Executive Order 11989

Off-Road Vehicles on Public Lands

By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the statutes of the United States of America, and as President of the United States of America, in order to clarify agency authority to define zones of use of off-road vehicles on public lands, in furtherance of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), Executive Order 116444 of February 8, 1972, is hereby amended as follows:

Section 1. Clause (B) of Section 2(3) of Executive Order No. 11644, setting forth an exclusion from the definition of off-road vehicles, is amended to read "(B) any fire, military, emergency or law enforcement vehicle when used for emergency purposes, and any combat or combat support vehicle when used for national defense purposes, and".

Sec. 2. Add the following new Section to Executive order No. 11644:

"Sec. 9. Special Protection of the Public Lands. (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 3 of this Order, the respective agency head shall, whenever he determines that the use of off-road vehicles will cause or is causing considerable adverse effects on the soil, vegetation, wildlife, wildlife habitat or cultural or historic resources of particular areas or rails of the public lands, immediately close such areas or trails to the type of off-road vehicle causing such effects, until such times as he determines that such adverse effects have been eliminated and that measures have been implemented to prevent future recurrence.

"(b) Each respective agency head is authorized to adopt the policy that portions of the public lands within his jurisdiction shall be closed to use by off-road vehicles except those areas or trails which are suitable and specifically designated as open to such use pursuant to Section 3 of this Order."

Jimmy Carter

The White House

May 24, 1977