Should ATV'S be banned?

azsnowman · #1 Postby **azsnowman** » Sat May 24, 2003 8:34 am

With the Memorial Day Weekend in FULL swing and with an estimated 100,000 tourists here :o, there are about 50,000 ATV'S here too :grr:

Seems like when they visit the mountains for a holiday weekend, the tourists leave their BRAINS at home along with their consciences. They have NO REGARD for the national forests, private land, posted no trespassing signs. I for one would LOVE to see them banned on national forest lands, I know, I know......I HATE more rules and regs by the feds BUT.....these ppl NEED to quit trashing our land!

Dennis :grr:

mf_dolphin · #2 Postby **mf_dolphin** » Sat May 24, 2003 8:39 am

I wouldn't ban them but there should be some reasonable limits placed on where they could be operated. :-)

Guest · #3 Postby **Guest** » Sat May 24, 2003 9:28 am

I agree. I think they need to have certain paths that are made for ATV's and shouldn't be allowed to roam anywhere in the forest.

We have to perserve our National Forest - they can't be replaced.

Patricia

#4 Postby **coriolis** » Sat May 24, 2003 9:53 am

MORE POWER, MORE MUD, MORE BEER

Does that describe these people, AZ?

Amanzi · #5 Postby **Amanzi** » Sat May 24, 2003 9:55 am

I agree whole heartedly Ticka. There should be designated areas for ATV riders.

I am quite surprised they allow people to ride in a protected area, does not make much sense to me.

I know a little bit of what you mean Dennis. I have 4 acres of land that have no trespassing signs all over, but this does not stop the young hooligans from my neighbourhood from riding there off road bikes in "my" forest. They have actually chased a female deer into the road, she got stranded on the other side of the highway, and I have not seen her since. :cry:

mf_dolphin · #6 Postby **mf_dolphin** » Sat May 24, 2003 10:30 am

A shotgun loaded with rock salt used to be the solution of shoice for hooligans! ;-)

therock1811 · #7 Postby **therock1811** » Sat May 24, 2003 10:39 am

LOL at marshall's post!
Seriously, I agree with Marshall as well as Ticka, there should be a trail through the forest, and those who do not stick to the trail need to be fined and/or imprisoned.

#8 Postby **Stephanie** » Sat May 24, 2003 11:07 am

LOL! Marshall! alittle buchshot never hurts anyone right???

Coriolis - yep, that even sounds like the "shoobies" down at the Jersey shore!!! :roll:

I think that there should be regulations against ATV's in public lands - we NEED to protect our forests. However, I'm sure that there are alot of regulations out there already but the staffing to help regulate them leaves alot to be desired.

azsnowman · #9 Postby **azsnowman** » Sat May 24, 2003 11:27 am

I'm my 37 years on the mountain, I have NEVER seen THIS many ppl, of course with temps over 107° in Phoenix, Tucson, I can't blame them ONE BIT :o It's hotter than HADES here, it's 0930 and it's already 85° :o :o :o The record high for this date is 87°, we should hit that in about an hour!

The problem I have right now, there are 15 summer cabins in my nieghborhood and EVERY single one is FULL and of course, every single house has a MINIMUM of 3 ATV'S per house. We live in a 100 acre open meadow with wild grass to my knees, they are out there with their ATV'S HAULING asp, the grass is SOOOOO dry, all it would take is ONE tiny spark and there goes my house :grr:

I'm keeping a VERY close eye, if it gets out of hand, I'm calling the Pinetop PD along with the Pinetop FD, it's TOO dangerous to riding in dry grass, aspholes :grr:

Dennis

#10 Postby **Stephanie** » Sat May 24, 2003 11:33 am

You do what you need to do Dennis! Didn't your govenor just declare a "State of Emergency"? I would think that people would realize that these ATV's could help to contribute to a sudden fire - but then again, the operative word is 'THINK" :roll:

So much for a holdiay weekend for you huh? :o

Pro-Storm · #11 Postby **Pro-Storm** » Sat May 24, 2003 11:58 am

In my town, its mostly kids on ATV's. The grownups drive around in golf carts! The real problem in South Carolina is PWC's!! Those guys can really mess up a fishing trip in the Santee-Cooper lakes!! :drinking:

ColdFront77 · #12 Postby **ColdFront77** » Sat May 24, 2003 12:53 pm

Jeremy, I'm not sure if I would go as far as imprisonment for people driving ATVs where they aren't supposed to, unless it is only for a short period of time... especially for those that honestly don't know they are doing something wrong.

