Letters to the Editor
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Economics of ATVs, for Vilas County
The ATV crowd insist on talking about economics. They claim that they will be the salvation of the Northwoods economy. Therefore I would like to talk about economics.
In 2002 there were 113,900 ATV injuries that were reported by hospital emergency rooms in the United States. Undoubtedly there were more that were just listed as accident victims. There was a study done several years ago that showed the average ATV visit to an emergency room was over $10,000. Therefore the total cost at just emergency rooms was over 1 BILLION DOLLARS in 2002. In addition, you would have the follow-up doctors visits and physical therapy. This is costing each and every one of us on our insurance premiums.
Currently our Vilas County Sheriff's Department has one less officer than they requested. Presently in the wee hours of the morning there is only 1 County Sheriff's squad on the road in the entire county. If ATVs are allowed in the county, the sheriff's department will definitely need multiple additions. The DNR has cut wardens for financial reasons, and most towns in the county do not have a police force. The ATV groups say that they have requested state funding for a recreation officer. His duties will be to police snowmobiling, jet skiing, water skiing and other water related activities in addition to ATVs. This would be one officer for the entire county working 40 hours a week. Go figure! The ATV people claim that there are only about 1 or 2 % of "bad apples" that would ride irresponsibly, and that they have trained trail ambassadors who will keep them in line. This has not worked in any state in the country, or in any county in Wisconsin. (I invite you to go to our website and read dozens of articles and see dozens of pictures that prove that the trail ambassador system does not work. There are also reports that have the percentage as high as 25% of the riders that will break the law.
How about liability? Each government body would have to carry additional liability insurance. The town of Newton, Mass. was ordered to pay $400,000 for past present and future damages to a farmer where ATVs have continually gone off trail thru his meadows and fields. In addition they had between $50,000 and $75,000 in attorney fees. Their insurance is going to cover less than 1/3 of the settlement leaving the town with over $250,000 to pay. Could your town afford something like this?
How about damages to ditches and county roads. This would be each township's responsibility to maintain. Look at the letter on our website (www.ncrs.info) from an Oneida County town official describing the damages to their town roads since ATVs have come in. Originally the ATV people just wanted a route. Sound familiar? Now they are literally on every road in that township and have extensive damage. Washington County (Stillwater) Minnesota has banned ATVs from county roads and ditches effective January 1, 2004 because of the extensive damages done and the tremendous expense to the county to maintain and repair. Why should we believe that Vilas County would be any different?
How about medical attention. The majority of the county is well taken care of by understaffed EMTs with the volunteer fire departments. Adding ATVs is going to dramatically increase their work load to the point where they will suffer burnout and leave the department.
Why are we even considering letting this loud vocal minority destroy our county. Vilas County has 1400 lakes and hundreds of miles of rivers and streams plus thousands of acres of marshes, wetlands, and bogs. Silent sports people come to Vilas County from all over the country because of it's unique beauty. We have the 3rd largest concentration of fresh water bodies in the world. For each ATV that comes in you are going to drive a number of silent sports users out. What will we have left after the trail systems have destroyed our beauty and ecology. Don't believe for one minute that the ATV people only want a route through the county to connect with other counties.
Our own DNR has a report on their web site that states "Natural resources of an area may not be able to sustain a particular activity without causing considerable damage." Former National forest chief Bosworth identified off road vehicles as one of the top threats to National forests.
What about the utter destruction of the lakes and forests? You cannot put a dollar figure on the damages. ATVs compact the soil, trample all vegetation and destroy tree root systems. They cause erosion and silting of rivers, streams and lakes. They spread noxious and invasive weeds, some of which cannot be eradicated. We are currently fighting a losing battle with the encroachment of Eurosian Milfoil in our lakes. ATVs commonly will wash off in lakes and streams after "mudding."
How about the destruction of our quiet and solitude? What price can you put on that? Many resorts and restaurants do not want the ATVs coming to their businesses because their regular clientele will leave. Now I ask you. What about economics? Are the ATVs really the salvation of the Northwoods?
