If they make you register they should let you operate your ATV on public roads as long as you obey traffic laws and don't cause traffic hazards. Not letting ATVs operate on gravel roads or secondary paved roads when they extort registration fees isn't fair or sensible. If they're so worried about noise levels (which is very understandable) mandate strict muffler regs on public lands.

If someone gets caught trespassing on private land they should automatically forfeit their ATV to the landowner and be fined heavily. If people started losing their 10,000 dollar ATVs to the landowners who's property they violated and then started getting slapped with a few thousands dollars in fines trespassing problems would become a lot less of the plague that they are now and our sport wouldn't have the detestable reputation among landowners that it does among many that it does now. Unfortunately for good cause in many cases.

 

Well we have plenty of private parks and trails to ride on that do not receive any atv registration money or are not federally/state funded. I could care less if I could drive my atv on the highway, but it would be nice to just zip up the road to friends house, conveinience store or access trails, I wouldn't mind even paying extra for licenses or putting on turn signals, but since they are not designed for asphalt, it doesn't matter to me. My biggest problem is where is the money going, no one knows, we know where boat money, car/truck, jet ski etc. goes, but good lord one park, get real! Maybe taxation without representation? We have "tree hugger trails" going up yearly in this state, even some of them have computerized checkpoints to tell you the wildlife that you might see, but ask any park ranger and they will tell you the same thing, it is dying hard! In the small parks they might get one or two retired couples a week, in the large parks weekends aren't always full, I have even had a lengthy discussion with a very understanding Ranger and his thing is that they are pissing away money, not on the parks, but on the clientell, we need to make money, and even he knew that they could make money off the parks if they opened them up to motorized vehicles, people don't have the time anymore to take weekend long hikes 4-5 times a year, atv's would get people back outdoors and enjoy what mother nature made for us, and even offer guided tours for those who are more into sight seeing and are too lazy to walk a lot. It's been proven that with the right management hikers, bikers and atvers can share the same grounds.

 

In Minnesota, I think they have the right to confenscate you ATV if you have a second violation. MN has trails, but they are only on the northern half of the state. There is no place to ride if you live in the southern half of the state (there is tons of area to ride, but nothing legal). So if I want to ride I have to travel at least 100 miles. MN allows riding in the ditches, but only durring winter when the ditches are filled with snow piles plowed off of the road that are to deep to drive an ATV through. I also have to travel at least 40 miles to find a place I can shoot my guns. I'm seriously thinking about moving out of this state because I can't do any of the things I enjoy. Does any one know if Montana has places to ride ATVs & shoot guns?

 

If you want to get involved in LEGAL trail riding in MA or the North East check out Northeast ATV'ers
They have work parties to clean up the state forests, and some of the forum members are really involved in getting DCR (dept of conservation and recreation) to see the ORV point of view. Some of them have even sat down w/ Deval Patrick and talked to him about ORV's. These guys are passionate about maintaining and expanding LEGAL riding in Mass and throughout the Northeast.

 

what somebody should do sometime is get together with a bunch of friends and buy a whole lot of land to make some trails on. then just take donations and hope you get money back. probably wont work to well but w/e lol