A common argument for continuing driving and off-roading on the Oceano beach and dunes is that if vehicles go away, then the off-highway vehicle (OHV) funds that protect the snowy plover will go away too.
Probably, yes, some of it will go away. But so would the biggest threat to the snowy plover and the biggest reason to protect it. The Oceano beach and dunes are managed by State Parks Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division. The Oceano Dunes District includes Pismo State Beach, Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area (ODSVRA), Pismo Dunes Natural Preserve (ironically located on Oceano beach south of Pier Avenue), Pismo Lake property, Oso Flaco Lake, Pismo State Beach Monarch Butterfly Grove, and the North Beach and Oceano campgrounds. If off-roading were banned on Oceano beach and dunes, those Off-Highway Division funds would go away. However, State Parks would continue to manage the area, and some funds would keep on coming.
But where does the Off-Highway Division get its funds? And how does it use them?
The 1988 Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Act established a funding system for OHV programs. OHV users lobbied for it, and some legislators argued that since off-roaders in California pay tax money on fuel, they need to receive some back. Motor fuel taxes are like user fees: Drivers pay a tax per gallon, and that money is used to build and repair public roads. Those lawmakers argued that off-highway vehicles like dirt bikes, ATVs, etc., burn fuel on dirt trails and dunes rather than public streets. Because off-roaders aren’t using the highways but are still paying the gas tax, these funds are theoretically supposed to be used for off-road recreation, trail maintenance, conservation, and restoration programs for the destruction they cause.
To estimate how much fuel OHVs consume, government agencies use formulas created decades ago. These models tend to overestimate OHV gas tax contributions due to outdated models, national vs. local data, and mixed use: It is difficult to distinguish between fuel used strictly for off-road recreation versus fuel used by agricultural, industrial, or traditional street vehicles. As a result, the OHV Division is often granted a surplus of funds that exceeds the actual usage. Because it is uniquely well-funded, the Off-Highway Division is the wealthiest division within the California State Parks system.
The estimated fuel taxes paid for OHVs are transferred directly into the Off-Highway Vehicle Trust Fund managed by the division. These funds are supposed to support the planning, acquisition, maintenance, administration, conservation, and restoration of state-owned OHV recreation areas. The need to conserve and restore acknowledges that destruction and exploitation are consequences of OHV use.
In the 2025-26 fiscal year, California transferred approximately $75 million in estimated off-highway fuel taxes to the OHV Division from the state’s gasoline tax. The division received additional money from off-highway vehicle registrations, park entrance fees, camping, concessions, and property leases. In 2025, the average regular gasoline in California was approximately $4.50 per gallon. The statewide average now for a gallon of regular gas in California is almost $6, according to AAA. If $4.50 is to $75 million in 2025, then $6 is to $100 million in 2026. That is how much we roughly estimate the OHV Division will scam this year from the gasoline tax.
California has nine State Vehicular Recreation Areas (SVRA.) We don’t know at this point how much of the approximately $75 million the Off-Highway Division received from the state’s gasoline tax was allocated to the Oceano Dunes SVRA. And we don’t know yet how much of that was dedicated to the protection of the snowy plover. That’s a work in progress. Stay tuned.
But we definitely know that our gasoline tax money is subsidizing a destructive and exploitative “recreational” activity while Oceano needs a good-size park, a pedestrian/bike-safe trail to the beach, affordable housing, and beach parking. That’s what we would like our tax money to be used for. ∆
Lucia Casalinuovo wrote this on behalf of the Oceano Beach Community Association. Send a response to letters@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in June 11-18, 2026.
