to consider any negative economic impacts, or to balance such negative effects against the positives, it does recognize that manufacturing, purchase, maintenance and other positive economic effects are of benefit wholly or partially outside the visited community and provide little or no benefit to tourist destinations like Vilas County.
In contrast to the WATVA “Study,” a paper by Penn State University researchers and published in 2024 says:
• The findings indicate that existing studies have assessed the economic impact of ATVs solely based on gross expenditures, lacking comprehensive inclusion of the costs associated with ATV damages to the environment, society, and human health.
• ATV expenditures from residents do not contribute to the change of the economy.
• The increased use of ATVs is associated with a range of adverse impacts on the environment, society, and human health. Environmental impacts include damage to soil and vegetation on the landscape, air pollution from vehicle emissions, harm to water quality, trail surfaces and wildlife, as well as noise pollution.
• ATVs can create conflicts with other recreational activities such as hiking and cross-country skiing.
3. “Another aspect to this data is the uptick in the number of ATV/UTV registrations for Wisconsin which clearly shows a growing trend toward out of state residents.”
It is well recognized that ATV riders prefer riding off-road. Since the VCAA request is to open roads, and there are roads open to ATVs almost everywhere, what attraction is there to travel here to do what is readily available near home, especially for out of state tourists?
During the times (late fall, winter and early spring) when our businesses might benefit, are out-of-state tourists going to come to Vilas County to ride their ATVs on roads?
The bottom line is that the Wisconsin ATV/UTV Economic Impact Study of 2023 is fatally flawed and none of the arguments presented in VCAA’s letter to the county is convincing to an unbiased observer (If only one could be found!). While no one can predict the future accurately, my best guess is that the optimal overall impact to Vilas County would be allowing ATVs in some towns and not doing so where serenity is valued above ATVs.

Steve Halverson
Boulder Junction