Be sure to check out our website which is being added to daily at www.ncrs.info to get the truth about ATVs. Make sure that you and your neighbors vote NO on February 17th. Get your absentee ballots from your town clerks if you will be out of town.
James Knuth
Founding member of
Northwoods Citizens for Responsible Stewardship
www.ncrs.info
P.O. Box 31
Presque Isle, WI 54557
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Sir:
I have just finished reading Bill AB596, SB-277. My thoughts go directly to the current financial condition of our State and the struggles of those who live and work here, myself included.
How could anyone ask for this kind of funding for a sport enjoyed by a minority of residents?
The elderly don't know whether to buy groceries or necessary medication. School funding is being cut and each year parents are asked to pay more for school activities. Music and art programs are being eliminated. Those of retirement age are plagued by healthcare costs, the fear of being unable to afford it. The young fresh out of school & college , ready to face the world wearing the cloak of enthusiasm are forced to look elsewhere for careers - when they want nothing more than to stay in this area to pave the path of their lives. We all struggle to make ends meet, to care for our families and to do the right thing.
I don't want to hear how the tourism industry brings money to the area and boosts the economy. I have seen the magical formulas supporting this myth. However there has been no proof, and no explanation as to how the numbers came to be. It is my belief that the tourism industry supports few businesses and resort areas, that tourism dollars are not shared by entire communities. The jobs dollars are low paying, dead-end jobs. I know this because I have one. I have worked in the "Hospitality Industry" for 35 years. There are no heath or retirement benefits and the majority of these jobs are temporary. Dead-end jobs. I wonder how many of our young could stay in our area if good jobs were created with the hundreds ofthousands of dollars asked for in this Bill? I wonder how much of those dollars would feed back to all of us?
I own an 1998 Polaris ATV. It has 1231 miles on it. That doesn't quite coincide with the ATV motor fuel formula at 25 gallons, much less 52. I believe a majority of atv's are used the same way. The popularity of this machine is growing, however this Bill exaggerates its use. I do not trail ride. I would NEVER invade private property. I would NEVER consider riding it through a National Forest and disturbing the beauty and peace the forests provide. I couldn't be a part of destroying a stream bed, a hillside or any part of nature's beauty. The only time my ATV leaves my property, is by trailer to a friend or relatives property for work purposes or enjoyment on private land.
Environmentally, these machines can be devastating to the land. They can destroy the solitude, peace and quite of one's home, property and enjoyment of public lands.
There are many residents that feel the same way I do and follow the same practices with their machines. We do not demand that the funding of this sport should be supported this way. Let those that enjoy the benefit of motorized sports start paying the way themselves. Not all taxpayers should be burdened with this, as we are with snowmobile trails and all of the expenses associated with that sport.
What we do need is more lawenforcement to over see the 25,000 miles of trails we already have in Wisconsin.
Find a way to display licenses on these vehicles, so that those breaking the law can be held accountable for their actions.
Make it a requirement that motorized vehicle users have healthcare and insurance, so that the taxpayers won't have the burden of paying for medical treatment, ambulance services, etc. when accidents happen.
Stop the use of these vehicles by unsupervised children. So many are killed and injured every year.
I respectfully ask you not to support AB-596, SB-277.
Sincerely,
Judy Mauler
Ashland, WI
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Press Release
I am presently serving my 4th term as a Town Supervisor in the Town of Lynne in southwestern Oneida County. I was appointed to fill the un-expired tern if a previous board member and have been re-elected three times since then.
Approximately five years ago, a group of local residents approached the Board and requested that a small number of town roads be opened to ATV use so they could legally ride from their residence to an existing trail. The issue was very controversial from the beginning. The local Sportsman's Club supported the proposal while many local residents were strongly opposed to it. At a packed town board meeting, Oneida County Sheriff Tim Miller strongly advised us not to adopt an ordinance opening a number of specified town roads. His concern was that once the roads were opened to ATV use, that use would be very difficult to control and almost impossible to enforce. The agent representing the Town's insurance carrier was adamant against the adoption of the ordinance due to the liability issue.
