Access for ATVs at risk

Susan M. Cover

AUGUSTA -- Gov. John Baldacci is concerned that state regulations involving all-terrain vehicles may lead landowners to restrict access to their properties, so he's asked a work group to take a second look at the issue.

Baldacci signed an executive order Tuesday to create a 16-member group to examine the issue of all-terrain vehicle riders on private property.

Last year, the Legislature put in place new guidelines that say law enforcement needs to have "reasonable" suspicion that a violation has occurred or is occurring before they can stop an ATV. Before the change, Maine law allowed game wardens to make a stop without suspicion.

The governor is concerned the new law will cause ATV riders to lose access to property because "Law enforcement officers are no longer authorized to proactively address safety and landowner relations issues," according to his office.

Some have begun to post their land so ATVs cannot use the property, said Sen. David Trahan, R-Waldoboro, a member of the Legislature's Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Committee.

"This is going to be real controversial," he said. "In the near future, people are going to want to go ATVing, and they won't have access."

In a statement, Baldacci, too, acknowledged the issue is controversial.

"This is a difficult issue with legitimate concerns on both sides," he said. "The goal of this working group is to protect landowner rights and access for ATV riders while also balancing privacy concerns and the obligations of law enforcement officers on private property."

The group will be asked to gather information about law enforcement stops on private property and create a draft enforcement policy, according to the governor's office.

In 2003, Baldacci created an ATV task force that resulted in new penalties for violations. Then, in 2009, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court upheld the state law that allowed wardens to stop operators without cause.

That same year, the Legislature approved changes to the law to require reasonable suspicion.

The work group is required to send a report to the governor no later than Dec. 15. The 16-member group will include the colonel of the Maine Warden Service, representatives of landowners and representatives of ATV users.

--

Source: http://www.kjonline.com/news/accessfor-atvsat-risk_2010-06-15.html

---

Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites