Nevada Off-Highway Vehicles Program announces new program manager
Nevada Off-Highway Vehicles Program announces new program manager, continues advancing off-highway recreation statewide
Carson City, Nev. – Building upon the significant success of the Nevada Off-Highway Vehicles Program (NOHVP), administered through the Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (NDCNR), NDCNR’s Deputy Director, Dominique Etchegoyhen, is excited to announce that Nikhil Narkhede is now serving as the new NOHVP Program Manager. Narkhede started as the Program Manager in April 2019, following the retirement of Jenny Scanland, who served more than 20 years of exceptional and meritorious service to the residents of the State of Nevada. Narkhede will continue advancing the program’s mission to promote safe and responsible use of Nevada’s outstanding off-highway recreational opportunities, and to ensure today’s registration dollars create tomorrow’s off-highway adventures.
“Nevada is an outdoor recreation paradise,” said Etchegoyhen. “Our phenomenal OHV trails provide off-highway enthusiasts the opportunity to enjoy inspiring natural surroundings, diverse wildlife, and vibrant vistas throughout our great state. We want to recognize Jenny for her invaluable contributions, which have been instrumental to NOHVP and the State of Nevada. We are confident that Nikhil will continue to advance NOHVP to new heights – through his enthusiasm, expertise, and mission-driven philosophy.”
In 2017, NOHVP was officially established within NDCNR. At the time, Scanland, a parks and trails grant program veteran from the Nevada Division of State Parks, took the helm of NOHVP and was tasked with (1) increasing the number of grant applications by improving strategic outreach, (2) getting quality OHV projects out on the ground, and (3) creating a new website for Nevada OHV enthusiasts, ohv.nv.gov.
During her tenure with NOHVP, Scanland facilitated more than 45 statewide off-highway vehicle projects, totaling nearly $2.3 million. Funded directly by OHV registration dollars, grants are currently provided for OHV trail construction and maintenance, mapping, signage, law enforcement, education/outreach, safety training, restoration, and other projects throughout Nevada. Examples of grant-funded OHV projects include construction of the Logandale OHV trail restroom facilities, Nevada Outdoor School OHV education, Tread Lightly education, statewide law enforcement OHV registration events, Ranger Trail reconstruction in Ely, and the Genoa Peak Road Best Management Practices Project in the Lake Tahoe Basin. Go here to learn more about OHV grant projects recently completed in Nevada: ohv.nv.gov/grant-recipients
Scanland also pioneered the innovative Nevada Mapping Collaborative. Every public outreach survey taken in Nevada indicated that trail mapping was the number one request from outdoor recreationists, prompting the need for a centralized mapping system. NOHVP, together with the Nevada Division of State Parks’ Recreational Trails Program and the Great Basin Institute, formed a groundbreaking partnership to develop Nevada’s first statewide GIS trail system database, which produces digital and printable map products and downloadable data available to the public through the website: ohv.nv.gov/trails.
The Nevada Off-Highway Vehicles Program continues to expand Nevada’s second-to-none off-highway recreation opportunities, safety initiatives, and a vibrant tourism economy supporting Nevada’s communities. Your registration dollars create tomorrow’s off-highway adventures! To learn more about NOHVP, visit ohv.nv.gov.