What Benefits Does This Offer the Local Community?

The Owyhee Initiative enjoys widespread support from the local community for a variety of reasons. First, under the pre-existing unmanaged recreation scenario in the Owyhee area, off-road vehicle users crossed many ranchers’ lands illegally. The Owyhee Initiative provides resources for monitoring and regulating ORV use and curtails illegal ORV trespass.  

Designation of wilderness and wild and scenic rivers provides ranchers, the recreation community and the community at large more certainty regarding future land use decisions and tourism marketing. 

The Conservation and Research Center created by the legislation has initiated landscape-scale programs to review, recommend and coordinate landscape conservation and research projects. The center could provide opportunities for jobs for the area, as well as important regional ecological data.

Additional economic opportunities are becoming available through cooperative agreements with Owyhee County regarding search and rescue programs and the enforcement of transportation plans.