Illegal ATV Use on Private and State Lands
The Vermont Woodlands Association's position reflects the frustration of many Vermont forest landowners with current illegal recreational ATV use and highlights the serious problem of misuse of private and public lands taking place in Vermont today.
VWA Position on Illegal ATV Use on Private and State Lands
Problems associated with illegal all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) are widespread in Vermont and worsening. Because unauthorized activity is taking place on private and state woodlands, resulting in considerable resource and property damage, the Legislature and state agencies should:
Make registration mandatory for all ATVs used off one's property. This requirement would be the same as the current regulations applied to snowmobile ownership in Vermont. Registration identification markings on ATVs should be visible.
Enforce the current written landowner permission requirement for ATV use.
Continue existing policies prohibiting recreational ATV use on state lands.
How This Position Was Developed
The Vermont Woodlands Association Executive Committee developed this position using results from a membership survey at their December 19, 2003, meeting. The survey was distributed as part of the VWA September 2003 Membership Newsletter, with highlights of the results published in the VWA December 2003 Membership Newsletter.
Survey Response Rate: Approximately 25%—the largest response VWA has received for any survey it has conducted.
Respondents: Sixty owners of forestland parcels, ranging in size from 10-49 acres to 1,000+ acres, provided diverse perspectives on ATV use in Vermont’s forests.
The size of the response demonstrates that ATV use is an important current issue among Vermont woodlands owners. The response rate and distribution were significant enough to suggest similar results if extended to all Vermont landowners.
Survey Findings
Survey responses indicated that:
Majority Against Recreational ATV Use: Most Vermont forest landowners do not wish to have recreational ATV use on their properties or public lands.
Concerns About Liability: Landowners are uncomfortable with their insurance coverage and the enforcement of Vermont laws to protect them from use liabilities or prevent unauthorized use on their properties.
Frequent Unauthorized Use: ATV use is the most common unauthorized use of Vermont woodland properties.
Different Impacts by Property Size: Experiences and expenses from unauthorized use vary between larger woodland properties and smaller forested parcels.
Additional Survey Insights
68% of respondents do not post their properties against any use.
35% do not wish to allow any vehicular use, while another 27% only allow snowmobile use. These results confirm Vermont forest landowners’ generous and hospitable attitude toward visitors, their reticence toward posting and their aversion to vehicular use on their properties.
Economic Impact
Unauthorized recreational ATV use is causing a very real economic impact on private forest lands. Survey respondents noted that:
Trail erosion (47%) and litter (40%) are the most frequent problems associated with unauthorized use.
ATV users are Frequent Offenders: Survey respondents reported that ATV users were the most frequent offenders (43%), compared to trail bikes (17%) and four-wheel-drive trucks (13%).
Damage Costs: 38% of the respondents noted various dollar amounts spent on property repairs in the past year to unauthorized motorized vehicle use. The frequency and cost of damages increased with property size.
Public Lands
60% of survey respondents do not favor ATV use on public lands in Vermont.
12% believe ATV use should be allowed on public lands, provided the use is restricted and closely monitored and enforced.
All respondents agreed that ATV users should pay for trail construction and maintenance through ATV registrations and trail user fees.
VWA's Willingness to Collaborate
VWA is willing to collaborate with other forestry and conservation groups and agencies to try to find a solution to the illegal ATV use situation. VWA recognizes that there are strong, heartfelt feelings on all sides of the ATV issue, marking it as a truly controversial topic.
Accommodation for Legal ATV Use: VWA believes that some accommodation for the legal and environmentally responsible use of ATVs is needed. Simply dismissing ATVs as "a problem" does not invite any kind of cooperative solution.
Collaboration: VWA is interested in coordinating with other organizations, agencies, and ATV user groups to address illegal ATV use while reinforcing shared goals, such as supporting working forests in Vermont. VWA believes there is a way for all interested people and groups to work together to find a solution.
In recent years, many forestry and conservation groups have come together to work toward retaining Vermont’s long tradition of working forests and multiple-use. This successful coalition has included hunters, anglers, wildlife viewers, and trappers working with woodland owners, loggers, foresters, and forest products companies. Both of these communities have also demonstrated success in working with farmers.
Prohibition as a Lesson
Perhaps not since Prohibition in Vermont has a law been so widely disregarded. VWA believes that if there was any lesson from Prohibition, it’s that illegal activity is impossible to control, while legal activity with boundaries and regulations can be managed.
Trail Funding
If recreational ATV users want trails, they should pay for the construction, rehabilitation, operation, maintenance and enforcement on such trails. Registrations and trail user fees could incentivize private enterprise to supply the demand for trails.
About VWA's Position on ATV Use on State-Owned Lands
Recreational ATV use is currently illegal on state lands. However, it continues to occur, spoiling hiking trails and causing other conflicts and resource impacts.
VWA’s members are concerned about activities on public lands because:
They are taxpayers.
There is a likely spillover effect onto adjacent private lands.
Snowmobiling and Skiing as Potential Models for ATV Trails
Skiing: Downhill and cross country skiers pay to ski at Vermont ski areas located on private lands or that operate under permit on public lands. The demand for alpine skiing is solved by private enterprise furnishing trails, lifts and base lodges. Nordic skiers who want groomed trails pay a trail use fee, while those wishing to “bushwhack” in areas without trails or services are free to do so. However, this off-trail use does not cause any resource damage.
Snowmobile users: VAST members register their snow machines and assess fees ($65 for in-state users and $95 for out-of-state users), with the majority of those revenues funding trail construction and maintenance.