In spite of this advice, the board by a 2 to 1 vote, adopted the ordinance. That was the start of an ever-increasing problem. That town ordinance has since been amended to include more roads-most town roads are now designated and signed as ATV routes. The number of riders has increased tremendously. The number of complaints, problems and damage is unacceptable. The polarization this issue has caused in our township is truly sad. What started out as a simple access route, a corridor if you will to an existing trail, has become a monster that is impossible to control. The complaints I receive are generally not about our local residents, but almost invariably involve the large number of riders who come into our township on the now greatly expanded trail system. Those complaints range from noise, dust, trespass, personal property damage, personal threats, damage and vandalism to town roads and road signs, to near misses between ATVs and other vehicles using the town road system. As an EMT with our local Fire & Rescue Unit, I have responded to numerous ATV accidents. We have had one fatality on a town road.
Our neighboring township to the east, Little Rice, has an extensive system of ATV trails/routes, which includes most, if not all, town roads. I have witnessed huge amounts of road and ditch damage in their system, damage the town taxpayers must repair. The worst example I have seen occurs on the KellyFire Lane-a loose gravel surfaced town road. On one portion, which passes through an extensive wetland west of Killarney Lake, ATVs had been using the road ditch as a "mud course". The ditch in this segment in now a deep pool of black mud, peat, and water. The ATVs apparently drive the length of the ditch as far as they can until they get stuck and are subsequently pulled out by another machine. Damage to the gravel road surface attests to that. There are numerous locations where the signs that read "ATVs Must Stay On The Pavement" have well-defined ATV tracks around them, as riders continue to use the road ditch as their preferred route.
In our own town, we have recently enacted an "ATV Must Stay On Pavement" ordinance to alleviate roadside problems, but it is being ignored. The roadside damage is so bad at one location that the telephone cable bringing service into our community is at risk,but the illegal use continues. 82% of our township is Oneida County Forest land and, as you might expect, has a large amount of secondary roads and old logging trails on it. The damage that has occurred on some of the wet low areas and on the highly erodable sites (steep and sandy) is just terrible. This use, of course, is illegal. These trails are not part of the trail system. The ATV Club Trail Patrol group is totally ineffective in the effort to control this misuse. The Patrol has no enforcement authority and since many of the members are business owners they are unwilling to correct or reprimand those riders who may soon be their customers.
It is interesting to note that our neighbors to the north, the town of Minocqua, does not allow ATV use on any town roads. While some small amount of illegal ATV use does occur there, it is obvious that they do not experience anywhere near the problems that we do in our township. I sincerely wish we had followed their example and not passed that original ordinance. It will be extremely difficult to change that because our town is so deeply divided. We have given up the peace and quiet, the tranquility that most people associate with being "up North". I truly hope the decision makers in Vilas County do not make the same mistake.
Sincerely,
Lawrence (Larry) Jonas
5320 Willow Road
Tripoli WI 54564
(715) 564-3352
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COULD 3 ATV PRESIDENTS POSSIBLY BE WRONG?
I’m going to rebutt 3 letters that have been written by presidents of ATV Clubs: Frank Trimmel, president of the Highlanders ATV Club, Roger Flaherty, president of the Landover ATV Club, and Sulo Wainio who I believe is president of the North Tundra Riders in Winchester. Now I realize that I may not be qualified to answer these letters in that I am suppposedly a “green extremist” even though I have a fishing boat with a 90 H.P. four stroke engine, and two snowmobiles. I am only against the death and destruction of the ATVs.. Mr. Trimmel points out how all the surrounding counties have ATV trails and want to promote them even more. If you talk with normal citizens in those counties you will find that the majority of them are against them, and maybe those counties will follow suit and hold a referendum. He goes on to point out how ATVing is a family sport. I agree -- Following are 3 headlines from newspaper articles: June 7, 2002 “Boy 12 killed in ATV crash.” -- July 7, 2003 “9 year old boy killed in ATV accident.” -- June 6, 2003 “6 year old boy killed driving ATV into ditch.” One would have to ask why someone from out of Vilas County is so interested in building ATV trails in Vilas. He does it because that’s his job. Mr. Trimmel is paid by the National Off-Highway Vehicle Insurance Specialists, (NOHVIS) to promote ATV trail development in northern Wisconsin. He has been very active in Lincoln and Oneida Counties. His boss is president of NOHVIS, and president of the insurance company that NOHVIS promotes, National Motorsports Insurance, NMI. He is also the president of Wisconsin ATV Association. The NOHVIS web page promotes the NMI company where you can purchase insurance to hold ATV drag races, poker runs, mud runs, and other ATV events. The DNR has given NOHVIS a quarter million dollars a year for the past three years to hire contractors like Mr. Trimmel to go out and organize more ATV clubs and trails. If you build more clubs and more trails, guess what -- more insurance is needed.
