What to do if they don't know the law?

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.

This was not the situation with us when we hit the trail for camp last weekend, because we go in at least once a month all year-round, even though in winter it's a much longer hike on account of closed logging roads. Still, the most recent foray came with a good deal of anticipation, because I'd missed the April trip.

The trail to camp is an old logging road, rejuvenated several years ago for a winter job. It is what's known in the industry as a "winter road," meaning it is suitable for traffic only when the ground is frozen.

After the last logging job, the company pulled five culverts and bermed the earth into deep V-shaped trenches for good measure. It's a clear and unmistakable signal for foot-traffic only. Yet someone had managed to get a machine in there, driving it right around the first deep ditch and through the brook to do so.

We had a discussion on this as we walked up the trail. Perhaps, we thought, the ATV rider didn't know the law, which is that if one is going to ride on someone else's property, expressed permission is required. Landowners are not required to post against off-road vehicles. The burden is on the rider. ATVs cannot be used on active public roads, nor can they be on anyone's property without permission.

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.

The ATV had turned around about halfway in, and so on the rest of the way we talked about other things. Soon we were on the porch, removing the heavy storm door to find the camp just as we had left it, everything in place and no dead mice.

Source: http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=John+Harrigan%3A+What+to+do+if+they+don%27t+know+the+law%3F&articleId=73f5f162-a7b6-4016-93d9-e523200390d7

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