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OFF-ROAD VEHICLE USE SPURS TENSION, VIOLENCE ACROSS U.S.


By Emily Bazar, USA TODAY
Clashes over the sport of off-roading are becoming more violent for riders, property owners and law enforcement officers as conflicts about the use of all-terrain-vehicles (ATVs) escalate, federal officials, landowners and advocacy groups say.
Property owners across the country report that they have been threatened and their homes vandalized by off-road-vehicle users. In Nevada, Pennsylvania and elsewhere, rangers say riders have punched them or charged them with their vehicles.

Riders also are becoming victims. In June, 13-year-old Nicholas Parisot of Wilton, Conn., died of neck injuries after riding his two-wheel dirt bike on private property and hitting a rope tied between trees. Wilton police are investigating whether someone sabotaged the trail, says Capt. Michael Lombardo.

"We see a growing amount of aggressive and lawless behavior taking place on off-road vehicles," says Harrison Schmitt, executive director of Responsible Trails America, a national group that calls for off-road vehicles to use designated trails. "We're starting to see people tired of the abuse and beginning to take the law into their own hands."

Off-road vehicles include two-wheel dirt bikes, dune buggies and four-wheel-drive trucks, which enthusiasts use for work and play.

"On weekends and holidays, (riders) want to come out to the desert and enjoy themselves. They go out as a group with family and friends," says Ray Pessa, 62, a Yucca Valley, Calif., resident and dune buggy rider. "We go out there and ride responsibly and legally, and be good ambassadors of our sport."

Not enough land to ride

Disputes about ATV use have been happening for years, often over environmental damage, but an imbalance in supply and demand appears to have intensified the clashes, officials say. There are more people riding ATVs and fewer places for them to ride.

In 2007, 4.7 million off-highway vehicle users visited public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), compared with 3.8 million in 2004, the agency reports.

At the same time, the U.S. government has stepped up efforts to restrict ATVs to assigned routes rather than allow them to ride cross-country. Development of rural areas has also gobbled up private land formerly used by off-roaders.

"We have more off-highway vehicle users and less lands. It's simple math. … It creates tensions," says Bob Ratcliffe, chief of the BLM's national recreation and visitor services program.

Among recent incidents:

•An ATV rider punched a Las Vegas BLM ranger in the face in May after the ranger stopped him for riding illegally on public land, says national chief ranger Jason Caffey. "The violence on public lands is going up," he says.

•Rancher Brandie Dunn in Kern County, Calif., says ATV riders have harassed her cattle. A few months ago, she says, a trespassing off-roader threatened her and told her he had guns. "Talk about the Wild West," she says.

•Seth Mesoras, a wildlife conservation officer in Westmoreland County for the Pennsylvania Game Commission, says clashes are "definitely" rising. Over the summer, he found booby traps set for riders near Loyalhanna Lake, including fishing line with hooks dangling from tree limbs.

"I'm not only trying to stop the ATVs from riding down there," he says, "I'm also trying to protect them from getting hurt."

Making lives 'miserable'

Ed Waldheim, an off-roader and president of the California Trail Users Coalition, which advocates for off-road vehicle users, says a small portion of riders don't follow rules. "We call them the 10 percenters. It's the 10 percenters making our lives miserable," he says.

Waldheim and other off-road advocates agree that the core problem fueling conflicts is land access. "People move into an area and discover there are people who have been riding trail systems for 20 years," says Jim Keeler, the BLM's California off-highway vehicle coordinator.

In Southern California, property owners and others frustrated by illegal off-road vehicle use created Community ORV Watch, and the San Bernardino County chapter was among the voices calling for government action.

In 2006, San Bernardino County adopted an ordinance that requires off-road-vehicle riders on private property to have written permission from owners. The most controversial provision requires people planning a gathering of 10 or more riders to get a permit from the county for $155.

From January through October this year, the county issued 554 warnings and 209 citations, the vast majority for riding on private property without permission, says Randy Rogers, chief of code enforcement. Last year, the county issued 356 warnings and 133 citations, he says.

Despite enforcement and an aggressive education campaign, there's still tension. "We've found two-by-fours with nails driven in them" in the ground, Rogers says.

Phil Klasky, 55, with Community ORV Watch, believes he is a victim of harassment because of his activism.

Klasky owns 15 acres in Wonder Valley, east of Twentynine Palms. In April, he confronted a trespassing off-roader. "He got on his machine and tried to run me down," he says. "As I'm jumping out of the way, he reaches out and slugs me on the head."

