ATV law has N.J. stuck in a rut

Edward Colimore

The legislation was supposed to resolve a long-standing problem: the absence of an off-road recreation park for hundreds of thousands of all-terrain vehicle riders across New Jersey.

Lawmakers and conservationists hoped the measure - signed last month by then-Gov. Jon S. Corzine - would discourage the prohibited use of private land and protected areas such as the Pinelands.

It requires operators to obtain licenses and register their vehicles, and pay for registration fees, insurance, and penalties for illegal riding on ATVs, dirt bikes, and snowmobiles.

But the law's full implementation is triggered only by the state Department of Environmental Protection's designation of a site - the first of three to be named - where ATVs can be ridden.

And there's the problem.

Communities so far have rejected proposed parks, expressing concerns about noise, traffic, leaking fuel, and threats to endangered species.

"Where can we go? That's the big issue," said Kenny Dean Montanaro, a riding enthusiast who owns Kenny Dean's Import Service Center in Waretown, Ocean County. "We don't have anywhere to ride in the state - unless it's with the permission of a landowner."
Many off-road riders drive many hours to recreation parks in Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

In New Jersey, "every time we find areas, everybody says, 'Not in my backyard,' " said Montanaro, 49, who has been working with the DEP to find sites.

"That's the attitude you run into.

"You need a big piece of property, and that costs a lot of money, especially in North Jersey."

The DEP bought the 212-acre former Sahara Sands mine property in Monroe Township, Gloucester County, for $1.2 million in 2005 with the intention of using it as an off-road vehicle park. But residents and environmentalists in Monroe and neighboring Buena Vista Township, Atlantic County, opposed the idea, and it was put on hold.

The state then discussed the possibility of a park in Little Egg Harbor Township, Ocean County, where it also ran into opposition.

"You have to find a place that's isolated or somewhat industrialized. Then you don't have noise issues," said Carleton Montgomery, executive director of the Pinelands Preservation Alliance, a nonprofit advocacy group.

"Maybe there's an area near the turnpike that already has noise issues," he said. "The paradox is that the really isolated places are natural areas where people expect conservation, not beaten-up landscape.

"Choosing a place will be a challenge."

Montanaro isn't giving up.

Fifteen years ago, he temporarily took over a property in Chatsworth, Burlington County, that was "like the Wild West." Young partygoers set bonfires there, used alcohol and drugs, and tore across the landscape on ATVs and dirt bikes.

They abandoned or set fire to 28 cars - some stolen - and torched several boats while leaving behind thousands of beer bottles.

With help from authorities, the use of gates, and safety rules and fees, Montanaro turned the lawless track, known as the Triangle, into the family-oriented New Jersey Off Road Vehicle Park.

But under an agreement with the landowners, the park closed in the summer of 2008.

Finding another place "is harder than anybody thinks," Montanaro said. "You hear about a place, it looks promising, and then it falls apart because of the lack of understanding and education about what would really happen out there."

Many riders say the most likely site would be land that the state already owns in the Pinelands because of budgetary problems and high land costs.

"The DEP has an incentive for finding a spot for the park," said Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D., Mercer), sponsor of the ATV park legislation. "The fees don't kick in until they do find a place."

Gusciora said off-road vehicles had nearly hit hikers and had damaged state parks and sensitive land, including archaeological digs.

"But everybody agrees that riders deserve recreational access. . . . The only solution is to give them a site and get the ATVs registered."

That may not be as difficult as some believe, said Jaclyn Rhoads, director of conservation policy for the Pinelands Preservation Alliance.

"There has to be an open process - nothing behind closed doors - so the communities don't get upset," she said. "I don't think this will be difficult, because they [DEP] just started seriously looking for places.

"You have to look at all the factors, the environment and noise issues, but I think there is a good chance we can find a site this year."

Rhoads said the riders had the responsibility of "overcoming the image the public has of them."

Montanaro has tried to do that wherever he goes, whether at legislative hearings in Trenton or with DEP officials.

"People complain about oil issues," he said, "but I own five ATVs and two motorcycles, and you look underneath them and it's spotless. Most people take better care of their ATVs than their own vehicles."

Montanaro said the noise of off-road vehicles also had been overblown; it's less than most lawn mowers and weed trimmers and "doesn't really affect wildlife," he said.

"Everything needs to be monitored," he said. "It's only a handful of people who give the sport a bad name."

Still, his advocacy and the new law haven't yet persuaded a community to accept a park.

"We understand the importance of finding a site and are looking at all options," DEP spokeswoman Elaine Makatura said. "It's an ongoing process."

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Source: http://www.philly.com/inquirer/health_science/daily/20100214_N_J__struggles_to_find_a_park_for_ATV_riders.html

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