Legit ATV use?

[jryoung]

Seems like a good discussion to throw this out. If you don't like illegal ATV use, help fund the BHA reward program.


http://fundly.com/m/help-fund-backcountry-hunters-anglers-ohv-reward-fund

 

[Ultrahunter]

I use mine mostly for spraying weeds in my pasture.

 

[Elkmagnet]

A few things an ATV can be legally used for
1. farming
2. fun camping with the family
3. Trap line
4. Predator hunting Dec-Mar
5. Ice fishing
6. Chuck-chuck-chuck-chucker
7. Exposing people's ignorance
8. Exposing people's prejudices
9. Late term abortions
10. Squishing kittens
11. Chasing bald eagles

I got a little dramatic at the end there.

 

[noharleyyet]

12. When your knees tell to to GFY...no drama, it will happen

 

[Dinkshooter]

Other things they seem to be good for

1. Growing your arse to a gigantic size
2. Completely eliminating a persons ability to read
3. Making sure you never kill a elk by planting your gigantic arse on it all day long
4. Roto chopping sage brush
5. Saving the tread on your boots

 

[Dinkshooter]

uh oh my ignorance and prejudice has been exposed.

 

[ida homer]

Isn't that kind of like saying they should ban hunting because of poachers?

Yeah, but that's much less likely to happen than an ATV ban during hunting season.

 

[Elkmagnet]

uh oh my ignorance and prejudice has been exposed.

I meant the users ignorance of the law but...ok

 

[elkantlers]

Don't own one, don't need one, can't stand em. Legitimate use usually leads to illigitimate use at some point. mtmuley

Do you have that same stance on guns?

 

[noharleyyet]

uh oh my ignorance and prejudice has been exposed.

...thanks for the pics...reminded me to clean the tundra out of the skid plates.

 

[The Hedgehog]

Got one, haven't started it in over a year. I use it occassionally for scouting and hunting pronghorn on gravel or two track roads, public and private. Have used it recently (2011) to get down an open USFS road that would have destroyed my truck. Was better than walking an extra 10 miles. I'm sure I've parked it along side roads in the trees that would have been worthy of a ticket. Stil had to backpack this one about 3 miles to the road, then drive it to my campsite/truck on the ATV, all on an open road, but a bad one.

 

[muleguy]

News Release: BHA Offers Reward for Illegal ATV Abuse

The national Backcountry Hunters & Anglers is announcing a reward aimed at stopping lawbreakers who disturb public land, water and wildlife on motor vehicles such as All-Terrain Vehicles.

"All-terrain vehicles are popular and powerful tools, with a valid place on our nationalforests," said Jim Akenson, executive director. "However, these tools are too often abused, impacting habitat and hunting opportunities."

For several years, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers has offered rewards to people who report people who drive behind gates, vandalize the land or harass wildlife on all-terrain vehicles. The BHA board recently reauthorized this fund.

"We need motorized access to our public lands, but at the same time we need habitat totally separate from the noise and disturbance that comes with motor vehicles," Akenson said. "When people drive behind closed gates, shoot from vehicles or trespass on private land, it gives all hunters a black eye. We need to police our own ranks.

" Following the law benefits both outdoorsmen who use ATVs responsibly and those who prefer traditional hike-in hunting or hunting with stock, he said.

BHA offers a reward up to $1000 for information that leads to the conviction of any one abusing land or water open to public hunting or fishing. For example, in the past, the BHA reward went to a Montana hunter who used a remote trail camera to document illegal riding in protected big game habitat. Another BHA member in Montana reported an outfitter who was illegally shuttling clients into a non-motorized area with a helicopter, prompting the outfitter to stop this practice.

Akenson urged anyone seeing illegal behavior this hunting season to record all pertinent information and pass it on to a state game warden or national forest law enforcement officer.

"Responsible riding means recognizing that there are some places our machines do not belong," said BHA Conservation Director Holly Endersby. "Our land, water and wildlife belong to all of us and need to be used carefully and respectfully."

 

[WapitiBob]

Occasionally, a Back Country Tuneup is in order.

 

[Goldtip]

Occasionally, a Back Country Tuneup is in order.

Only a matter of time before someone brought that up I guess.

 

[mtmuley]

elkantlers, what the Hell does your post mean? mtmuley

 

[Lawnboy]

Here in Montana there are VERY FEW areas one of the things can be legally ridden off-road.

Bingo! The key word being off road. We have quite a few trails and roads that are legal but like you mentioned it's when they cut a trail in and start taking them off road/illegal.

 

[----]

ATV's are for wusses, real men use front end loaders.

 

[----]

Honestly I've got access to them, and have a hard time finding use of them other than getting game out of our little piece of river bottom.

I'm getting so sick of four-wheeler tracks cutting around gates and cruising decommissioned roads. It's ruining a bunch of my favorite country to hunt, and makes me spend more time on either wilderness country or private. it continues to blow my mind how lazy and inconsiderate the average guy in the outdoors is. I'd be embarrassed to drive around on public land with one in the back of my truck, honestly.

 

[Nameless Range]

In the mining country of west-central Montana, there old roads up nearly every gulch and down nearly every ridge. Though alot of ATV users abuse the land, it's been hard in the past to get a sense of what they are doing, mainly because so many open public land roads exist in this area. I own one, and they really do serve a purpose when the snow flies or the road gets terrible. I'd rather get an ATV stuck than my truck. Summer rides are refreshing on the high ridges.

Over the last decade or so, I have noticed that the Beaverhead-Deerlodge and Helena National Forests have been closing and reclaiming many of the old mine trails, and it's good. I've been impressed with some of the roads they've erased from the map. They're impassible in many instances for ATVs, and during hunting season, especially when there is snow on the ground, they really have protected decent sized areas from motorized pressure.

In the last decade though, antler shed hunting has become more popular as well. And I have found many instances,(many this year) where people on dirtbikes have drove around the gates or up the ridges while looking for sheds. They can cover significant ground quickly. Open windblown ridges and south facing meadows are antler-hunting destinations that also happen to be the first country accessible to a motorcycle when spring arrives. An ATV may not be able to make it around some gates, but an elk trail through some miserable northside timber is a joyride to a guy on a dirtbike. It is so hard to keep them out. Even if the reclamation is done well, they seem to find a way. They can go so many places.

The country is too big, the funding too low, and we can't just rely on the authorities out there. There aren't enough of them.Those of us who use public land need to be Self-policing- reporting and/or confronting people on dirtbikes and ATVs. Public shame can be a heck of a motivator.

 

[HowaHunter]

I use mine legally but thanks to those that throw the legal users under the bus. Get to my hunting location then hoof it. The most I used mine was down in hells Canyon and I dare most of you to start at the bottom and make it to the top by nightfall.
Atvs have their purpose but I also feel they have been a factor in reducing game populations throughout the years.