ATV access will be costly

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.

Motorcycles and 4-by-4 trucks will inevitably follow ATVs, and the tires of all of them will grind our trails into rain-eroded ruts. Snow machine impact is limited by snow pack, but ATV impact surely will push state trail maintenance ability beyond revenue generated by this proposal or VASA's good intentions. After all, we're struggling just to maintain our paved roads with the taxes we ourselves are paying and are collecting from visitors. Eventual ATV use of town dirt roads will increase town costs, accident chances and perhaps town legal costs.

The ANR's proposal will strain existing law enforcement resources, foster environmental degradation and increase costs to small town government and the general public. The ANR should scrap this proposal.

Source: http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20090626/OPINION02/906260377

---

Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites