Renegade ATV Riders To Be More Responsible

Renegade ATV Riders To Be More Responsible

As far as the authorities are concerned, there are more reasons than they dare count for why ATV riders should not take on illegal ATV trails in the country. In many parts of the country, ATV riders have shown blatant disregard for the warnings of authorities not to ride illegal trails. Renegade ATV riders, however, have taken it into their own to carve out their own ATV trails outside of the official trails. There are barriers being setup but some were rundown which allowed renegade ATV riders full.

For example, Mountaintown Roadless Area. A part of the area was cordoned off to prevent illegal ATV riders from accessing the rugged terrains within. One reason the barrier was up was environmental protection. The other is that the terrain beyond the red and white fence is deem dangerous and can pose a threat to the lives of those ATV riders.  The red and white fence has been torn down for many years now and nothing has been done about it. Beyond the marked area, there is a sign sitting nicely and prominently on a tree telling ATVers that the area beyond that is not an ATV trail. However, the warning and signs are often ignored.

From an ATV rider’s point of view, the terrain beyond that is exciting and pretty much the kind of muddy playground we’re looking for. But as responsible ATV riders, we have to bear in mind that whatever that we choose to do, it will affect the future of everyone else concerned. Because of all those illegal ATVing activities in Mountaintown Roadless Area, the authorities are pushing for harsher actions to be taken. The patches of worn and new tire tracks remind us of the dangers of riding these trails illegally.

What’s even scarier for the authorities is the fact that amongst the ATV tire tracks left behind, there are footprints as well, which means that even hikers are following the ATV riders’ lead! The biggest problem with curbing this problem is manpower. There are millions of acres to cover and there are eight officers. From the look of things, if ATV riders don’t become more responsible themselves, this threat will be a perpetual problem in the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest area.

However, the argument goes both ways because before 1972, ATV riders and other off-road vehicle had complete access to federal lands and this gave them broad access to all types of riding areas. With a change in the law, ATV riders have run out of places to ride their ATVs leading them to CREATE their own ATV trails. And ever since the ban, the number of illegal ATV trails has totally skyrocketed. Many of these illegal ATV trails are parts of National Forest and they’re often disused logging trails.

With many of these illegal ATV riding going on, the agencies cite that illegal ATV riding in parts of the forest is not only endangering wild life, they’re also endangering themselves, hikers and are exposing the forest to invasive species. But despite meticulous research and painstakingly trying to curb such activities, the authorities, they admit, are no match for renegade ATV riders. If there’s one thing they can do about it, it’s to appeal to renegade ATV riders to be more responsible toward the environment, wild life, other hikers and themselves.

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