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Forest wants rangers to police all-terrain vehicle offenses
Riders’ group critical
By Nick Gevock of The Montana Standard - 05/22/2006
DILLON — Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest officials hope to step up enforcement of all-terrain vehicle riders by hiring up to six patrol rangers with money from a state grant.
With three law enforcement officers covering an area one-and-a-half times the size of Yellowstone National Park, it’s difficult to catch the people who ride cross country or on trails that are closed to motorized vehicles, said Jack de Golia, forest spokesman.
“That’s only a million acres a piece,” he said of law officers. “Enforcement is a problem; we just don’t have enough people to cover all the roads and all the ways to get in.” In the past five years, officers have issued 21 tickets for violating off road rules across the forest, de Golia said. Over the same time there were 291 incident reports — calls reporting a violation that were investigated but never led to a citation because there wasn’t enough evidence to catch the people allegedly breaking the rules.
Officials recently announced that it is applying for grants from the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks to hire a ranger for each district within the forest. The rangers would patrol throughout summer and hunting season, explain the rules to off-road riders and maintain trails.
The money for the program would come from FWP’s Off-Highway Vehicle and Recreation Trails program, which is generated from gasoline tax and a required sticker for off-highway vehicles. The Beaverhead-Deerlodge has received the same grant in recent years and put some patrollers on the ground.
But Gene Loder, president of the Beaverhead Outdoors Association, a motorized access advocate group, said his organization is totally opposed to having extra ATV rangers.
“The public will pretty much police itself,” he said.
Loder added that he hasn’t seen many problems with violators riding off trails and tearing up public lands on the forest. When he has, he’s talked to the people and in some cases turned them in.
He said other members of the association are also diligent about policing the forest as well. The trail maintenance is a better use of the funds, but even that aspect of the ranger’s jobs isn’t needed because the BOA has offered to go in and repair eroded sections of trail.
The rangers are just adding government to fix something that isn’t a problem, Loder said.
“Where’s our freedom?” Loder said. “We know what’s right and what’s wrong; why do we need to have our tax dollars going toward something like this?”
Public comments on the grant proposals will be accepted through June 12.
Reporter Nick Gevock may be reached via e-mail at [email protected].
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Riders’ group critical
By Nick Gevock of The Montana Standard - 05/22/2006
DILLON — Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest officials hope to step up enforcement of all-terrain vehicle riders by hiring up to six patrol rangers with money from a state grant.
With three law enforcement officers covering an area one-and-a-half times the size of Yellowstone National Park, it’s difficult to catch the people who ride cross country or on trails that are closed to motorized vehicles, said Jack de Golia, forest spokesman.
“That’s only a million acres a piece,” he said of law officers. “Enforcement is a problem; we just don’t have enough people to cover all the roads and all the ways to get in.” In the past five years, officers have issued 21 tickets for violating off road rules across the forest, de Golia said. Over the same time there were 291 incident reports — calls reporting a violation that were investigated but never led to a citation because there wasn’t enough evidence to catch the people allegedly breaking the rules.
Officials recently announced that it is applying for grants from the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks to hire a ranger for each district within the forest. The rangers would patrol throughout summer and hunting season, explain the rules to off-road riders and maintain trails.
The money for the program would come from FWP’s Off-Highway Vehicle and Recreation Trails program, which is generated from gasoline tax and a required sticker for off-highway vehicles. The Beaverhead-Deerlodge has received the same grant in recent years and put some patrollers on the ground.
But Gene Loder, president of the Beaverhead Outdoors Association, a motorized access advocate group, said his organization is totally opposed to having extra ATV rangers.
“The public will pretty much police itself,” he said.
Loder added that he hasn’t seen many problems with violators riding off trails and tearing up public lands on the forest. When he has, he’s talked to the people and in some cases turned them in.
He said other members of the association are also diligent about policing the forest as well. The trail maintenance is a better use of the funds, but even that aspect of the ranger’s jobs isn’t needed because the BOA has offered to go in and repair eroded sections of trail.
The rangers are just adding government to fix something that isn’t a problem, Loder said.
“Where’s our freedom?” Loder said. “We know what’s right and what’s wrong; why do we need to have our tax dollars going toward something like this?”
Public comments on the grant proposals will be accepted through June 12.
Reporter Nick Gevock may be reached via e-mail at [email protected].
Email this story Print this story
