Vermont

Associated Press

WATERBURY, Vt. -- More than 1,000 people have written to Vermont officials to comment on a proposed rule that would allow all-terrain vehicle users limited access to trails on state lands.

By Wednesday, the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources had received 148 letters and 1,600 e-mails about the proposal. Letter writers opposed the rule by a ratio of 3 to 1. An agency intern who has reviewed the e-mails told the Burlington Free Press that the ratio was similar among the e-mail messages.

At a public hearing last month, about 250 ATV riders and their supporters showed up to support the plan to allow ATVs on connector trails, far outnumbering opponents.

Allowing even a few ATV's on state lands ruins the experience for a much larger segment of Vermont's population. Most of us want peace and quiet while on state lands. The use of noisy ATVs is not compatible with many other activities. Carving out new rights for a few takes away rights of many.

People living next to state lands will be impacted if this rule change goes forward. We already put up with the noise and smell of snowmobiles in the wintertime. This proposal takes away our right to peace and quiet year round.

It is inappropriate to allow ATV use in a wildlife management area. Many species are sensitive to the noise and exhaust and will move away from ATV corridors. You would essentially shrink the size of Vermont's wildlife areas and degrade wildlife habitat by allowing ATV use.

The Agency of Natural Resources, supported by the Vermont All-Terrain Vehicle Sportsman's Association (VASA), has proposed a rule increasing ATV access to state land. This proposal should be discarded based on its own observation that it may result in "additional staff time being focused on managing the ATV use of public lands; possible demands on law enforcement; additional impact on the trail system could increase maintenance costs."

This rule jeopardizes public safety and will strain law enforcement by opening new routes for rural burglary and vandalism during a period of increased property crime. VASA can't provide 24-hour-a-day patrols across a large network any more than the Vermont Association of Snow Travelers (VAST) can. That's law enforcement's job, but our law enforcement is busy enough already.

Louis Porter

MONTPELIER — The debate over whether all-terrain vehicles should be allowed on state land may rest in part on three words — or rather on their absence.

The transportation budget bill approved by lawmakers this year and signed into law by Gov. James Douglas deleted the phrase "on private property" from the statute that allows the state's association of ATV riders to spend fee and penalty money on trail maintenance and enforcement. That change — unnoticed by many lawmakers at the time — set the groundwork for permitting ATV trails on public land.

The heated dispute between supporters and opponents of a limited amount of ATV use on public land began because of a rule proposed by the Agency of Natural Resources that would allow a short corridor across state lands to connect private trails. That will open the door to more widespread use of ATVs on public property, opponents worry.

On one side are organized ATV enthusiasts who want to create a statewide network of trails to operate their machinery. This means opening trails through state forests to motorized vehicles where now there is only access by foot. The ATV riders insist they are good stewards of the forests and should have the same right to enjoy them as other people.

On the other side are environmentalists, hikers, birders, mountain bikers, horsemen and paddlers, who appreciate the woods at a different speed than the ATV users. They point out that the noise and pollution of the machines are the antitheses of what they go into the forest to experience in the first place, which is to say, peace, quiet and unspoiled nature.

The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources is extending the comment period until July 6, as requested after a public hearing this week.

Warren Coleman, a lawyer for the agency, says so far the issue has generated a lot of feedback.

State officials say the change is intended to allow ATV riders to legally ride on trails on public land that would connect segments of the current 600-mile trail network maintained by the Vermont All-Terrain Vehicle Sportsman's Association (VASA). Opponents see the ANR proposal as an ill-considered move to open state land to motorized recreation.

Judging from the more than 200 people who attended a public hearing in Montpelier on Monday, passions are running high on both sides and these debates never end peacefully. With 468 square miles of state-owned land in Vermont, one would think there would be enough room to accommodate ATV riders and hikers.

ATV riders who want to expand their trail network onto state lands must first prove their form of recreation is compatible with traditional uses enjoyed by many and will have minimal impact on the environmental integrity of the land.

The Agency of Natural Resources has proposed rules that would allow the agency secretary to designate all-terrain vehicle trails on state land. Written public comment will be received until June 22.

The issues with vehicles such as ATVs are that they are hard on the environment and have a footprint that goes far beyond their physical size or even the trails they are ridden on.

MONTPELIER — An enthusiastic crowd of more than 250 all-terrain vehicle riders urged the Agency of Natural Resources on Monday to allow ATV connector trails on state land.

“There is room for all to share use of our lands and water,” said David Lewis of Royalton, summing up the sentiment of many of those who testified at a public hearing.

“ATV users are depicted as minority users that don’t count. We pay taxes like everybody else,” added Ernie Pappas of Morgan.