More than 16 months after sitting down to consider the contentious issue of off-road vehicle use in the territory, a committee of Yukon MLAs has come up with a report which attempts to summarize all the opinions gathered and boil them down to a set of useful recommendations.

The report suggests that instead of writing legislation that would restrict ATV use, the government should "consider separate environmental protection legislation that targets and penalizes environmental damage.”

This is likely a reaction to the repeated insistence by off-road vehicle advocates that it is a few bad apples who are ruining things for the majority of responsible riders.

Of the 14 recommendations made in the special committee report released Thursday, most are common sense suggestions for the bureaucrats who will eventually write the legislation – only two address specific changes to the law.

The committee said that anyone riding on a road or highway should have a driver's licence and liability insurance, which would limit on-road riding to people over 16 years old.

They also agreed that anyone riding on the road must wear a helmet, but they could not reach a consensus on helmet use when riding off-road.

In their report, the four members of the committee advise better education about and enforcement of existing rules, clarification of terms such as "highway” and "off-road” in future and existing legislation, and consideration of other related laws within Yukon and beyond.

The committee also recommended that whatever laws are written are flexible enough to restrict the growth or continued use of trails in environmentally sensitive areas, and that government review the existing penalties for environmental damage to make sure they are appropriate.

They also recommended that whatever legislation is written should not restrict motorized access to areas which are open now and don't require protection.

In summarizing the results of the extensive public consultation done by this committee, which received 2,489 completed surveys, the members had this to say:

"One thing is clear: Yukoners are passionate about the issue. Comments tend to be emotionally charged and closely tied to what Yukon means to each individual.

"For example, some view Yukon as the last frontier and want it to remain that way. For them it's about protecting their personal rights and freedoms and having the ability to choose.

Others see it as that pristine, untouched wilderness experience.

"For them it's more about respect and the principle that Yukon belongs to all of us and must be protected for future generations.”

Of those who responded to the public survey, mailed out to every household and also available on-line, 68 per cent used an ATV, a snowmobile, or both; and the majority of respondents, 71 per cent, are from Whitehorse.

It should be noted however, that people may have responded more than once, through multiple mail-in or on-line surveys.

A vast majority of respondents said they support a minimum age for snowmobile and ATV riders, with 1,161 people saying 16 was an appropriate age for a person to drive an ATV unsupervised. But a majority of people also thought underage riders should be able to drive an ATV with adult supervision.

Respondents were split down the middle on the issues of mandatory driver training, licensing, registration and liability insurance.

The public's opinion on helmets was somewhat clearer, with 80 per cent of urbanites and 64 per cent of rural Yukoners supporting them.

Of those who do not support mandatory helmet use for everyone, three-quarters said they support helmet use for underage riders.

Officials with the Trails Only Yukon Association, which has lobbied for regulations, and the territory's offroad vehicles association could not be reached for comment this morning.

See more coverage in Monday's edition.