Off-roading irreparably damages national forest

[Ithaca 37]

Sorry to have to post this info for some of you who claim only 1% of the ATV crowd is the problem and the land is going to heal itself.

There will be more restrictions on ATVs and off road driving.

"An informal camping area in the Panhandle National Forest recently sustained permanent damage from off-road vehicles.
Forest Service officials who visited sites surrounding the Independence Creek trailhead on Friday found several trees pushed over and some uprooted, along with new wheel ruts through a sparsely treed meadow.

A scar of bare earth led straight up a heavily wooded hillside, where drivers apparently tested their rigs´ ability to climb hills. They felled two mature trees.

Forest Service officials say such damage is becoming commonplace as four-wheel-drive and all-terrain vehicles become more popular.

Foresters found a similar scene at a Colville National Forest meadow two years ago after Memorial Day weekend. And the Umatilla National Forest last year charged three people with felony criminal mischief for turning a meadow into a mud bog.

“In most cases, these areas can never be restored to their original state,” said Bob Wolfe, law officer in the Umatilla forest.

Some riders clearly understand that they´re violating the law and risking tickets or worse, Panhandle Forest officer Mark Reinking said. But others who cause damage by driving off roads and designated trails apparently aren´t aware they´re doing anything wrong, he said."

http://www.idahostatesman.com/Story.asp?ID=41154

 

[quail hunter]

Theres no doubt in my mind that new limits will be enstated concerning off roading.
But the only way to fully stop it is to have them all turned in and destroyed.
Limits won't work for the ones that are already breaking the law and that goes for everything thats illegal.

I'll never change your mind and you won't change mine.
Now lets talk something fun like Turkey hunting or my favorite, quail HURTING with pointers!

All-Terrain Vehicle Association to Defend ATVs at Hearing
- press release -
05/30/03

PICKERINGTON, Ohio -- The All-Terrain Vehicle Association (ATVA) and the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) will testify before federal officials on June 5, promoting rider training as an important component in ATV safety.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission will hold a public hearing on ATV safety at 10 a.m. on June 5 in the Robert C. Byrd Health Science Center of West Virginia University in Morgantown, W.Va. The hearing could be the first step toward more federal regulation of ATVs.

Doug Morris, director of the ATVA, and Royce Wood, legislative affairs specialist for both the ATVA and the AMA, will argue that there is no need for further regulation. Both organizations support increased training opportunities for ATV riders to educate them about proper riding gear, teach them safe riding techniques, and improve their riding skills. The organizations also support the creation of more controlled public riding areas for ATVs to help reduce the risk of injury.

The associations have opposed proposals to impose further limits on ATV engine sizes, noting that existing guidelines which set machine size limits for riders under 16, actually impede safety training. That's because the federal guidelines call for those under 16 to ride ATVs with engines no larger than 90cc. As a result, most young people who are judged too large to safely ride such small machines aren't able to take a safety training course.

Besides taking testimony on ATV safety, the Consumer Product Safety Commission will listen to comments on a proposal by a coalition of groups made up of the Consumer Federation of America, the Natural Trails and Waters Coalition, the Bluewater Network and others seeking a ban on the sale of full-sized ATVs for use by children under 16. The coalition originally called for a ban on all ATV use by those under the age of 16 but the commission said that it could not enforce such a ban.

Morris questioned the motivation behind some of the groups involved in this attack on ATVs, noting that the Natural Trails and Waters Coalition and the Bluewater Network have never had any involvement with, or interest in, ATV safety. Instead, their agenda has been to block access to public lands by ATV riders and others involved in motorized recreation.




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[Muledeer4me]

"A scar of bare earth led straight up a heavily wooded hillside, where drivers apparently tested their rigs´ ability to climb hills. They felled two mature trees. "

Dang ,what's a person to do?
They get a new chain saw and a rig and have to try it out on something LOL
The only answer is to ban all chain saw's , hand saw's,4 wheel drive & ATV's,Mt bike's and any boot or shoe with a tread .

Yep it's the pit's and should be stopped.
But when you look at all the bitching & moaning some poster's do ,it's hard not to laugh off the serious stuff as just another wacko post by someone crying wolf AGAIN .
The picture I see when reading that is one of Ithaca all red in the face pounding away at his key board away with a little bubble caption that reads
(hehehehehe ,told em so ,,Im right ,Im right,Im always right)
ROFLMAO

 

[Ten Bears]

I was in that area last weekend. The damage that was done was done with mudder 4X4 trucks and jeeps. I hear they wrecked another set of meadows the weekend before that.

Sorry IT, the ATV's didn't take down the trees, but some were there from the tracks left behind.

 

[Michaelr]

Ithaca at his best.

 

[RockyDog]

The fact still remains, ATVs are for candyasses.

Unless your over 65.

 

[Whiskers]

This is a debate that goes on forever. I for one think they should be geared down or slowed down. They ain gotta run 60 mph thru the woods and tear shit up. I have a 4 wheel drive truck (always have) but I don't make new roads or trails. I follow existing fire lanes or log roads.

 

[Michaelr]

same old bullshit
blah blah blah.
And ithaca bitches when somebody else starts a previously discussed topic

 

[Moosie]

Although ther is a lot of things some guys do on a 4-wheeler... Michael still has a point Ithica

 

[Ithaca 37]

I just thought everyone would appreciate being kept up to date on the latest ATV news.

Of course everyone is certainly free to ignore this topic and start some of their own.

 

[Muledeer4me]

"Although ther is a lot of things some guys do on a 4-wheeler... Michael still has a point Ithica"


YEP!!!

 

[JoseCuervo]

Althought it must not have been an obvious point.....