For anyone who may have read the article in the Arkansas Democrat a few days back, it was very misleading! They have closed NONE of the ATV trails at Wolf Pen Gap! This information came to me directly from a Ranger at the ranger station located there.

What they are doing is closing the entire area within and around the trail system. There will be no more camping allowed except for in established camp grounds. ATV's will be allowed NO WHERE except on the 41 miles of established trails! The only ATV riding that is not now allowed that previously was is on the fire lanes and fire roads. ATV's are no longer allowed on these areas.

I was told that the trail system is threatened with closure sometime in the future if we are not careful. For some reason, 41 miles of trails are not enough for some people. They feel they have the right to take off anywhere they wish any time they wish. It does not matter that by being self-centered idiots they can shut down the entire system for those of us who are willing to follow the rules to enjoy some great riding in a beautiful area. A few people are even getting off the trail and riding straight down the streams, causing considerable damage. This is a national forest! It is owned by ALL of us. You have no more of a right to ride off the trails than you have a right to get a chainsaw and start cutting and selling firewood from the trees there! (Try THAT and see how far you get!)

Presently, fines run up to a maximum of $5,000.00. But we all know that no one gets the max - I think the minimum runs somewhere in the area of $150.00 to $200.00. But as the Ranger told me, they are seriously understaffed for the area they have to cover and the number of people who ride the area so most by far are not caught. One of the things he suggested to me is that we all quit ignoring people who ride off the trails. If it is someone you know - say something to them! Our club will be headed there in about a month - a number of us will be carrying cameras. If we see someone, photos will be taken and turned over to the authorities for identification!

Being a "snitch" am I? If you saw someone stealing your ATV would you be a "snitch" for identifying the thief? These people are "stealing" our riding area!!!!

Another thing I will be doing is writing my congressman and senator. And I will urge all my Club members along with anyone else in the state to do the same. As well as those of you from surrounding states who come in to ride Wolf Pen. It is a "National" forest remember? YOUR congressmen and senators in Washington will also be voting on any of these items that are brought before them! Let them know how you feel! I will be asking that before closure of the area is considered a few other measures be tried. Such as raising the minimum fine for riding out of the trail system to an amount high enough to really get some attention! (In the thousands maybe?) Such as impoundment of the violator's ATV. Such as banning the violator from riding on ANY public property within the state.

Drastic measures to be sure. But before a handful of punks with no respect for anyone other than themselves are allowed to penalize thousands of others, I for one want drastic measures to be taken!

Sorry for the very long post, but this really got me fired up! The time to do something is now - before we have to work ten times as hard to get back what we now have. If we won't fight to keep what we now have, how can we ever expect anyone else to fight for us?

 

Mark,
I'm sorry to hear about yoru plight, a plight which all of us are feeling. BuT... for many people, life is a "use it or lose it" proposition. The environmentalists do not want yo to ride ANYWHERE! And unfortunately, the Enviro-nutz, are succeeding in closeing mile after mile of your riding area. As far as I am concerend, quads will be limited in the near (5-7 years)to a very small fraction of the National forest that WE the people "own". So again, use the land until we lose the land.

And really, if you think the Sierra club were to use the information YOU gave them only to catch the perpatrator, you are seriously niave. They would make the picture you took in all honesty, into a headlines grabbing story on how quds ruin the world and dis eachother.

Roostking