Bad track record Unruly ATV drivers often ruin land, disturb wildlife

Rob Pavey

At the entrance to Greys Creek public hunting area at Thurmond Lake, a cable blocks a well-worn trail above a sign that says, "No Motorized Vehicles - Foot Traffic Welcome."

Nearby are other trails - each worn smooth from off-road vehicles whose drivers ignore and circumvent the gated areas.

"As fast as we put up a gate or cable, they go around it and make another trail," said Chief Ranger Allen Dean of the Army Corps of Engineers. "It's impossible to stop them completely."

"They are versatile machines, and they are lots of fun," Mr. Dean said. "But people need to use them in the appropriate way."

The corps rangers and foresters - and their U.S. Forest Service counterparts in nearby Sumter National Forest - spend much of their time replanting and managing a resource that can be destroyed under the tires of off-road machines.

The problem, he said, is that the all-terrain tires quickly wear away vegetation and topsoil. Then when it rains, erosion takes hold and the ruts can become ditches that produce silt that can damage streams and shorelines.

ATV noise and activity, he said, also can alter movement patterns of wildlife, including deer, often making them nocturnal and more reactive to human presence.

"As far as the erosion and silt issues, it's more of a problem when it rains," Mr. Dean said. "It's also more of a problem along the lake's shoreline areas."

Sumter National Forest, with more than 300,000 acres in scores of separate parcels, also has its share of ATV issues, said Glen Kansanback, a natural resource recreation specialist who works in the Long Cane district that includes Edgefield and McCormick counties.

"They are not allowed on Forest Service roads or any other routes," he said. "We write tickets every year and people can be subject to fines. The only place they're allowed in the forest is on designated trails, and during times when those trails are open."

To accommodate a rising demand for ATV opportunities on public lands, many national forests - including Sumter - have established areas open to ATVs.

Sumter has two such trails. Both are about 11 miles long and are in Abbeville County, he said.

"They are specifically designed for 44-inch or narrower vehicles, meaning ATVs," he said. "They close for the winter after Jan. 1 and usually open the last Friday in March. They are very, very popular."

Sometimes the trails can be closed if wet weather makes them more prone to environmental damage, he said. The Forest Service has an ATV trail hotline so visitors can make sure the trails are open before driving there to use them. That number is (803) 561-4025.

Source: http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1107105/bad_track_record_unruly_atv_drivers_often_ruin_land_disturb/index.html

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