Mr. Trimmel is also the president of Highlanders ATV Club in Langlade County. In his July newsletter he writes - “We are experiencing some very malicious off-trail damage to our wetland areas.” This is after a great deal of training of trail ambassadors, safety patrols, and the kind of “education” he wants to bring to Vilas County.
It is unfortunate that well intentioned locals that want only to putter around the northwoods on their machines have to tolerate those that have no respect for our traditional tourism economy or our natural resources. It takes hundreds of years for soils to form in our forests; it takes a twist of a wrist to make it disappear. There is ample evidence from across the country that everywhere there are ATV trails, there is serious damage off of the trails. If they want to play in the mud, let them buy their own property and tear it up. The ATV industry has a saying: ”slow means no”, meaning if locals take time to look into what ATVs do to the public’s property, they usually reject them. There is a reason you will almost never find an ATV trail crossing private property.
Now a brief statement regarding president Roger Flaherty. He tells of how many votes there were for ATV trails during April through June. He’s correct. That’s before the silent majority got involved. Why do you think the ATV people are so fearful of the results of a referendum? He further states that the referendum is a roadblock, a stalling technique which will set ATV trails back at least 18 months. What is it that you don’t understand Mr. Flaherety. Do you really think we are going through all this effort for 18 months of tranquility. It’s over-ended-finished. Which of these words is it that you don’t understand? He also points out that all of the approximately 36 miles of trails they want in Vilas County which would be 10 feet wide would only amount to 26 acres of county land. That’s like telling us that the Wisconsin River is 430 miles long, but forgetting to tell us that the drainage basin of the Wisconsin River is over 10,400 square miles. Do you really think we are naive enough to believe that the ATVs will stay on the trails?
Lastly, Sulo Wainio blasts all the county supervisors that would consider anything but voting against the referendum. I can’t think of a better way to antagonize the supervisors than to publish articles like yours. Keep it up. We need all the help we can get.
James Knuth
P.O. Box 68
Presque Isle
WI, 54557
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ATV Vote
I firmly believe that the results of the upcoming Feb. 17th vote on whether to allow the operation of ATVs on Vilas County Forest Lands will ring loudly throughout the Northwoods for a long time to come, and in
many more ways than the issue itself.
I’m deeply concerned about the present-day impacts of ATVs, but for me the more important issue is what the Northwoods will look like fifty and a hundred years down the road if we continue on our current pace of change. Who in 1950 would have predicted the Northwoods would look the way it does today? Who could have seen the phenomenal rise in property values, which has led to the continual division of lands into the smallest lots allowable? Who would have forecast the extraordinary increase in the size and power of outboard engines, the appearance and popularity of jet skis, the multiplication and omnipresence of snowmobiles, and now the rapid recreational use of ATVs? Who can divine what’s next for motorized recreation, and next after that, ad infinitum? At the heart of the entire matter is this essential question regarding the North Country: What is the sense of place, the character, that defines this area as “The Northwoods”?
The follow-up question is equally important: Are we in danger of losing what that character is, and at what point do we cross that threshold? There’s a triple-bottom line at work here -- ecological, economic, and social sustainability. The complexity of trying to balance all three requires of us deep wisdom and a long view.
