There have been a lot of postings here about land being trashed and torn up by ATV'ers. I've been guilty myself. We all need to be careful not to give tree huggers ammo to use against us. The fact that they can find stuff like that on an ATV website just makes it more credible. I can't help but wonder if people aren't exaggerating a bit when they criticize ATV'ers. I own some prime hunting land in Northern WI, and I haven't had any major problems. Someone once made a mess after getting stuck in a swamp puddle, but that was many years ago. I did find a candy wrapper in a deer stand one time, but I didn't feel my land was being trashed. We need to discuss problems in order to address them, but we need to keep an accurate perspective.

 

I believe that most ATVers are responsible and take care of land. A small percentage of riders are irresponsible and trash land. thats all tree huggers see when they look at ATVers. they dont realize that many of us take care of what we have :/

 

Tree huggers will always try to condemn our sport no matter what we say or do. These are the same “warmers” who worship the likes of algore – owner of a 100 ft yacht, multiple houses (just one of which uses over $30,000 in power every month), travels with a fleet of SUV’s, flies around the world on private jets, and recently left his car running for over an hour while he was giving a “Save the Planet” speech.
You are very fortunate that your land does not get trashed. I also own some prime hunting land “up Nort” in Minnesota. My land is almost exactly half way between Arctic Cat and Polaris, so that area prolly has one of the highest ATV ownerships in the world (employee discounts are the chit!!!!). Unfortunately, I live in So Cal so I only get up there a couple times a year. When I do, I always find trash, my trails torn up, my deer stands shot up, my salt blocks stolen, etc, etc…. I have been forced to put up gates and cables to keep people out. NO TRESPASSING signs are a joke since it seems no one pays any attention to them anyway, but I still put them up.

 

i have taught my kids to pack out more than you pack in. last run of the day is a trash run. we have to be good stewards. too many boneheads out there who have the mentality of "what's in it for me" and "they'll never catch me, you can't prove it". therefore, the BIGGER person is the one who stands up for what is right and is a steward of what is theirs. if tree huggers only knew how much they are addicted to oil like i am, it would blow their mind......

 

It's not just ATVers that trash the land, most groups that use the great outgoors leave trash behind. I been on hiking trails littered with cans and bottles and campsites with trash just left behing. Unfortunately it's our culture these days.

 

Let the tree huggers pay for the use of the land so they will appreciate it as much as we do. Part of my atv and snowmobile registration goes to land conservation as well as part of my hunting license. If the tree huggers care so much they should have no problem paying for parking and or trail permits.

 

Game wardens have been known to confiscate salt blocks as illegal bait. And, animal rights types have damaged deer stands. But, ATV'ers will always get blamed.

 

I recently joined a group in Alberta. This group not only gets out for regular quadding trips, but they also organize events where they build and maintain the trails, build bridges etc.

One of their key focuses is to get non-quadders to see that, while we like to get out and have fun, we're doing our best to protect the land. We don't go off the trails, pack out what we bring in and most importantly fully extinguish any fires we start.

Like papahouse said, the non-motorized users can cause as many problems. Trails can also be affected by horses, hikers and campers. Whether your off enjoying nature or just spending time in the city you'll find people who respect their surroundings or abuse it.

Check out CARA

http://calgaryatvriders.com/

 

(Old post I know) Wardens are not allowed on private land w/o permission, and if I were doing anything illegal they would fine me besides which - salt is not illegal up there. Not a lot of "animals rights types" up there 'cause it's all farm land and strangers would get noticed.

 

I find it amazing that although we know that hunters can and do as much damage as an ATV, and hikers will leave little gifts of trash as much if not more than the average ATV rider, nobody wants to shut down hunting, or stop the trail walkers. Seems a bit unfair.