But being defiant and hard core wont win anything. Theres a solution, but more wheelers need to get involved.join a club, get someone involved with the legislature, work with the state, not against it.
story
DEP struggles with ATV crisis
05/02/2004
By JC REINDL
The Herald Press PLAINVILLE -- Despite the fact state law prohibits their use except on one’s own property or with special permission, the town receives numerous reports of illegal all-terrain vehicle riding each week, police say.
It’s a local skirmish between ATV enthusiasts and law enforcement officials that officials say extends throughout the state and to the Capitol.
And while some riders say simply creating more legal places where riders can go would reduce the prohibited cruising, state officials say there’s a lack of funding that prevents Connecticut from creating these areas.
Light, three- or four-wheeled vehicles designed to travel over off-road terrain, ATVs are blasted by environmental groups for their noise, disturbances to the environment and drivers’ disregard for other land and trail users.
But most often they’re criticized for being unsafe for bystanders and even drivers themselves.
"We’re not the bad guys," said Dan Salomone, president of the Connecticut Trail Users organization and director of New England Trail Riders Association. "We don’t want to ride in the city streets. We don’t want to ride where there are people. We want to get as far away from people as we can."
For Salomone, Connecticut’s laws and their vigorous enforcement presents a paradox for ATV owners. He said the laws make it nearly impossible for ATV owners to legally operate their vehicles anywhere worthwhile because most of the ideal riding space is in publicly owned parks and trails, Salomone said.
Connecticut law prohibits operating ATVs anywhere except private land. The right to drive ATV elsewhere requires written permission from the property owner, as well as registration with the Department of Motor Vehicles.
Despite these regulations, local and state law enforcement officials have said improper ATV use is widespread.
During peak riding season, from spring until late fall, the police department in Plainville handles four to five incidents of illegal ATV operation each week, most of which occur in the sand pits in the northwest corner of town, Capt. Peter Costanzo told The Herald Press.
Throughout the state, the DEP Law Enforcement Division received 671 complaints regarding ATV use in 2003, and has 51 officers stationed statewide who can address illegal ATV operation, according to Capt. Raul Camejo.
The division will occasionally coordinate with the State Police Aviation Unit to use airplanes to spot illegal ATV activity, Camejo said.
The defiant attitudes that often give ATV owners a bad reputation among law enforcement officials is the result of the state not providing any practical places to ride, Salomone said.
Riders would not have to sneak onto roads or trespass on private property if there were legal areas they could go to. More individuals than the present 2,500 would register with the DMV if doing so provided substantially greater riding opportunities, he said.
However, according to Leslie Lewis, senior environmental analyst for the DEP state Parks Division, it is impractical for DEP to create ATV riding areas until a system is established for ATV registration and permanent funding is found to build and maintain any trails.
The DEP proposed a bill in 2003 that would require all ATV owners to register and mark their vehicles with a license number so that would allow them to be identified if they were to trespass onto private property or non-permitted riding areas, Lewis said. Money collected from the registration fee would then go towards creating legal ATV riding areas on state land.
"(Universal registration) would help us track down the guys who are giving all ATV riders a bad name," Lewis said. "Being able to identify and catch those people will be a big step forward."
However, because the registration requirement was removed from the bill, it was never approved due to pressure from nature conservation groups that sought greater accountability from ATV riders for the damage their vehicles can cause to fragile lands, Lewis said.
It is unlikely that DEP will create riding areas until there is a system to address registration and funding needs, according to Lewis.
She said she expects the bill will be revived in the General Assembly in 2005.
According to Salomone, enacting universal registration for the nearly 70,000 ATVs in use in Connecticut -- a figure compiled by the Motorcycle and Moped Industry Council -- is not the panacea DEP advocates.
The bill would have required owners to register and pay money for all of their ATVs -- even those that never left their property -- that would unfairly single out ATV owners from operators of other vehicles, Salomone said.
"It’s been a real struggle," Salomone said. "We’re just trying to pass legislation that makes sense."
Even with registration legislation in limbo, Lewis said, progress can be made on creating riding areas. The DEP recently gave ATV groups computer files of DEP trail data for parks throughout the state.
If ATV riders can devise riding areas and regulation mechanisms that please both riders and conservation groups, the DEP will be willing to consider endorsing the plans, according to Lewis.
"If they can come in and show us (plans that) will not have any adverse impact on the land," Lewis said, "obviously we would entertain that."

 

I agree, you need to get organized... on this website, you will find people who deal with land issues. (check the main page) You will also want to check out the blueribbon coalition to talk to their people about funding sources for building trails. They have a full time staffer who has all this information. Each year, hundreds of thousands of dollars go unclaimed because states and local authorities do not know where to go to get the funding needed. It is out there.. do your homework.