No one can give definitive answers to these questions and issues, least of all me. But from my perch in southern Iron County, I do have strong feelings, particularly regarding the argument that we have to have ATVs for our economic survival. This argument sets up a false dichotomy, forcing us to seemingly choose either environmental quality or increased income from tourism. The problem is that the question of which is more important simply can’t be answered, because the value of things is not always monetary. For instance, how much is it worth to you to sit on the end of your dock and watch a sunset; to see an otter family slipping through the water; to be mesmerized by an aerial dual between osprey and eagle for rights to a fish?
Likewise, try putting a monetary value on the love of your spouse or your closest friends, the health of your parents, the education of your children, the strength of your spiritual life. Ask anyone who has lost a family member, a home, or a beloved forest if money received in compensation could ever equal the real value. Dollars can’t function as the assigned tokens by which we appraise all that we value in our life. Yet we constantly try to use dollars to describe the quality of life that a beautiful and healthy environment provides us. We can’t afford to play this game anymore.
If we can’t play the game of putting a figure on all our values, then we might consider playing the “what-would-it-cost-to-replace-it” game.. Try to estimate the cost of building any inland lake in our area. Bulldoze the basin, construct the lake bottom, raise all the fish, all the insects, all the birds, all the plants, all the amphibians, all the micro-organisms we can’t pronounce, place them all in the right balance, and then hire someone to manage it properly forever. Pitting economics vs. environment never considers that taking care of the natural world is good economics - short-term and long-term - plain and simple. Without the environment, there is no economy. “Every economy is the wholly owned subsidiary of the environment,” writes Ray Travers, a forester in Canada. Ma Nature is the CEO directing our lives whether we want to admit it or not.
There’s danger, though, in relying on the argument that good conservation is good commerce. It is, but commercial determinism always leads us down a dark path of no return – clearly we could make even more money in the North Country if we became a clone of Wisconsin Dells or some version thereof. That’s the end game where using economic arguments alone will certainly take us.
Instead of quantity, whether dollars or people or jobs, we need to look at principles of quality, and understand that the Northwoods is simply a better place with wild lands and water left intact. Think of it this way. Everybody wishes they could live off the interest
of their savings, and not have to touch the capital. When we use up the capital, we eventually go broke. The question is, what is the true capital of the Northwoods? The answer I keep coming back to is the beauty of the natural world - the beauty of lakes, of animals seen in their native habitats, et al. We live emotionally and spiritually off the interest this capital provides us every day of every year. If you moved here, this is almost certainly why you came here. If you moved here to strike it rich, you were short a little wattage for starters, but you also misjudged the source of our true wealth – it’s our lands and waters. And while we can use them to a certain degree – we can cut timber, recreate, enjoy tourism and do much of what we already do - we can’t use more than the interest they give us every year, or we bleed away everything we have been given.
Consider also the basic economic truth of the value of scarcity. What is becoming more and more scarce, and therefore more and more valuable every year on this planet? Wild lands, clean water, pure air, open spaces, silence, serenity, beauty . . . the very attributes of natural plant and animal communities living on wild lands and waters in the Northwoods.
Over many years, in times of doubt on other issues that have played the same chords as the current ATV controversy, I have gone back and read Aldo Leopold’s comments on our relationship to land and water, and their
relationship to recreation and economics. Among a thousand good quotes, here are three:
“We end, I think, at what might be called the standard paradox of the twentieth century; our tools are better than we are, and grow better and faster than we do. They suffice to crack the atom, to command the tides. But they do not suffice for the oldest task in human history: to live on a piece of land without spoiling it.”
“There is a basic distinction between the fact that land yields us a living, and the inference that it exists for this purpose.”
“Quit thinking about decent land-use as solely an economic problem. Examine each question in terms of what is ethically and esthetically right, as well as what is economically expedient. A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise.”
Since ATVs clearly fail to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community – the erosion, pollution, wetlands destruction, etc., that they cause are amply documented - we must, if we accept Leopold’s definition, conclude that they are wrong for recreational use in the Northwoods.
