Local OHV safety courses coming this summer

If all goes as planned the Washington County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) will be offering OHV safety courses before the 2025 hunting season opens.

 During Monday’s, May 22, Washington County Commissioners meeting, the board approved a request from WCSO Chief Deputy Sam Edwards to sign-off on an agreement with Idaho Parks and Recreation (IDPR). The agreement opens the door to ongoing grant funding for a new safety education program.

 “Like our waterways program, we’re trying to get started with an OHV program,” Edwards said. “The idea is to teach some four-wheeler and side-by-side safety courses.”

 Edwards said he and Deputy Johnny Biddinger completed IDPR’s multiple-day Off Highway Vehicle Law Enforcement Academy in April.

 “They started an academy for 4x4s, side-by-sides, all of that stuff,” Edwards said. “We have our fair share of accidents, obviously you’re aware. The idea is to start teaching courses here, getting people more aware of the safety side of it. This program will help fund that.”

 Washington County has already been allotted $2,572 from OHV registrations for funding the program, plus another $3,282 from IDPR.

 With the agreement signed, a board specific to the OHV program will be put in place, Edwards said. 

 In a separate interview later in the week, Biddinger verified the completion of the April academy certified both he and Edwards as safety course instructors.

 “Lt. Jeff Anderson is also a certified instructor for the OHV safety courses,” Biddinger said. “We hope to start offering classes to our citizens soon.”

 Biddinger broke down the OHV registration funding formula.

 “From the off-road sticker registration fee, riders can indicate which county they would like $1 of the fee to go to,” Biddinger said. “So, over $2,500 has come to Washington County from that.”

 Describing IDPR’s grant funding, Biddinger said the department has $500,000 per year set aside for competitive grants.

 “That gets disbursed to all of the counties that have a program like this in place,” he said. “The more we do and offer, the better positioned we’ll be for those grant dollars.

 “The classes will be free to the public, and we’re hoping to get at least one scheduled before hunting season starts,” Biddinger said. “So, at least one this summer and it will be for ATV or UTV, and possibly to come, a motorcycle safety course will be offered.”