ATVs Heavily Damage Sisters Trail

Brian MacMillan

You're supposed to see tracks left by bikers and hikers on the Peterson Ridge trail in Sisters. They're the only ones allowed here and it's clearly marked that way. This weekend, several ATV riders rode down this trail and heavily damaged it.

"Every time I hear of a motorized user who's going on non-motorized trails, I just get heartbroken. It's thousands of hours of volunteer work almost down the drain," says Woody Starr with the Central Oregon Trail Alliance.

"A typical work party with about 100 people, we might spend $500-600 up to $1000 just for the support," says Starr.

Mike Schwartz is the owner of Bend's Cascade Motorsports. He says the majority of ATV riders follow the rules, and ride where they're allowed.

"It's unfortunate that there is always somebody that is going to make it tougher on the people that want to follow the rules," says Schwartz.

"This is 1/5 of 1% of the motorized users are going to do this and unfortunately, give the rest of them a bad name," says Starr.

Some volunteers have already started repairing the damage to the trail, but more work needs to be done.

"There are plenty of legal places to ride where, quite frankly, you don't need to go ruin somebody else's riding area, because there are plenty of good spots," says Schwartz.

Source: http://kohd.com/news/local/95577

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