ATV riders pack hearing
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Vaughn Hadwen, 70, of Reading, advocates for ATV use on state lands during a hearing Monday in Montpelier. Stefan Hard / Times Argus |
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By Peter Hirschfeld Vermont Press Bureau - Published: June 16, 2009
MONTPELIER — Hundreds of all-terrain vehicle enthusiasts asked public officials Monday to lift a prohibition that bans them from accessing state lands.
A proposed rule change at the Agency of Natural Resources would, for the first time in state history, allow off-road vehicles to establish a network of legal trails on state-owned land. Responsible Vermonters who enjoy riding their ATVs, supporters of the rule said Monday, shouldn't be prevented from accessing the state lands their taxes help support.
"I'm a lifelong Vermonter who has supported his country by serving in the Navy," said Royalton resident Ed Davis. "I've always supported other groups and their right to use public lands, roads and lakes. I believe there is room for all to share in public lands and waters."
A proposal to lift the ATV ban on state lands has re-ignited a years-old debate about whether the small, fat-tired, four-wheel drive vehicles belong on public forests, fields and mountains. State officials say the rule is intended to create short "connector" trails linking segments of a 600-mile network of legal trails created by the Vermont All-Terrain Vehicle Sportman's Association.
"We're not talking about ATVs taking over public lands," Steve McCloud, director of public policy and outreach for the statewide ATV association said.
McCloud said the 468 square miles of state-owned land is more than enough to accommodate a range of recreation activities.
"These trails will take only a tiny fraction of this," he said. "Even if a trail is designated, ATV opportunities will be only a small part of the opportunities for other trail users."
ATV riders, many wearing round VASA stickers, dominated an animated crowd of more than 200 people at Monday's public hearing in the Pavilion Building. Anthony Iarrapino, with the Conservation Law Foundation, was among the small minority in opposition.
He said the proposed rule opens the door to ATV use far wider than either the ANR or VASA has portrayed.
"This is a rule that would apply statewide, and there is absolutely no limitation on how long these trails can be," Iarrapino said in a telephone interview Monday. "VASA has made no secret of the fact that it envisions a trail network thousands of miles long, and given their inability to get that kind of access to private land, the only way they could realize a trail system that long is have so-called connectors crisscrossing state lands left and right."
Iarrapino said ATV use is fundamentally incompatible with the purposes for which state lands have been designated. Establishing a legal trail system, he said, only provides additional jumping-off points for "renegade" riders who pose an especially severe environmental threat.
"No matter where the legal trail is created, all the adjacent acreage is exposed to environmental destruction posed by illegal use," he said.
Bill Sayre, a Bristol man who owns wood lots across the state, said responsible ATV riders shouldn't be penalized for the illegal riding that can degrade state and private lands. He said VASA, and its member riders, have proven solid stewards of the private land to which he has granted them access.
"They've been responsible stewards policing not only their own conduct but also the activity of others," he said. "I think it's very important to distinguish the young and the restless from members of VASA. By helping VASA get more opportunities for connecting their trails, you will not increase damage to Vermont forest land, you will reduce it."
In fact Secretary of Natural Resources Jonathan Wood has said the rule change is intended in part to combat the issue of illegal riding. Providing a legal, regulated outlet for activity that is already happening, Wood said last week, will mitigate the need for riders to break the laws.
"I'm an environmentalist, just like everybody else who's here, except I use wheels," said James Link, a member of the West Rutland Sportsman's Association, one of 20 VASA clubs across the state. "I don't want to be put in the group of hotrodder ATV riders you see breaking rules all over the state … We spend hours maintaining trails so there's no erosion."
Sherry Smith, also of West Rutland, said the average age of their club members is 54.
"We personally don't see any reckless riding or tearing up the territory," she said. "… We're not a bunch of rambunctious people meeting the stereotype of reckless riders. We leave the place looking the same as it was when we got there."
Other at the forum however said the noise and smell of ATVs alone is enough to ruin the experiences of hikers and other users of state lands.
"Hiking on state lands is one of the only opportunities for me to leave the sounds of cars and motorbikes and other sounds I hear on a daily basis," said Montpelier resident Joslyn Wilschek. "I will not go to places where there's ATV use."
Wilschek echoed concerns raised by environmental organizations in the state, which said the Agency of Natural Resources is ill-prepared to monitor and enforce whatever rules accompany ATV trails on state land.
"You can hardly afford to enforce your current rules," she said. "… And now you're putting on another burden."
Jamey Fidel, with the Vermont Natural Resources Council, said the state would be better served to put off the new rule until it has time to adequately assess the potential impacts of ATVs, as per the recommendations of a 2004 report issued by the Governor's ATV Collaborative.
ATV users though said they've already proven, via a 10-year track record of responsible trail maintenance on private lands, that they deserve the same right to recreate on state lands as people who enjoy hiking, fishing or boating.
And the move, some said, would boost economies in small, rural towns.
"Any time a trail of any kind accesses local businesses, it can be a great boost for the economy," said Scott Jennis, a business owner from Derby. "A rural state requires rural business opportunities. And we should seize all the recreation and business opportunities possible in the tough economic times we face."
The Agency of Natural Resources will continue taking public input via e-mail until the end of the next Monday.
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