BLM may ticket ATV racers for damaging land

Steve Lynn

FARMINGTON — All-terrain vehicle riders blasted gravel at Keith Ashmore and rode dangerously close to him as they broke rules by racing on a mountain biking trail.

"They had total disregard for the safety of others," said Ashmore, a mountain biker. "They did not care, so it's infuriating."

Ashmore was one of several mountain bikers on the Road Apple Trail in the Glade Run Recreation Area on Sunday. Authorities said at least 30 ATV riders violated Bureau of Land Management rules by holding an unauthorized race on trails that prohibit ATVs.

The BLM and the San Juan County Sheriff's Office are investigating and Farmington BLM assistant field manager Joel Farrell said tickets "for damaging public land and public safety are possible."

The Sheriff's Office is looking for witnesses and possible suspects, said San Juan County Undersheriff Mark McCloskey. Mountain bikers were accused of blocking ATV riders with rocks and an ATV rider was accused of running over a bike.

It's unclear whether the bicycle was run over intentionally, McCloskey said.

"That's something else that we'll have to investigate," he said. "There has to be an intent for someone to be charged with damage to property."

Ashmore, president of Velo de Animas, a local mountain biking advocacy group, said the ATV riders raced in a three- or four-mile loop, 1.2 miles of which were on the Road Apple Trail, Ashmore said.

The ATV riders widened the narrow trail, which has signs prohibiting ATVs, by destroying plants.

"This used to be single track," Ashmore said. "Now it's like a big road because of this race."

Conflicts between bicyclists and ATV riders occur sometimes, but they rarely reach the level of Sunday's incident, ATV riders said.

"There's a few knuckleheads in every given sport," said Keith Jones, owner of Sun Country Cycles in Farmington, which sells ATVs.

Jones, after he learned of the race, called dealerships Wednesday to ask whether anyone had scheduled a race, he said. No one knew anything.

ATV riders "try to stay absolutely where we're supposed to be because of the rules and regs," he said. "You don't want to cause any more conflict."

Stanley Steele, a member of Cliffhangers Four Wheel Drive Club, said conflicts occur between drivers and mountain bikers.

Some bicyclists once drove stakes into a four-wheel drive trail in Coyote Canyon, he said.

"There's a lot of good bicycle guys out there," he said. "But there's some of them that we definitely have problems with."

Chuck Symmonds, an ATV rider, said mountain bikers and ATV riders generally get along. ATV riders mostly respect trail designations.

"Of course, there's a few of them out there that you don't want to ride with," Symmonds said about ATV riders that cause trouble.

Dave Kinsey, a Farmington mountain biker whose bicycle was run over as he stood on the side of the trail, said he's satisfied authorities are investigating.

Kinsey was on a task force in the 1990s that helped the BLM set up trails, many already formed by motor bike riders, in the 22,000-acre Glade. Bicyclists, ATV riders, motor bikes, hikers and horse-back riders use the trails.

The BLM "tried to accommodate all the users" with the Glade, he said, "just for safety purposes alone."

There are numerous Glade trails for hiking, horseback riding and biking; and a fraction are set aside for ATVs.

BLM officials want to create a 38-mile ATV trail to reduce the number of four-wheeled vehicles traveling on bike and dirt bike trails.

Source: http://www.daily-times.com/ci_11892475

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