Idaho ATV's - does this make any sense?

[ERSS]

Saw this come up on the local news station. It lacks info on who is pushing for this legislation, but I am guessing it is ATV clubs/groups. Seems like the majority of the state is pretty liberal already with the ATV & hunting regs. A few places, like the Beaverhead and others, have significant restrictions. A little confused about the way the article reads. Do you think he means that because there are not enough officers to enforce the laws, we should do away with the laws? Maybe just a poorly organized article with minimal info.

http://www.localnews8.com/news/30614296/detail.html

 

[TheTone]

Part of it is that the article is very poorly written, thats local news 8 for you. Essentially I think this is coming from people who have been ticketed by F&G officers and threw a big enough stink about it to the right people. This rule may also strip away the ability for F&G to enforce travel plan restrictions, in addition to additional fish and game rules. What Steve Schmidt was trying to say is that the forest service doesn't have enough officers, thus fish and game is needed to help them out with ATV issues. There is one forest service LEO currently covering the entire upper snake region.

 

[Dinkshooter]

I only use my ATV to save wear and tear on my truck.

 

[the nikster]

What's the average weight of a supporter of this idea? What is the average weight of a person who opposes this idea? If you don't like the question, you probably are as big as me.

 

[6speed]

A look at the sponsors of the bill is simmilar to a lot of the other bills being pushed this year that go against F&G and slant away from what most public land hunters want.

 

[1_pointer]

What's the average weight of a supporter of this idea? What is the average weight of a person who opposes this idea? If you don't like the question, you probably are as big as me.

I'm guessing I would make that characterization of each side not fit too well...

 

[noharleyyet]

Gootgawd, I hate fat poor people.

 

[brymoore]

My Senator (truck driver) sponsored the bill that failed last year. Although we're no longer on speaking terms, his jist for the bill is that F&G shouldn't restrict travel based solely if someone had a gun on their ATV. He admited that he wasn't a hunter and wasn't concerned if F&G used ATV restrictions as part of its herd management.

 

[the nikster]

The truth of the matter is you're probably right. I am a large person. I walk beyond the posted non-motorized signs for many of my hunts. When some bozo on an atv shows up in a roadless area it is seldom a fat a55ed atv'er but usuallysome skinny outta state fella looking to gain the upper hand. I do speak to many and find them to be as friendly or mean as I provoke them to be.
I see this idea to be an end run around present legislation. Simply put-they were getting nowhere by fighting the law as it stood so now they are fighting F&G's authority to make the rules.
We are getting fat and lazy. We are pushing game further and further into the wilderness with no end in sight. Just like our debt, this is not a deed we will pay the price for today, but our children will pay tomorrow. We are proving to be consumtive rather than stewards.

 

[1_pointer]

I agree with much of that. I'm fat-a$$ed but ATV-less. If this does pass, the next step for those wanting to push for less ATV traffic is to put the screws to the land management agencies on their travel plans. They can and have implemented seasonal travel restrictions. IMO, that is a bit tougher sell to the public at large and overall harder to do, but it could be done.

 

[6speed]

Those already exist in a lot of places there is just no one to enforce it.

 

[1_pointer]

Those already exist in a lot of places there is just no one to enforce it.

I worked in an office that managed 3.2 million acres and we had 2 LEOs. So I fully appreciate the issue. Does the local LEOs have the ability to enforce the travel regs on federal lands? I'm not 100% sure, but I'm pretty sure that can be granted by the federal agency to the local LEOs by a Memorandum of Understanding. That is about the only way I can think of to increase the ability to enforce.