Having watched this sport for more rhan 30 yrsI have saw the so called progress being made. I remember widening the trails just a little over 50 to accomodate the newer machines so they did.. What we saw were higher powered machines! Then they wanted a little wider trails for these higher powered machines...We are now at 60 olus and wanting even wider trails! Along with that theroy, comes even higher hp machines. Before long we will have machines the size and hp of a jeep or pickup truck and these DO tear up the trails for smaller machines! We cant compare Hatfield/McCoy as that state has created a finnancial boom that many other states fail to create, H/M can do what ever they want as they have the people and money to make it happen. As we continue to make trails wider, we are encouraging mfgrs to make wider machines with bigger engines, many are almost as big as highway vehicles. Have trails for trucks and jeeps, they deserve a place to play with there own tax dollars, but please limit orv trails to 60 max to preserve our trails, even 50 where needed. Make the fines and penalties high enough to pay for extra patrols to catch the wrongdoers. Protect what we have or loose it, like we have been over the years. Fewer trails being opened and more being shut down mainly due to abuse by oversize or overpowered machines!

 

MAVERICK X3 X RS TURBO R

72" wide track and 172 HP.

Its not a trail machine.

Our 50" trails will remain 50" trials regardless of what the manufactures want and build.

 

I was on a trail yesterday that even a 50" utv wouldn't have fit down. There are a few of those near me, trails barely wide enough for an atv. This trail in particular hasn't been well maintained and vegetation is starting to take over and make some of it difficult to get through. I had to push tree limbs out of the way and stop many times to move fallen branches off the trail. Not to mention constantly clearing cobwebs too. Manufacturers will keep making 50" machines as long as there are 50" trails though. Those mega wide turbo machines are great for the desert or dunes where you can really take advantage of the power and speed. The wider machines are bigger and heavier too and you need to buy a bigger trailer and they take up more space in your garage.

 

This is how we restrict out 50" and 60" trails.

Those two steel posts are connected together with another steel post.

The two posts are buried 30" deep and the cross bar 12" and they are all set in concrete. A truck can't pull them out.

Our Committee buys the steel and pays a seasonal FS worker to build them during his off time in the winter.

They cost us about $300 each. He just finished 11 more of them for us.

We pay for them and with volunteers we help the Forest Service install them.

Nobody has been able to damage any of them yet and a few have been out there for 2-3 years.

 

Yeah I'm sure those posts aren't going anywhere Specta. But people will find a way around stuff like that unfortunately. They'll go out of their way to find a way in.

 

People have cut down trees to get around them. Some people just kill me.

We are now putting them in places along the trail that there is no way to get around them even if you were to cut down trees.

 

The sad part is the penalty for getting caught is just a slap on the hand. If the fine was hefty enough to actually make the repairs and even the loss of your machine, just might make some think twice. Like I have always said....make the cost of violations stiff enough to pay the wages of the necessary people to stand watch. In the long run you will need fewer and fewer gards as people will not take the chance once they know they will get caught. Look at Hatfield McCoy, there fines are very stiff, so stiff some refuse to go there, but they have little damage compared to many other places and also have a lot of people on hand if someone needs help on the trail. Been there a couple times and found the police/security people to be very helpful, and even watched them arrest a number of people causing damage and harassing other riders. cant wait to go back just because I feel better about having some kind of security and better trail conditions.

 

ya poles like that in my area would be cut out or a bypas made around them.. Its sad.. our club spend a few evenings repairing a bridge on one of our trails and falling some huge trees to block a sensitive area. We could not move these trees with our winches but within a week someone had cut them up and moved them and destroyed the bridge..

 

We have several of these steel gates out there and none of them have been damaged or remove yet. (keeping fingers crosses) People have cut trees down to go around them and this is how we are dealing with that issue now.

We are putting them in places where you can't get around them.

 

Sad, you have to go to that extreme. Although, on the other hand, I would be for transplanting wasps nests right at head level in the go arounds.