Proposal to Open State Lands to ATVs: Take Action!

June 9, 2009

Vermonters who care about the integrity of our state lands should act swiftly to make your voice heard on a proposed rule change now under consideration which would open up state lands to All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs).

Take action! Submit written comments by July 6 to:

•    Warren Coleman, Agency of Natural Resources, 103 South Main Street, Waterbury, VT 05671. Email your comments to: ATVRULE@state.vt.us or call 802-241-3600 and leave a message for Warren Coleman: to "not open up state lands to ATVs."

Read VNRC's Comments on the proposed rule here.

Here are some important points you could make in your comments:

• ATVs Cause Negative Environmental Impacts

This was the ANR’s own conclusion based on the ANR ATV Committee’s review of its own commissioned report: "Enviromental and Social Effects of ATVs and ORVs: An Annotated Biobliography and Research Assessment." According to the ANR, “there is no environmental good news here.” Impacts include soil and vegetation compaction, increased sedimentation from widened and rutted forest roads, and potential stress on animals such as moose and deer.  Read the conclusion here.

• The ANR’s Process for Advancing This Proposed Rule Is Rushed

With the proposed rule, ANR has picked the single most controversial ATV issue in Vermont to tackle, i.e. opening up state lands to ATVs, without considering its own studies and the broad based solutions of Governor Douglas’ ATV Collaborative. 

The ANR should first revisit its own recommendations on ATV policy, which call for not relaxing policies for ATVs on state lands until appropriate environmental and management assessments have been conducted in Vermont.  These assessments should be performed! In addition, the ANR Lands Stewardship Team should sign off on opening state lands to ATVs before a policy like the proposed rule is brought to the public.  Read the state's recommendations on this issue here.

• The ANR Should Step Back and Develop a Comprehensive Approach to ATV Policy

The ANR should promote a comprehensive ATV rule that includes policies that have broad agreement before opening state lands to ATVs.  For example, the ATV Collaborative recommended increasing registration fees to pay for new enforcement positions. As it stands, the state does not have enough personnel to enforce illegal ATV riding on private land and state land; opening up public lands could dramatically stretch enforcement personnel even thinner.

The ANR should also implement the Collaborative’s recommendations to develop an illegal trespass fund; adequate penalties to address illegal riding; new policies to address safety issues; and for ATV clubs to adhere to Act 250 review where appropriate.  These are outstanding issues that need attention before moving forward with the controversial issue of opening state land. Read the ATV Collaborative's final report here.

Find much more information on this issue in the ‘Backgrounder’ below.

ATV’s on State Lands In Vermont: Backgrounder:

In 2004, Governor Douglas convened a group of stakeholders to recommend ways to manage growing conflicts related to ATV use in Vermont. Known as the ATV Collaborative, the group, which included VNRC, met for a year and issued a report in which it laid out 24 recommendations.  Read the Collaborative's final report here.

Many of the recommendations included strategies to minimize illegal trail riding, increase enforcement, maximize rider safety, compensate landowners for resource damage, and help address conflicts between ATVs and other trail users. These types of recommendations had broad support from the group.
 
However, one topic was highly controversial: opening state lands to ATV use. In the report, VNRC opposed that idea, saying that at a minimum public lands should not be considered for ATV use until it was clearly demonstrated that there is adequate enforcement to deal with illegal ATV activity, including existing illegal riding on public lands, which was well documented by the ANR. 

In the Collaborative Report, VNRC also agreed with the Agency of Natural Resources’ ATV Committee Report (2000) that “it would be prudent to not legislatively or administratively relax existing public lands regulations on ATV use until there is a sufficient knowledge base to assess whether Vermont’s public land base can accommodate environmental protection demands and existing non-motorized and snowmobile usage before accommodating more.”

Since the Collaborative Report was issued over four years ago, ANR has not conducted an assessment regarding whether Vermont’s public land base can accommodate ATV trail development.  Instead, without warning to collaborative members and according to the proposed rule – the ANR met with the Vermont ATV Sportsman’s Association to develop the proposed rule to open up state lands to ATV corridors.

Vermonters who care about the integrity of our state lands should encourage the state to support a fair and robust public process, as well as embrace a comprehensive approach to ATV management in Vermont. 

ANR should take a step back and first conduct the environmental assessment called for in the ANR’s own ATV Committee Report.  Secondly, before considering ATV trails on state land, ANR should examine how to implement the comprehensive recommendations of the ATV Collaborative Report, including increasing registration fees to pay for additional enforcement, increasing penalty provisions for illegal riding, creating an illegal trespass fund, addressing statewide environmental review for trail development, and addressing safety issues.  ANR needs to hear this message right now, as ANR’s timelines are short.

Speak up for good government and help ensure the ANR fully considers and addresses the issues that could arise from such a decision. Make your voice heard by:

•    Submitting written comments expressing your view regarding ATVs on state land and the need to address the comprehensive recommendations of the 2004 collaborative report. The deadline for written comments is July 6, 2009. Comments should be directed to: Warren Coleman, ANR, 103 South Main Street, Waterbury, VT 05671. Email your comments to: ATVRULE@state.vt.us or call 802-241-3600 and leave a message for Warren Coleman: to "not open up state lands to ATVs."

Make your voice heard!