 Recent Legislative Action
2008 HB1264: Prohibits ORV use on state-owned rail trails acquired using federal funds (3/12/08: Passed House, sent to Senate) SB363: Requires operators and passengers of ORVs and snowmobiles under the age of 18 to wear protective headgear (7/8/08: Signed into law) Community Voices Demand Action in New HampshireNew Hampshirites are increasingly voicing their concerns about a growing contingent of reckless riders who break the law, damage public and private land, injure themselves and others, and ruin hunting, fishing and hiking experiences for the rest of us. - "Yet many times ATV users have told me that they were unaware of the law, and believed they could ride anywhere that's not posted. Nothing could be further from the truth, and operating ATVs on land where they're not wanted risks alienating landowners (us among them) who've traditionally left their land open for others to enjoy." --John Harrigan, Union Leader Columnist, "What to do if they don't know the law?", Manchester Union-Leader
- "Yet many times ATV users have told me that they were unaware of the law, and believed they could ride anywhere that's not posted. Nothing could be further from the truth, and operating ATVs on land where they're not wanted risks alienating landowners (us among them) who've traditionally left their land open for others to enjoy." --John Harrigan, Union Leader Columnist, "What to do if they don't know the law?", Manchester Union-Leader (5/24/09)
- "People are sick of seeing and hearing them all day and half the night. Where I live, they go flying up and down the streets. They go on private lands and don't wear helmets…All the ATV and snowmobile clubs have to help with this. If we don't, we will lose all the trails. The land owners will take back the lands." -- Gerald Booth, Deering - Letter to the Editor, "Quieting ATVs", The Concord Monitor (12/13/08)
- "Why are so many people, public servants included, so badly informed about landowners' rights, off-road vehicles, and the so-called privilege of trespass? The landowner has the absolute right of deciding who can or cannot be on the land. The absence of "No Trespassing" signs does not automatically imply that wheeled access is allowed. The laws clearly state that anyone wishing to use another's land for wheeled recreation (i.e., ATVs) must have explicit permission." -- John Harrigan, New Hampshire Union Leader Columnist, "John Harrigan: Items from mind, mail", Manchester Union-Leader (6/29/08)
Recent ORV-Related Media Coverage
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Written by Concord Monitor
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Saturday, July 17, 2010 |
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Trent Spiner Despite the best efforts of local volunteers, vandals have destroyed a number of gates blocking traffic into Bow's Nottingcook Forest, also leaving behind trash and damaged hiking trails. Selectmen voted to have the gates installed after the police found a number of people dumping items such as old appliances and roofing shingles in the town-owned forest. The gates were installed two weeks ago. |
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Read more... [Vandals shear off gates to forest]
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Written by Berlin Reporter
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Wednesday, January 13, 2010 |
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Edith Tucker GORHAM — A controversial proposal by the state Bureau of Trails to open about a mile on the east end of the 20-mile-long state-owned Presidential Rail Trail to summertime use by ATVs and trail bikes has been withdrawn, for at least a year, said Trails Bureau Chief Chris Gamache in a Monday afternoon telephone interview. Businesses in Gorham requested the state's help in finding a route that would bring ATV enthusiasts to their doors, he explained, noting that the Gorham have been notified. |
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Read more... [Proposal to open Rail Trail to ATVs withdrawn]
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Written by Manchester Union-Leader
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Sunday, September 27, 2009 |
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John Harrigan This letter ran in Colebrook's weekly News and Sentinel last week, and yes, I helped my wife write it. It concerns a farm she owns just up the river in Beecher Falls, Vt., but it could well have been written about just about any open lands near populated areas anywhere. Several readers thought that the letter touched on so many core issues that it deserved wider publication. (Caveat: We own an ATV for farm use, and I have written often about my many friends and readers who are responsible riders and about ATV clubs and the many good community deeds they do.) |
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Read more... [Column: One 'user' problem that threatens all]
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Written by Concord Monitor
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Monday, August 10, 2009 |
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Donald B. Hinman, Danbury Re "ATV death points to dangers for youths" (Monitor Local & State page, Aug. 1): The response of Ken Domey, vice president of the New Hampshire Off-Highway Vehicle Association, requires a response. I assume he said more in his interview than that ATV use is a "family sport" and a potential money-maker for the state. I certainly hope so. The article reports that about 20 percent of ATV riders who are killed were under the age of 16 and 12 percent under 12. That seems to me a staggering percentage. The other statistic that should be highlighted comes from a study in which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention "found that children treated for ATV-related injuries were about five times more likely to be hospitalized than children treated for all other kinds of injuries." If those numbers were occurring in our schools' athletic programs, those programs would vanish instantly. |
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Read more... [Children should not drive ATVs]
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Written by Manchester Union-Leader
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Saturday, July 25, 2009 |
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A 12-year-old boy died yesterday afternoon when he was thrown from an all-terrain vehicle and it rolled on top of him, police said. Brandon McKinstry was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident, which took place at the River's Edge Campground and ATV Park , located at 500 Route 118. Police said McKinstry was operating the vehicle within the park. As he drove it atop an embankment, the soil gave way, causing the machine to tip. |
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Read more... [12-year-old boy killed in ATV accident]
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Written by Union Leader
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Saturday, May 23, 2009 |
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John Harrigan THERE ARE thousands of camps scattered throughout the woods, ranging from one-room tarpaper shacks to elaborate dwellings with running water, generators and all the comforts of home. Memorial Day weekend is the traditional camp-opening time for many people. The snow has melted, the back roads have dried out, the birds are back, and it's time to go open up camp. For many people, it's the first time they've seen the place since Labor Day, or the end of hunting season. |
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Read more... [What to do if they don't know the law?]
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Written by The Nashua Telegraph
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Tuesday, October 07, 2008 |
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Albert McKeon A citizen's dogged pursuit of information being withheld by a state agency was recently justified when a judge ruled that state officials knowingly violated the Right-to-Know Law. Records related to the state purchase of land for an ATV park were improperly kept secret when Fitzwilliam resident Andrew Walters was denied access to the documents, a superior court judge ruled last month |
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Read more... [Judge: State violated Right-to-Know Law in ATV park case]
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Tuesday, March 04, 2008 |
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TROY, N.H. - The police are seeking a Troy man accused of driving his all- terrain vehicle over a police officer's leg and dragging him a short distance. The police say Cornelius Gallagher, 21, faces charges of simple assault, driving with a suspended license and illegal conduct after an accident. Officer Kevin Stone was treated for scrapes and bruises at a hospital after Sunday night's incident. |
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Read more... [Driver on ATV hits, drags N.H. police officer]
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