Iowa

Herbert J. Lange

I have hunted, trapped, studied and photographed wildlife for more than 65 years.

The hunting programs on TV are a joke and not real hunting. These rich people hunt on enclosed game farms with guides and ride on ATVs. In my opinion, this is an insult to hunting. They pay a huge fee for this that only the wealthy can afford.

John Skipper

MASON CITY — The City Council will consider additions Tuesday night to the ordinance it approved in January concerning all-terrain vehicles on city streets.

The ordinance allows ATVs on city streets to travel to and from snow-removal jobs.

Michelle Haacke

The issue of allowing all-terrain vehicles on county roads has been tabled by the Mitchell County Board of Supervisors.

A motion in August 2009 to allow ATV riders on county roads was not passed after members of the public voiced concerns at a county board of supervisors meeting.

Question: If snowmobiles are legal in the Dubuque city limits, are four-wheelers? If not, why?

Answer: The two are legal in the city limits under very specific circumstances.

Andy Piper

Jack Nachtman, manager of Mount Calvary Cemetery, considered offering neighbors $150 for information leading to the prosecution of ATV riders trespassing on cemetery property. He hopes that the Dubuque City Council will help alleviate the problem Monday night and a cash reward won't be necessary. The council is expected to vote on proposed ordinance regulating ATV use on private property. The current ordinance, Section 32.4, only addresses ATV use on roadways.

"There are trespassing laws, but you pretty much have to catch the people while they're doing it, and they usually do it after hours when we don't have any staff around," Nachtman said. "Just knowing they did it is one thing, prosecuting is another." Nachtman said ATVs are carving ruts into cemetery property and destroying root systems that prevent erosion. He said the city is taking stormwater runoff more seriously these days, and it isn't cheap to repair damaged grounds. "I've talked with other people who are having similar problems who live in subdivisions that aren't completely developed," Nachtman said.

John Mangalonzo

A teenager allegedly driving on a levee maintained by the Iowa River Flint Creek Levee District 16 near Schulz's Landing, has renewed the call from landowners living near the area for people who have no business on the levee to stay out.

With their memories still stinging from the devastation brought by the Flood of 2008, landowners said they have been having problems over the years with people disregarding the integrity of the levee, taking their pickup trucks and 4-wheelers and driving on and around the barrier erratically.

Tory Brecht

Nature lovers, hikers and mountain bikers are drawn to Sunderbruch Park in west Davenport because of its isolated, rural character.

Those same attributes, however, have made the city’s newest park a magnet for four-wheel-drive and all-terrain vehicle riders — some of whom have caused thousands of dollars damage to turf, trees and other park infrastructure.