Articles of Interest To The Off Road Community (continued)

New Hampshire, An ATV Friendly State, Release Plans For New ATV Park
New Hampshire recently released a preliminary plan for its development of the new state park, Jericho Lake. The plan calls for 136 miles of ATV trails with more than 4 miles of trails for the four-wheel drive vehicles. Come on, we need more than that for the big rigs fellas! New Hampshire has been very aggressive with OHV riding areas with it's Bureau of Trails. They now have more than 14 state sponsored riding areas. Kudos to New Hampshire. Check out their site and see how a state manages this recreation well.

Find du Lac Wisconsin ATV'ers Get The Shaft
The Parks and Development Committee voted 5-0 in opposition to the 500-signature petition requesting year-round use of the Fond du Lac County trails by ATV riders. The committee did vote 5-0 to allow ATV riders ti use the Eisenbahn Trail during the winter months, which will begin when the trial was accepted and end on March 15, 2007. ATV'ers will only be allowed to use the trail when the temperature falls below 28 degrees! Whoopee! While it is better than a total loss, it is a far cry from being fair. One protester of ATV use, and apparently prone to exaggerating, went on to say that it (ATV use) would be a disaster for landowners, for the environment, and for bikers. An ATV spokesmen responded that ATV enthusiasts are not the "Hell's Angels" many of the opponents were making them out to be. Why do bike riders get trails and ATV riders do not? Is that group more important? Does that group contribute more to the trail system? The ATV enthusiasts deserve a trail system just as much as the bike riders! Where is the justice?

Maine's Backcountry Threatened By Elitists and Government Agency
This article is dated October of 2006 (a little out of date) but you need to read it! It will scare you with how they are attempting this backdoor deal! Be sure to read all three articles in this series about the Maine Department of Conservation and its new backcountry land use designation proposal, which appears to be spearheaded by extreme environmental groups such as the Sierra Club, Maine Audubon Society, the Nature Conservancy, the Wilderness Society, and the Natural Resources Council of Maine.

Not Great Press in Michigan
Article discusses damage to State Forest Trails from illegal off road use.

Is There Ever Going To Be An ATV Park in the Pinelands, NJ?
The state's plans for an ATV park has lagged being dragged down by the Department of Environmental Protection and environmental groups (big surprise there). The Dept of Environmental Protection insists that in order to control the park and keep the vehicles off public property they need to require ATV riders to be licensed, registered and insured. Huh? Sounds like a boondoggle.

Not Good For Us - An Editorial in The Hartford Courant (Conn.) Paper
Problems in Connecticut with one man on an ATV leads an Editor to condemn all of us! Please send him an email letting him know how you feel about being labeled and profiled based on one individual's actions or the actions of a small minority of abusers. Ask him if we should condemn him for the actions of an ethically challenged editor's actions just because he's an editor too!

Yet Another Surprise Canyon Article
This is setting up to be a very important battle. It appears to be the first major lawsuit on behalf of offroaders and landowners. For years the environmentalists have used the courts to get what they wanted, now its the offroad enthusiasts. Will it work in our favor this time?

Some Perspective on OHV Use, Do You Agree?
If you want to learn how some people feel about "OHV" use on public land, this article will clue you in. I think it gives it a bit of perspective looking at the other side of the issue! Take a look and see what you think.

What About Those That Make Us Look Bad?

Surprise Canyon Story From An Environmentalists Point of View
Notice how the article is slanted. The quote "Off-road enthusiasts seek to open protected parkland" is very telling. The land in question wasn't protected until environmentalists filed a suit to have it shut down. Before that it was recognized a as public right of way. After the court hearing, The Bureau of Land Management promised keys to a gate for access for landowners (they have basically been cut off form their land), but it has been 5 years and it still hasn't happened. How do you trust folks like this?

Another Battle Looms With Environmentalists - This One Is In Minn.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR), along with Beltrami, Hubbard and Clearwater counties are in the process of developing an OHV Plan for the Mississippi Headwaters State Forest. The environmentalists are already firing out about it. This article is stating the case for why there shouldn't be any OHV plan or use in the Mississippi Headwaters State Forest.

Surprise Canyon : Battle Between Four Wheelers and Environmentalists
Surprise Canyon is the latest battleground between the environmental extremists and four-wheel drive enthusiasts. This canyon on Death Valley National Park's western edge was "temporarily" closed five years ago to off-road enthusiasts who used to traverse up its limestone waterfalls. Over 100 four-wheel-drive hobbyists have filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking that this trail be reopened under the statute RS2477. The statute allowed counties and states to lay routes over federal land. It was repealed three decades ago, but routes that were established prior to the repeal date were allowed under a grandfather clause. A gravel toll road in Surprise Canyon that fell into public hands before it was washed out by flooding is such a route, the four-wheel drive enthusiasts contend. This is being watched closely by both sides. Will Surprise Canyon remain off limits to offroad drivers?

More Offroad Trails for Tahoe National Forest
Public meetings are being conducted in order to set aside more riding areas and trails for motorized offroad vehicles in the Tahoe National Forest. We're making headway folks but its a small step at a time. Get involved and stay involved to insure that your voice is heard.

Florida Offroad Riders Plan To Protest
Offroad enthusiasts frustrated over the state's failure to create an off-road park for all-terrain vehicles are planning to protest on Wednesday (11-29-06) at an event marking a milestone in the Everglades restoration project in eastern Collier County. They are upset that officials of the South Florida Water Management District have failed to meet an Oct. 1, 2005 deadline to find 640 acres suitable for an off-road park. The officials have responded with the following weak-a-- reply, " The district is doing everything possible to find a parcel of land that is acceptable. The challenge for us is to find a suitable piece of property. Every parcel we've come up with has come up with environmental issues." Do you really think they've been trying very hard?

New Off Road Park for Full Size Vehicles Coming To Maysville, KY
(November 10, 2006) It's a great day for the offroad community as a new offroad park or at least a new full size vehicle offroad park is opening in Maysville KY. Maysville is a small town located on the Ohio River in Northern Kentucky. It is a little over an hours drive from Cincinnati, OH and the drive is a straight shot down the AA Highway. Big Rock Off Road Park has long been an ATV and Bike offroad park and they have now decided to open up a 500 acre off road driving area for Jeeps, trucks and SUVs. You can learn more about this new 4x4 wheeling opportunity at the Big Rock Off Road Park web site.

New Off Road Park Comes To Ohio
(October 18, 2006) You've heard the saying, "The Lord Giveth and the Lord taketh away", well that's what is happening in the offroad world at this moment. Just as the pressure is on at Wellsville, OH to shut down the riding, a new offroad park has sprung into action. The park's name is Painted Rock OHV. According to those posting on forums, the park is on 200 acres of an old strip mine and riding is currently by reservations only. Check out their extremely basic (but we're told in development) Painted Rock web site

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