Deep Woods Extreme

ATV Riders Seek Trails In North Country

This article was posted on the NEA4WDC BOD List Server. It is about a recent ATV forum but you can see how the views expressed in this article would impact us as OHRV enthusiasts. Not only does it make me angry to see these empty statements regarding the impact of motorized recreation, but it also shows me the reason for acquiring permission for private land. If you're not on the Land Committee or involved with the Association....maybe this will light a fire.

PITTSBURG, N.H. (AP) — All-terrain vehicle users have put in a plea for more trails on the former International Paper Co. lands in northern New Hampshire. They made their case Saturday at a public meeting of the Headwaters Citizens Committee on the state’s proposed two-year interim recreation plan for the 146,000 acres of the protected lands. The committee voted 7-3 to consider allowing ATVs in the future, but not during the two years of the plan.

The plan restricts recreational uses to what now is allowed for hunting, fishing, walking and snowmobiling — no ATVs. About 50 people attended the meeting, and ATV opponents said the machines damage soil, roads, streams and trails. They said they were concerned about a potential "explosion" of ATV use in the North Country.

Harlan Connary, president of the North Country ATV club, said ATV use is the fastest growing sport in the state, yet there are very few places to ride. With $12 million in state and $11.6 million federal funds going toward the purchase of the easements and outright acquisition of 25,000 acres, Connary said there should be some places for ATV riders can go on the massive tract. He noted his club had to negotiate with the state for four years to get a seven-mile trail through the Nash Stream property near Groveton that the state purchased for forestry. The Lyme Timber Co. is expected to purchase a majority of the 171,500-acre tract for timber harvesting and has paid $12 million for the 146,500 acres. The state will retain an easement on that land, which now is being crafted, to permanently protect the publics use of the land.

But Paul Amey of Pittsburg, a landowner and abutter to the huge tract, said he is very concerned about ATVs. Unlike snowmobiles, which use a frozen surface, ATVs damage the land, he said. "If we open the flood gates, we have to be very, very careful," he said. Steve Weber, director for wildlife for the Fish and Game Department, also spoke against ATV use. "It opens the door to an unlimited potential that has detrimental impacts," not only to wildlife but to the land itself, Weber said.