Okay, I need some help...I have been a devoted rider since I was in diapers (almost) and I have a college biology presentation about the affects of ATVs to the environment....I have the basics, but I think it's still kind of boring. If any of y'all have pictures, videos, or just experiences you can share...PLEEAASSEEE!!! Thank you!

 

I'm sure you are aware that ATVs get a bad rep. For causing errosion. Most enviromentalist use this to try to get areas closed to Atvs. They say that the errosion causes silt to flow into streams, etc. This is true. Errosion is also caused by cattle that are fenced in an area that has a stream running through it. By crossing the stream they cause dirt to fall into the water.


Enviromentalists also argue that ATVs cause noise pollution. They say that the noise disturbs animals. I don't feel the noise affects animals that much at all. I've rode by lots of deer, grouse turkeys, etc... that just stand and look at you as you pass them by on an ATV. If they see lots of atv traffic, they get used to it.


Another thing I've noticed is, deer and other wildlife love to walk on ATV trails. Especially in areas where vegetation is thick. Animals don't like to exert themselves anymore than they have to. I'm sure everyone has seen ATV trails that haven't been used in awhile. They start to grow in. They grow in with grasses,clover and other plants. This provides food for rabbits, deer, turkeys, etc... Have you ever seen rasberries and black berries growing along an ATV trail? The ATV trail provides easy access to these berries. Otherwise animals would have too break through all those thorns to get at the berries. I've seen piles of bear crap right on the ATV trail lots of times. This sure makes it easier for animals to get a meal. They like to walk on ATV trails in the winter too. It is alot easier for deer to walk on a trail in the snow, that an ATV broke, than it is to walk through the deep stuff theirselves. I'm an avid hunter. I spend alot of time in the woods during the fall. I can see that sometime animals benefit from the ATV use in the woods.




I hope some of this helps.

 

Thanks a lot for your help...I have never thought of the last point you made. I appreciate it greatly [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Here is some more.
Did you ever notice those puddles on an ATV trail? Usually when a trail is made, all of the grass and weeds are are torn away and all that is left is bare ground. If there is any kind of depression or low spot it usually collects water after a rain. In the spring we get lots of rain. ATVs come along and and play in the puddles. The ATVs spin their tires making the puddles bigger and deeper.

Most Enviromentalists say this damages the enviroment. I look at it differently. Those puddles are usually full of water in the spring. This happens to be the same time as the mating season for frogs and toads. These "ATV created puddles" are perfect habitat for frogs and toads to attract a mate and lay their eggs. Where I live, it is common to see lots of frogs, toads, and tadpoles in these puddles during late spring and summer. We have trails that have no nearby water source. ( ponds or streams ) But after we created trails for ATV riding, the puddles started to appear. Before you know it, there were frogs and toads using them. When before there were no places for them to their lay eggs. Frogs and toads may seem like lowly animals to be discussing, but frogs are an important part of the food chain. Toads are poisiness for animals to eat but they eat lots of insects.

The puddles also provide animals a place to get a drink.


I've also seen snakes using ATV trails to sun themselves. Most people don't like snakes but they are important too. They help keep rodent populations in check.

I hope you can see, that ATV don't always impact the enviroment in a negative way.

 

So what happens to the Frogs, Toads, and their eggs when the ATV's ride through them and/or do as you stated above
"The ATVs spin their tires making the puddles bigger and deeper." [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-shocked.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-shocked.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-shocked.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-shocked.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-shocked.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-shocked.gif[/img]

Don't mean to be a smart a$$, just playing devils advocate [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

if your ride destructivly its alot easier to rip **** up and cause errosion. Yes it is possible to have fun riding w/o ripping the crap out of everything..its hard to prevent ripping stuff up but if u see a trail thats been made just from wear. Imagine how bad it could get if the rider purposly ripped the crap out of everything. So yes they do damage but if the rider is doin it intentionally its 10 times worse

 

Hmm, How much erosion is caused by earthquakes,tornadoes,road building,farming,volcanoes,floods,forest fires,sunamies,glaciers,rain,wind ect. Seems atvs would not even register on the scale in the grand sceme of things.

 

Good point wistech!![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

It's the rider and the intent, more than the machine. I use a big quad on my farm, partially because it doesn't tear the ground up as bad as a truck or tractor. Then again, I don't use mud tires (they make a real mess), and I ride carefully. Makes a big difference when it's your own ground you're going across. How many people put 27" mud tires on and go driving around their own front yard?

A few years back, I let other people come in and ride my trails. Nothing epic, about 5 miles, but it was all up and down hill, lots of fun. Someone came in and started cutting new trails, muddied up my creek, and dumped trash. Up went the barbed wire. It only takes one clown to mess things up, and that one clown paid me a visit. Never again.

Fact is - ATV trails can cause serious erosion. So can acts of nature, but for the most part, acts of nature aren't preventable. ATV induced erosion is preventable - either by responsible riders maintaining the trail, or by banning them from the woods. Both solutions have been tried, and both are fairly effective.

 

I've ridden dirtbikes or ATVs for 28 years and have a heard alot coming from the environmental side (my sister, the environmentalist) but don't usually hear much from the atv or offroaders standpoint. Most of the reason I ride atv's is to enjoy nature and scenery and so far I'd have to say I haven't seen the damage that were are supposed to be able to inflict. In fact, I'll bet that my ATV is in alot better state of tune emissions wise than her VW bus.
In the woods I agree that most animals just seem curious as you ride by and where I used to ride regularly I'd recognize the same deer in the same areas. They do dissapear with the opening shot of hunting season though. I agree that the take established trail and I noticed the animals themselves and horses especially leave alot more impact on a trail than an atv or dirtbike. Around here if a trail isn't ridden for a couple years it's pretty much lost to growth. In fact nature has a way of coming back. My cousins used to live next to a closed/ abandoned section of highway and there were some areas that were barely passable do to briars and growth that were breaking up the asphalt.

As for erosion, coming across some logging I observed that every atv in the state couldn't do the damage in a year what they had managed with a bulldozer in a couple of days. The fact is though, that we had some flooding and a few mudslides that weren't the result of anything but nature and the millions of tons of soil that went into the rivers would take all the bulldozers in the state a month to replicate. So at least around the Pacific Northwest with its rapid vegetation growth I haven't seen damage.

Other areas in which I ride are the desert and coastal sand dunes and although I've heard that we can move alot of sand around, the wind seems to put it back. I've not been extremely careful about avoiding sagebrush but I think that stuff is pretty tough, tougher than my body is for sure. As for beach grass, The Government planted some on the coast to stabilize the dunes and have spent decades trying to control it. You can see them out there with bulldozers trying to rip it up but it comes right back.

In summary, I'd say the majority of ATVs leak less fluids and run with better emissions and economy than most cars built 20 years ago. I'm sure people can tell you horror stories of erosion and pollution in crowded areas but I haven't seen anything that would still be noticed if the area was left alone for a couple years. I think they are a fine low impact way to get out and see nature.