A few months earlier, swastikas were painted at the entrance to his driveway, he says. Klasky is Jewish. "This place is supposed to be my retreat and where I'm going to retire," he says. "It's turned into a battleground."

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Comments: (145)



RanchDude wrote:
6h 59m ago
Great, just what we need. Another news story that has no data shown supporting what it's claiming as facts... Sure there are some bad apples out there, but public land belongs to everyone, yet those of us who would like to use some of it for our personal choice of recreation seem to have less right to it than others.

For instance in Pennsylvania, one of the states mentioned in this story, there are no public ORV areas for 4x4 trucks, only private. Absolutely NO public land is designated for use for off road trucks. Now, why do you supposed there is tension? You can't tell me that a certain percentage of public land can't be made available, that it's all protected. Seems if there was enough money to be made by building an airport or shopping mall, that land could be found very easily.

I'm all for protecting the wilderness, but there has to be a balance. There's no sense protecting the wilderness if there's no means to get out and see and experience it. If they had their way, only someone willing and able to spend several weeks could hike in to see it.

Perhaps if those of use who'd like to get out there weren't constantly being harassed, and forced to jump through hoops there wouldn't be so much tension, or so many riding on private land without permission?


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My1stJeep wrote:
1d 6h ago
Most places who sell OHV's don't bother to tell the person buying it where they can ride or where to get information. The uninformed user then goes off to find some open area and not knowing the rules does what he pleases. With the increase in use, and some getting educated I would figure that 10% is still close to it, the problem is they are running in areas they don't belong so it brings more attention.

I have seen more and more threats and booby traps by those against OHV use. Yet this article is slanted so heavily to one side. Where are the comments about what OHV does for the environment and for area maintenance? Why was that not part of this article? Typical liberal rant only telling one side.

OHV does alot more for the environment that most know. We have sent biologists out on trails to review impact usage and determine any areas that may need mitigation and plan a course of action. We perform area clean ups, we don't like litter any better then anyone else on here, yet most of the litter is not from OHV, Hikers, Equestrian, etc... it comes from people who don't want to take the time to go to the dump or companies avoiding paying for going to the dump, or someone using their old trash as target practice. Face it a tread mill, refrigerator, roll of a carpet does not fit in a Jeep, Bronco, quad, rhino, etc... We organize area clean ups to remove this garbage from the areas, do you see any other groups out there trying to reduce this major mess? No.

In addition last year an effort locally was put together to create a walking trail to some petroglyphs. Along with the land management group, a couple of environmentally friendly people who helped with how to move the plants, 75% of all labor came from volunteer OHV users to not only help create the parking lot, but the path to view these historical artifacts. This in no way benefitted the OHV community, other then just be responsible users and partnering with land management to get a project done. Where were the hikers who benefitted most from this project?

The fact is time and time again when a project is put forth by the land management it is the OHV community that comes together to assist in getting it done. OHV users are very environmentally friendly when it comes to those who are responsible, which is the majority. In Arizona we even passed after several years of getting the verbiage right a bill that puts a user fee on OHV users to fund law enforcement, education, area maintenance, etc... to help make the experience no matter how you choose to enjoy the outdoors, the best it can be and we can all work together to the benefit of all, not just one or two groups.

No matter what side of the fence you are on, be respectful of the others. Anything less just shows what a pee brain you have and serves no purpose.

USA Today hopefully next time you think to write an article you will actually look at both sides and paint a better picture.


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FlobiWan Kenobi wrote:
2d 2h ago
FOGR Mike:

I'm one of those "burned out flower children" you are taliking about. I'm also an airplane pilot and builder, aviation mechanic and inspector, and a motorcycle rider (street and dirt) . I live in SE Alaska, and we are being inundated by outlaw ATV guys. Most of these guys just want to tear things up. I'm sick of the "few bad apples" argument, too..... I think it's the other way around. A few good guys amongst a LOT of rotten apples who are so ignorant and self-centered that they thing the woods and fields exist for THEM and everything else be damned. They're real quick to thumb their niose at anyone who tries to get them to obey the law. I can see why a few people have had enough of their s**t, and gave 'em "what for". Hooray to them!


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FOGR Mike wrote:
3d 3h ago
Yeah, and Google rankankan's Ranger Nelson while your at it.


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FOGR Mike wrote:
3d 3h ago
One can’t expect burned out flower children to understand the contribution off roading has had in keeping young “hot-roddersâ€