Kern County Sheriffs step up efforts to curb ORV abuse on private, public lands

Gordon Lull

As conflicts between property owners and illegal off-roaders reach the boiling point, the Kern County Sheriff's Department is increasing efforts to both cool tensions and rein in lawless riders.

Law enforcement agencies nationwide have been performing a delicate balancing act, weighing the property rights of landowners against the rights of recreational vehicle enthusiasts, as they address the issues of criminal trespass, harassment, and violent threats. 

Competing interests often collide.  In Kern County, ranchers and other rural landowners have complained of property damage, threats and trespassing.  Illegal off-road riders, they say, cut fences, chase livestock, and even threaten residents.  Spokespersons for the off-road vehicle industry contend that only a small number of ORV users engage in such activities.  Caught in the middle are law enforcement agencies, who cite limited personnel resources and long distances to remote areas.

"There's no quick fix for this," said Tyson Davis, a KCSD lieutenant and former head of that agency's OHV Division.  "For one thing, you're dealing with a lot of rural properties that are miles away from the nearest sheriff station, so by the time a deputy arrives, the chances are slim that riders will still be in the area."

Two rural landowners who have been victims of illegal rider abuse are Rosamond residents Jeremy and Brandi Dunn, who manage a small cattle ranch and horse training facility.  Brandi Dunn estimates that, in addition to harassment of their livestock, fencing on the property has been cut more than a dozen times by trespassing riders.  At times, she said, direct encounters have escalated toward violence.

"I was heading out once with my children," Dunn recalled, "and caught these two riders pushing their bikes under the fence onto our land.  I always carry two things with me when I drive out there, my camera and my gun.  I got out of the truck and started taking pictures of one of the bikers and, when I did, the other one tried to block my way back.  I really  thought things would get out of hand when he followed me back to my children.  But then he saw the gun in the vehicle.  His attitude changed real fast."

Kern businesses have also sustained losses from trespassing ORV riding.  Donald Geivet, Vice President of operations with Tejon Ranch, said that the company's land in the rural eastern section of the county has been routinely damaged by illegal riders who cut through fencing.

"We've got 25 to 30 miles of perimeter fencing," Geivet said, "and we just can't watch all of it all the time.  I can't quantify for you what the cost is of sending guys out on repairs or what we've lost in terms of damage to the soil.  It is a big nuisance factor.  I just hope law enforcement will be able to do something about it."
Ed Waldheim, President of California Trail Users, an advocacy group for ORV recreation, says that most illegal riders fall into the category of "the willfully ignorant."

"It's up to the user of these public lands to know what the rules are," said Waldheim, "and the rules are that you have to post your private land and if it is posted as off-limits to riding, then the riders are responsible to ride elsewhere, in places where they are authorized to do so.  The biggest challenge is, what do you do with people who just don't care about the rules?  That's bugging the hell out of me.  That's why this is more of a large-scale societal problem, not just an ORV issue, which is how they frame it."

Sergeant Richard Wood of the Tehachapi KCSD station indicated that the department, in cooperation with the State Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, is adopting a "global approach" to o enforcing existing laws against ORV trespass, despite the problems of remoteness and a "patchwork" of access to public trails via private properties.

"It's all one big bowl of spaghetti," Wood said, referring to a rural area which includes the Dunn's ranch, part of the Tejon Ranch, and the county's share of the Pacific Crest Trail.  "It's not clear whether they access the trail to get onto private property or ride on private property to get on the trail.  Either way, we can't keep bouncing the ball back and forth."  Both Wood and Davis declined to identify "new strategies" law enforcement would employ to fight illegal incursions.

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Source: http://www.examiner.com/x-42080-Bakersfield-Crime-Examiner~y2010m4d1-Kern-County-Sheriffs-step-up-efforts-to-curb-ORV-abuse-on-private-public-lands

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