Yesterday,I was reading the local newspaper here in Michigan and the HEADLINES were BAN on ATVs.It went on to speak about how these three local envirmentlist are asking our State reps for a ban on ATVs in Michigan.What freaking nerve do these tree hugging idiots have?In Mich alone,1994 there were 72 thousand REGISTERD quad owners.In 1999,there were 138 thousand REGISTERD quad owners.It continues to grow every single yr.Its also a money making scam for the local DNR when they catch one of us riding on a NON orv designated trail.Dont these buttholes get it?ORVing is in High demand,the people want it,give it to us.Just because there are a few stupid riders out there dont make it right to shut us all down.Auto drivers make infractions EVERY day,do we ask for a ban on driving?If someone is caught screwing up on their quad,they ought to pay a fine for it,just like automobile drivers.You guys get my point?===BILL

 

It is not the ATV, but the user. I know Bill is talking about public areas, but I have people who actually cut and leave open fences and ride on my land. If they would just ask, it would be fine. But, they don't and let cows out, start fires, leave their trash, etc.
One of my friends was working on his tractor on his land and looked up and two quads rode up to him and said they were searching for a deer they had shot. He asked where it was shot and it was on his land! Where he lives, you must ask the landowner for permission before searching for a deer you have shot. When he told them they were on his land, they told him it did not matter. They said they shot a deer and could go anywhere to find it. Since they had guns and he didn't, he just called the game warden. He came out and neither had a hunting license. Oh well.
If people cannot act right or police their own, then I think "we" are in trouble and paying to ride on private land will be like finding a country club to play golf. More people than places to play.

 

You guys are both right on the money. On one hand, you've got the darn tree huggin' enviro ****'s, and in the other, you've got the senseless, careless, irresponsible jack_ss's destroying the land, leaving trash or poaching. I know what you mean TxDoc2 about those idiots cutting fences to ride on your land, letting the cows out. I get those jerks all the time cutting fences on my property. 1,200 acres of mountainous terrain, with tons of small meadows are great for the cattle we've got up there, yet it's awful difficult to track them down up there, when they happen to find the hole in the fence, or open gates. Even more difficult when they cross on to the Indian reservation!

Earlier today, I was up in the mountains exploring some of my old hunting ground with the 'Cat's. Much nicer to be able to cover so much more ground, so easily compared to being on foot. Yet, I was absolutely disgusted with the amount of trash we found. Up high on mountain ridges, where you think nobody would ever be, riding along enjoying the fresh air and beautiful scenery, with a few cow elk sunning themselves just down the hill, then WHAM!!! There it is, huge pile of trash. We only had 2 large plastic bags with us, but quickly filled them in less than 15 minutes! Could not believe it. Did find a piece of 3/8" cable, roughly 20' long though. Kept that to put hooks on the end. Never know when you might need extra cable.

On a side note, how difficult do you think it would be to organize a "clean-up" trip. Maybe like getting a group of people together to go out for a day up in the mountains, or your favorite riding place, having a bar-b-que, riding around and picking up trash for a day? A lot of people will complain about things like this, but never lend a hand to do anything about it.

Sorry, rambling on again.

Mike

 

Doc,NOBODY should ever trespass on ANYONES property.I sympathize with you 100%.These type of Idiots should be found and fined big $$$.Mike,im also with you,littering has NO place in the woods,private or public.I also like your idea of a clean up group.Sounds like it would be a plus to the ATV world.The enviro's would'nt know what to do if we ATVers banned together for a clean up ride once in a while.Excellant point Mike,===BILL

 

Bill, a vocal minority, even a vastly outnumbered minority, can make things happen you wouldn’t believe. Take for example ***s in this country. Even though they represent something like less than 5% of the population, through very vocal organization they have managed to change the social conciseness of a nation from considering their activities a deviant lifestyle to mainstream acceptance. You see or hear about them every time you turn on the news or a sitcom.

My point here is not for or against ***s, it’s about how a small group of organized people can make a huge difference when they’re up against a generally apathetic uninvolved majority. Until it effects us personally most of us see no reason for involvement, preferring to believe in the myth that things will continue along the lines of the status quo. By the time we feel the effects of change our fragile “rights” are usually about to be crushed by the momentum of actions already set in motion.

The enviro-freaks are gradually eroding many of the things we’ve all taken for granted for years as rights we’ll always enjoy. Hunting, off-roading, wetlands designation, the way dams on big rivers operate, totally unreasonable restrictions on land we own and pay taxes on, property devaluation; the list goes on. If we just turn away and say “It can’t happen here,” guess what……… It will happen here.

(Wow, I can't believe they censored out the word g@ys! Talk about proving my point!)

 

Floodrunner:
You're exactly right! Usually by the time people decide to finally do something about their feelings, it's too late. The majority, or politicians have already started the process of taxing, destroying, limiting access, etc. While up in the mountains yesterday, where I have hunted several years in the past, I found that it was now illegal for me to camp, or even park my truck without a special "permit". They are now charging around $10 or $15 for some darn parking permit, to allow us to park in our own supposedly "free and unrestricted" mountains! What a crock!

Mike

 

There is an organized group of CCC members [stands for cycle conservation club]in Michigan that I joined because I beleive what they stand for,OFF ROADERS.There are thousands of members,95% of them ride off road motorcycles.If not for their voice in Michigan,we probably would have an all out ban on ORVs.===BILL

 

That sounds great Bill we all on here need to ban together more reminds me of the Police Dept. I work for, we all bicker like little kids but when somebody comes up with something that personally insults us we ban together. Fortunately around here they are putting in a big trail that will bring money into the state...so they are not down on the four wheelers, looks like those d#m tree huggers would protest against something like strip mining that goes on around here but the d#m tree huggers know they are to powerful for them to mess with...maybe we all on here need to become that way. And it is true that some a##holes that litter and destroy ruin it for the rest of us. But rest assured Bill as a cop in WV I am atv Pro, I believe in getting the ones that litter and destoy and fining the hell out of them and the ones that just want to have fun or hunt leaving them alone...don't those idiots know that were hunting if you were to shoot a deer in season which is nothing wrong with that if it crosses on to someone elses property they have no rights to persue it...they are some real morons out there, trust me. So Bill lets get the Polaris, Honda, Artic Cat, Kawasaki, Suzuki
and any other interested 4 wheelers or 2 wheelers
who are tired of this sh#t on here to ban together...got any ideas as how we can do that, I think a start would be to start somekind of petition that we could all email to, I would be more than happy to volunteer any resources I can get my hands on...and definetly don't vote for that d#m Gore...

 

ATVing,I did think of something to do for Michigan.I will e-mail Bill Chapin.Bill is the president of the CCC.Im going to e-mail him with a suggestion to have a summer ORV trail clean-up, sometimes this summer or fall.All on a volunteer basis.Than im going to have a friend at our local TV/Radio station and our local newspaper follow the whole clean-up.We will make it a weekend outing.WOW,what that type of popularity would do for our sport,not to mention the pride of the tree huggers would be put to rest.We could poplarize this event alot,every year.Im suggesting that any ATV club in ANY state do the SAME thing as me.This [could] be the start of something great for our sport.What you guys think?===BILL

 

We dont have any trails here in northern Il. I would be honored to travel to help and I know alot of people that would travel with. let me know.
If we keep it clean we will ride it forever

lipp
99 sc400 rcr ful-mod