Rule would let ATVs run on state land

Terri Hallenbeck

Two all-terrain-vehicle trails come to an abrupt halt in Brighton. If only they had access to about 500 feet of land along Vermont 105, ATV riders could go from one trail to the next.

The state Agency of Natural Resources posted its final proposed rules Wednesday that would allow use of state land for ATVs to connect existing trails.

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/PDF/20091021_ATV.pdf">Read the final ATV proposed rule package (PDF, 3 MB )

The proposal needs the approval of the Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules, which is expected to consider it Nov. 3.

“The whole idea of the rule is to be allowed to use short sections of state land to connect trails,” said

Danny Hale, executive director of the Vermont All-Terrain Vehicles Sportsman’s Association, which has 2,500 members and is the designated statewide trail organization. “We really need some of these connecting trails.”

While ATV enthusiasts back the plan, the idea of allowing ATVs on state land has generated opposition from those who fear it will threaten the environment. The state received about 2,000 public comments on its preliminary rule and acknowledged that comments weighed 4-to-1 against the rule.

Anthony Iarrapino, an attorney with the Conservation Law Foundation, called the proposed rule “an abandonment of ANR’s longstanding tradition of sound public lands management that recognizes the fundamental incompatibility of recreational ATV trails with state wildlife management areas, forest and parks.”

The proposal calls for a pilot project in which no more than two or three parcels would be evaluated after one riding season to see if the practice should be continued. The first parcel that would be considered is the one alongside Vermont 105 in Brighton, said state Agency of Natural Resources Secretary Jonathan Wood.

“This little section up in Brighton is critically important to connect two trail segments,” Hale said. “No one can give us that permission now. That’s why we need the rule.”

Iarrapino finds no comfort in the fact that the state is proposing to start with a pilot project. “How much can we learn from a short project?” he said.

Wood said the concerns are exaggerated. “People say we’re opening state lands to ATVs. That’s not the case,” he said. “We’re only talking about a very rare exception.”

Opponents had concerns that although the use would be allowed only for connector trails, that could be defined as almost anything, opening up the risk that miles of state land could be approved for ATVs. In response, ANR officials amended the proposal to define a connector trail as “the shortest and most practical way ... to connect existing trails.”

Iarrapino notes, however, that the rule offers no limitation on length.

Opponents also raised questions about public input on applications for access to state land. The proposed rule was changed to allow for a public hearing in the town where the land is located if 25 or more people request it.

Hale argued that critics will have an opportunity to weigh in on the specifics of each application. “When we petition for a specific project they’ll have ample opportunity to review the environmental and other factors,” he said.

Wood said one of the selling points of the rule is that it will give ATV riders a legal path to ride and put the onus on VASA to do any construction and maintenance on the trail and to enforce illegal riding.

By state law, VASA receives funding from ATV registration fees, some of which must be used to pay state wardens and police to provide enforcement.

Iarrapino is skeptical about enforcement, citing several instances in which ANR staff have noted ATV damage to state land that has threatened wildlife and water resources. With a shrinking state workforce and recent budget cuts, he said, it is hard to imagine enforcement will increase. He cited a 2004 report in which ANR officials noted that allowing ATVs on state lands would put a strain on staffing, and that enforcement already had become an increasing challenge.

ANR officials said illegal activity will be among the factors considered in evaluating the pilot project.

Sen. Mark MacDonald, D-Orange, chairman of the Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules, said he hadn’t seen the final proposed rules Wednesday, but he will be interested to see whether they follow the recommendations of a 2004 state report.

That report called for development of an enforcement strategy, a mandatory helmet law and increased penalties. None of those changes are in the proposal, and ANR officials said they are not under their purview.

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Source: http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20091022/NEWS02/91021035/Rule-would-let-ATVs-run-on-state-land

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