Anti-ATV Vigilantism

Written by The Hartford Courant

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Last month, a 13-year-old Wilton boy riding an all-terrain vehicle on private property died of neck injuries sustained from hitting a rope strung across the trail between some trees.

Police are investigating and have declined to say whether the boy was trespassing. But the incident has the earmarks of a shocking and brutal instance of anti-ATV vigilantism.

Incredibly, ATV riders are not strangers to such acts in Connecticut. They tell of coming across wire stretched across trails at neck level; also Internet sites where bloggers offer tips on building booby traps from boards, spikes and broken glass.

These tactics are indefensible.

Such conflicts are worsened by laws in Connecticut that effectively deny tens of thousands of ATVers legitimate places to ride, yet fail to hold them accountable for trespassing.

As a result, all-terrain vehicles rank among the top threats to preserved lands in Connecticut, tearing up wildlife habitat, damaging hiking trails and worsening erosion of stream banks. Short of catching trespassers red-handed, however, property owners have little recourse.

The interests of ATV riders and property owners are being poorly served. Connecticut lawmakers must enact rigorous reforms that will hold ATVers accountable and provide legitimate areas for riding.

Source: http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/editorials/hc-atv.artjul17,0,1569849.story

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Community Voices

“During the past decade, I have personally had six out of seven elk hunts ruined by the careless intrusions of ATV operators. This epidemic has forced me to abandon one prime hunting area after another, only to encounter the same situation elsewhere. The shameful part of this picture is that the overwhelming majority of these ATV’ers are young and healthy, not decrepit or physically challenged. Maybe these riders would be more respectful of other people's outdoor experience if they knew we could ID them."

- Bill Sustrich, Colorado Backcountry Hunters and Anglers