Dennis, break the record high by 20 degrees... not many reporting stations have that "claim to fame" in recent times, anyway.

blizzard · #13 Postby **blizzard** » Sat May 24, 2003 1:56 pm

I agree that there should be designated trails, but I still wonder what is meant when people say that a forest cannot be replaced..... Forests, yes even National Forests, are one of the very few things that CAN be replaced. They may not be replaced with Old Growth trees, but they eventually die away to younger growth anyway so the cycle continues.

Didn't mean to get controversial, but that is my view.

weatherlover427 · #14 Postby **weatherlover427** » Sat May 24, 2003 2:23 pm

Yes, I agree that they should be banned. This is because of situations like these where droughts come up and they can start brush fires, trash public and private lands, cause pollution (both air and noise), etc.

azsnowman · #15 Postby **azsnowman** » Sat May 24, 2003 4:21 pm

HOT DOG! Someone who actually AGREES with me on the forest issues, *takes his hat off and shakes the hand of blizzard* 8-)

You are 100% RIGHT, our national forests ARE a renewable resource however, the damage that is done by these *nimrods* on their ATV'S are damaging the entire eco system, causing soil errosion, destroying critical wildlife habitat. O'TAY, you'se guys are right, maybe they shouldn't be banned 100%, create an area for them, if they wonder off the area, FINE their butts!

Dennis 8-)

therock1811 · #16 Postby **therock1811** » Sat May 24, 2003 4:42 pm

ColdFront77 wrote:Jeremy, I'm not sure if I would go as far as imprisonment for people driving ATVs where they aren't supposed to, unless it is only for a short period of time... especially for those that honestly don't know they are doing something wrong.

I would say the term would be 6-12 months, the year being maximum. And for the part about "don't know that they are doing something wrong", there'd be no excuse IF there were signs posted along the trail.

ColdFront77 · #17 Postby **ColdFront77** » Sat May 24, 2003 7:15 pm

Makes sense to me, Dennis.

There will have to be signs posted along the trail.

#18 Postby **Stephanie** » Sat May 24, 2003 7:34 pm

I agree that they are a renewable resource, but they can be taken down alot quicker than they can get back to maturity. Plus, the change to the environment in an area that was once shaded, not to mention the wildlife that depends upon the trees for shelter could be catastrophic.

With that being said, logging and thinning needs to be done with the appropriate planning. Obviously, the areas that are prone to fire now due to the severe drought would've been better served if thinning had been done when it should've been done.

See, I learn!

azsnowman · #19 Postby **azsnowman** » Sun Jun 01, 2003 8:04 am

Well, after last nights episode, I don't know.........I know this was an isolated incidence BUT :grr:

Some nimrod that came up to escape the heat of the Valley was haulin' asp around our neighborhood doing over 60 MPH (according to the arresting officer) and he hit a kid :o Thank God the kid wasn't seriously hurt. The jerk admitted to drinking OVER a 18 pack of beer :grr:

he blew a .24 BA :o :o :o Needless to say, he will not be returning to the Valley anytime SOON :wink:

They cuffed him and carted his butt of to Holbrook for a few nights stay in the NCSO Jail :lol:

According to the officer, the guy has a suspended license for NUMEROUS DUI'S Soooooooooooo...this guy ain't gonna see daylight for quite some time :lol:

Dennis

#20 Postby **Stephanie** » Sun Jun 01, 2003 9:34 am

Good, I hope this guy is the example set for the others to see! I'm glad to hear that the kid wasn't injured!

Should ATV'S be banned?

Should ATV'S be banned?

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