State warns ATV riders to play by the rules or pay (Vermont)
May 12, 2007
By SUSAN ALLEN, Times Argus Staff - Rutland Herald
Warning to ATV riders: Obey the law, be respectful of property owners – or pay the price.
That was the message Friday from the state Fish and Wildlife Department and the Vermont ATV Sportsman's Association (VASA).
"There are a lot of ATVs," said Col. Robert J. Rooks, the department's Director of Law Enforcement, referring to all-terrain vehicles. "There's a lot of folks that just want to run rampant with their ATVs, and it creates problems and damage to the private landowners."
Rooks said there are more than 15,800 registered ATVs in Vermont, up from just over 9,620 in 2001, the year the state began enforcing ATV registration and use.
"You've got to figure there are just three or four times that many that are not registered that people use on their own property or the farm or for whatever reason don't register," Rooks said.
Under current law, ATVs must be registered if they are driven off the owner's land. In addition, the vehicles cannot be ridden on state roads, and can only be ridden on town roads when communities have specifically approved that action. Finally, ATV owners and riders must secure written permission from private landowners before crossing their property.
The fines for violating individual provisions of the law can reach $371, Rooks said.
The colonel said some ATV riders inevitably end up breaking the law, particularly at the start of the season. The recent warm weather virtually guarantees that riders are beginning to hit the trails, prompting Friday's warning.
"The weather is nice. People are operating again a lot more, and there is increased illegal activity that makes it a little harder for us," he added.
The issue is also environmental. Jonathan Wood, commissioner of the Department of Forest, Parks and Recreation, said Vermont's soils are especially vulnerable early in the season because they are saturated with the frost still going out. The ATV's knobby, heavy wheels can do enormous damage in vulnerable areas, he said.
Wood credited the association, commonly called VASA, with beginning to launch a network of ATV-safe trails around the state on private land. Those trails avoid areas including wetlands, erodable soils, deer yards and other wildlife areas, sites that house endangered species, and archeological areas.
Vermont's approach to carefully developing a network of trails on private land, similar to the snowmobile trail system set up by the private, non-profit Vermont Association of Snow Travelers, stands in sharp contrast to New Hampshire's decision to purchase 7,000 acres in the northern part of the state and create a trails network on that contained, public property.
Wood said VASA is anxious to improve the public image of the ATV community, which has suffered in recent years because of poor behavior of some riders. In some cases, for example, ATV riders have illegally crossed state highways, even cutting a chain link fence to reach the roadway in one case.
Fish and Wildlife officials took on enforcement because large landowners began posting their land for all public uses, including hiking and hunting, in response to unwanted ATV traffic on their properties.
"The wardens have done a great job," Rooks said. "It's a huge task to try to take care of the problems that are occurring. We seem to have gotten a better handle on it."
There are about 500 miles of trails in place at this point.
"Not only are there places to ride in Vermont, there are beautiful places to ride," said Danny Hale, the Executive Director of VASA in a statement. "My basic message to all operators out there is to do it and do it right: respect private property, obey the law and be safe."
Article Reference: Rutland Herald: Rutland Vermont News & Information
By SUSAN ALLEN, Times Argus Staff - Rutland Herald
Warning to ATV riders: Obey the law, be respectful of property owners – or pay the price.
That was the message Friday from the state Fish and Wildlife Department and the Vermont ATV Sportsman's Association (VASA).
"There are a lot of ATVs," said Col. Robert J. Rooks, the department's Director of Law Enforcement, referring to all-terrain vehicles. "There's a lot of folks that just want to run rampant with their ATVs, and it creates problems and damage to the private landowners."
Rooks said there are more than 15,800 registered ATVs in Vermont, up from just over 9,620 in 2001, the year the state began enforcing ATV registration and use.
"You've got to figure there are just three or four times that many that are not registered that people use on their own property or the farm or for whatever reason don't register," Rooks said.
Under current law, ATVs must be registered if they are driven off the owner's land. In addition, the vehicles cannot be ridden on state roads, and can only be ridden on town roads when communities have specifically approved that action. Finally, ATV owners and riders must secure written permission from private landowners before crossing their property.
The fines for violating individual provisions of the law can reach $371, Rooks said.
The colonel said some ATV riders inevitably end up breaking the law, particularly at the start of the season. The recent warm weather virtually guarantees that riders are beginning to hit the trails, prompting Friday's warning.
"The weather is nice. People are operating again a lot more, and there is increased illegal activity that makes it a little harder for us," he added.
The issue is also environmental. Jonathan Wood, commissioner of the Department of Forest, Parks and Recreation, said Vermont's soils are especially vulnerable early in the season because they are saturated with the frost still going out. The ATV's knobby, heavy wheels can do enormous damage in vulnerable areas, he said.
Wood credited the association, commonly called VASA, with beginning to launch a network of ATV-safe trails around the state on private land. Those trails avoid areas including wetlands, erodable soils, deer yards and other wildlife areas, sites that house endangered species, and archeological areas.
Vermont's approach to carefully developing a network of trails on private land, similar to the snowmobile trail system set up by the private, non-profit Vermont Association of Snow Travelers, stands in sharp contrast to New Hampshire's decision to purchase 7,000 acres in the northern part of the state and create a trails network on that contained, public property.
Wood said VASA is anxious to improve the public image of the ATV community, which has suffered in recent years because of poor behavior of some riders. In some cases, for example, ATV riders have illegally crossed state highways, even cutting a chain link fence to reach the roadway in one case.
Fish and Wildlife officials took on enforcement because large landowners began posting their land for all public uses, including hiking and hunting, in response to unwanted ATV traffic on their properties.
"The wardens have done a great job," Rooks said. "It's a huge task to try to take care of the problems that are occurring. We seem to have gotten a better handle on it."
There are about 500 miles of trails in place at this point.
"Not only are there places to ride in Vermont, there are beautiful places to ride," said Danny Hale, the Executive Director of VASA in a statement. "My basic message to all operators out there is to do it and do it right: respect private property, obey the law and be safe."
Article Reference: Rutland Herald: Rutland Vermont News & Information
