ATV's have Trail Rights too

By Michael Hermann; Lizard Tracks, Centre Daily Times, April 2000

There has been a lot of recent publicity concerning trails for all terrain vehicles (ATV’s) on public land. Most of that press has been protest from the hiking community. It is understandable that hikers do not want ATV’s buzzing past them and tearing up foot paths. But why leap to the conclusion that ATV riders want to tear up foot paths?

Recreational hikers prefer popular, well marked hiking trails in state forests. These trails explore scenic and often protected areas. They access wetlands, old growth forests and natural areas. But that is only a small percentage of the total land acreage comprising Pennsylvania’s public land holdings.

Our state forests and game lands are big places and not all of that acreage is equally scenic. Much of it has been timbered, strip mined, railroaded and abandoned. There are untold miles of loose, rocky railroad beds that hikers would have great difficulty walking on if they could find them. Big parcels of land are bisected by interstate corridors. There are tracts of land that will never recover from strip mining to be considered a natural area. Sections of river and stream tributaries are stained orange, the banks littered with industrial junk and although the scenery is remote, it is far from scenic using a traditional definition.

I believe there is plenty of land to build ATV trails on. I have driven 4wd trucks and motorcycles throughout Centre County’s public land and have discovered beautiful places that no hiker will ever see. The access is simply too difficult, the perimeter landscape too scarred and the distances too long. I have never seen a hiker while exploring these regions, in fact I rarely encounter another vehicle.
When I do see another vehicle we usually stop and talk a spell. The same camaraderie that a hiker feels when encountering another hiker is shared by off road enthusiasts. We may talk of tires and winches instead of boots and tents, but we still talk. We speak of where we came from, where we’re going and what we’ve seen.

Motorized vehicle users are not the stereotypical group of bad people out to tear up a trailhead. More often they are common outdoorsmen, choosing to explore a piece of public land using a motorized vehicle instead of hiking. The idea of driving ATV’s through protected natural areas is not what the ATV trail proponents want. They want to have designated areas they can explore without fear of prosecution. They want to ride on trails that are complimentary to their vehicles capabilities. They want to achieve some of the rights that hikers, mountain bikers and snowmobilers enjoy. Is that so unreasonable?

ATV users are willing and able to be responsible trail users. They trailer their vehicles to designated areas where they may explore 30 or more miles in an afternoon. ATV’s can be ridden without skidding or spinning tires in the same way people learn to control automobiles. The 4wd models can cross streams and traverse loose terrain with virtually no trace. They can also do this very quietly.

The top complaint against ATV’s is noise. True, the ATV’s built for racing are very loud, but the majority of ATV’s built for transportation are muffled quite well. They can be used surprising close to hiking trails and the hikers would never hear them.

The key to successful ATV trails is limitations on exactly where the trails are built. Areas removed from established hiking trails are plentiful. Perhaps there needs to be regulation concerning which ATV models can get trail permits to keep noise levels in check. And specific areas open to ATV use need to match the correct landuse criteria.

The land exists and I’m happy to report there is plenty of it. This is public use land and I’d like to see all trail users accommodated. Many states have a network of ATV trails as well as hiking and biking trails. I do not support blanket legislation opening up all public land to ATV use; but there certainly is room for reasonable ATV access. Let’s not forget it is public land.