I do have to say that one of the local 4wd clubs goes out twice a year with trash bags and trailers and fills it full of garbage and hauls it out of the woods. This is a great thing that they do and I would urge everyone who is in a club to do the same. If we keep it clean, we'll keep it open!

 

I don't know, -Gary-, it's tough to type, "ayuh", every other word or so. At the very least, MaineGuide4Hire is describing typical backwoods Maine. Probably in the Moosehead Lake region from the sounds of it. It's true of about any hobby out there that there will always be someone who is an idiot that ruins it for the rest of us. Whether it's hunting, boating, riding, whatever. It's up to the rest of us to police the people in our groups, carry bags to take out more than you brought in, avoid areas that are sensitive to damage, etc. The hobby we save will be our own. Also, if you have a local ATV group, it's good to join it. Often there are trail work parties that go a long way to improving our image. Our ATV group helped install two bridges over a nice clean running brook. 1 was about 45' long and the other 60' long. We worked with the local snowmobile group and got most of the work done in one long day. I also often clean trees that have fallen off the trails too. These trails are used by snowmobiles, MXers, bikes, horses, ATVs and walkers. The more people see the better they'll like us. (Except for the wackos that think you can clean up with one square of toilet paper) I've met the nicest people out riding but I've also met people I wanted to throttle too. I guess it comes down to, "how will my actions effect others and their opinions of my hobby"? Stop when you see horses on a trail, slow down when near bikes and walkers so they don't have to eat our dust, pick up trash when you have a chance, obey the rules and trail signs, don't do donuts or fly around the public parking lot. If we do these kinds of things our image will improve.

 

No, the OP was saying about his area and siting the video who from the accent of the guys in the video sound very Southern. Who knows though I've been known to drag my quad 1000's of miles. (but not just to drown it)

 

Sorry -Gary-, my mistake. I like Mainers. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] I'm thinking of riding in Southern Maine. I do most of my riding in NH now. But Maine has a nice system and I've heard they are talking about connecting all the trail systems statewide.

 

No worries. I try to check anything sounding condescending at the door. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

Hey Recon....Not looking for a political discussion here, but feel compelled to say that I don't see a "socialist regime" anywhere in sight. I guess you listen to different news source than the rest of America. Opinions differ from coast to coast for sure.

The West is primarily controlled by BLM. BLM is not particular to "Wilderness". It is very difficult to create Wilderness in the West. Those areas that are considered Wilderness went through a very long and arduous legal process to become Wilderness. I guess what I'm saying is that the "government" doesn't just pick places *****-nilly to control them and keep you out. They are pristine, environmentally sensitive, ecologically important areas. Lots of really smart people made the decision from multiple disciplines and with lots of input from the public. Congress has to then approve the proposal. It is not taken lightly. If anybody reading this cares, here's a link Wilderness facts. www.wilderness.net. BLM has the least Wilderness of any agency at just about 2%.

Yes, I do currently ride a 4 wheeler and LOVE to ride. I've owned ATCs, multiple dirt bikes and mountain bikes. My wife works for the National Forest Service and in particular works on recreation issues, many of which involve 4 wheelers destroying rivers and streams....people looking to go snorkeling or mudding. If you had to boil it down, most all the issues involve people not staying on the trails. Yes, she rides too. Not as often, but she does have fun.

I fully understand the issues between the environment and recreation. I have a degree from University of Vermont in Resource Analysis from School of Natural Resources.

No, I'm not a "liberal".

I can say with some small bit of authority (from education and experience) that no, you can't ride anywhere you want. Many places just don't mesh with the 4-wheeling public. Yes, it would be nice to have more opportunities to ride with more acres open. I totally agree the fools on Youtube running up and down streams and ruining property are doing more damage than they know. You don't know who they are, but you can see what they're doing to the lands. Youtube has done a lot of damage to 4wheeling. The anti-4wheelers use the video clips at opposition meetings all the time. How can you argue with a video. Talk about airing your dirty laundry. I think a lot of it is education, they just don't have any idea what they're doing to the streams and rivers / wetlands, or their future ability to ride.

You're right about not knowing who throws garbage. Sometimes it is a 4-wheeler, but he didn't do it on purpose, because it blew out off the bike.

I am from Maine and we get thousands of yahoos every weekend from CT and MA coming up destroying the lands and then driving home. It is a problem. Mind you, not everybody from MA and CT is a yahoo. Those same people contribute millions of dollars annually to our local economies.

Hope I didn't offend anybody, but the situations are different from location to location.

Ride safe and tread lightly where necessary.

 

I guess I also want to add that the land does not belong to "everybody". The land belongs to the land owner....the entity the holds title. The land owner decided what can be done and when. Even they can't do as they please, thankfully for everybody's health and well-being. Much of the land in Maine is privately owned. The federal government owns some land in VT and NH and ME, but ~70% of the northern open space is owned by corporations; some of those corporations are then foreign owned.