My great hope in all this is that we realize that we live in one of the last “great” places left in Wisconsin. I believe we have an absolute obligation to future generations to preserve the soul of this place, to think first with our heart, and second with our wallets. We must place the value of our land and water communities first, and profit for the human community second. This is an idea that’s always portrayed as radical and impractical. But far more radical and impractical is to give these natural communities away for the quick buck. We’ve done just that for centuries in our urban centers, and now people stream out of cities in long lines of cars to escape all the noise, pollution, and crowds. And where do they go? To what little is left – the lands and waters of the Northwoods.
I don’t know when the “right” time to make a stand against economic determinism will occur. All I know is that we already have over 3,000 miles of ATV trails in Wisconsin, and that ATV trails on a few Vilas county forest roads won’t satisfy the mechanical yearnings of enthusiasts – show me the moment in time when we have stopped building bigger, faster, louder machines and when the demand for more places to ride them has declined. Our population continues to grow, our demands on public lands continue to grow, and there’s no end in sight. It’s time to speak loud and clear that our natural communities have profoundly more lasting value than any engines we could ever make and ride, now or a century from now.
John Bates
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Economics
In talking to the president of the Eagle River Chain association, I was told that they are facing a $100,000 expendenture for the spraying of their lakes to control the spread of Eurosian Milfoil. He told me that they can not afford to do it all in one year, but realistically they will have to retreat these lake every other year just to try to keep the Euroasian Milfoil from spreading. They cannot eliminate it. It’s there for ever. They are treating the lakes with 2-4D which is what you would use on your lawn to kill weeds and which we have been telling people to abstain from using because of the harm it can cause. Granted, the introduction of the Euroasian Milfoil was more than likely introduced by boats and trailers, the ATV has the same potential, to spread these exotics from stream to swamp to bog to lake etc.
The ATVers have been telling us that with the lack of snow the past few winters that they could have been the “saviors” of Northwoods business. Let’s examine the facts: They claim that they will be paying for their own trail maintenance and policing etc. out of the States shared revenue. This comes back from registration fees and gas tax. The fact is that an ATV needs only be registered once in it’s lifetime for a very nominal fee. However the ATVs that want to run on public lands will have to pay a “trail fee” for lack of anything better to call it. This fee will be paid every two years, and again is quite nominal. This fund that they are hoping to get funds from is the same one that the Snowmobilers use, and is not guaranteed. In case you have not looked recently, the State of Wisconsin is broke, and has cut the DNR budget substantially, and is going to be cutting shared revenue to the counties. Therefore in the future, we the county taxpayers will undoubtedly end up paying for part of this service that we don’t want. Their story is all smoke and mirrors trying to impress us with their financial numbers.
A recent study completed by the Department of Tourism from Ashland/Bayfield Counties which have ATV trails show that motorized sports (that includes snowmobiles) only make up 1/6th of the tourists visiting these counties. A UW Extension state-wide study concludes that non-motorized, silent users, hikers, bikers, and nature enthusiasts) make up about 66% of the forest recreationists, with another 21% being hunters and the remaining 12% being made up of motorized sports including snowmobiling. Not having figures at my disposal, I would assume that the snowmobilers make up the majority of this 12%, so we are looking at ATVers that represent single digit numbers. This report also breaks down spending by the various categories. These numbers are skewed in that they include the initial cost of the machine, but most of these dollars are not spent in the northwoods as evidenced by the number of units you see coming up north on trailers.
Let’s talk about law enforcement. The ATVers say they will police themselves. This has not been true across the country, and we shouldn’t expect it to be true here. We have numerous pictures of ATVs destroying our environment. Where did these pictures come from? From ATV websites. They are proud of what they are doing. One of these numerous websites tells about two recent rides. On April 18th the held a Good Friday Mud Ride. A group of 151 riders took part. The same club had another ride on April 26th which they describe as a dusty ride but not without encountering a lot of mud first.
I have a copy of a letter from Vilas County Sheriff John Niebuhr directed to the Vilas County Forestry Committee dated May 2, 2003. Sheriff Niebuhr explains that he is neutral on the subject but raises some interesting questions. Following are excerpts from this letter. I quote “having observed other forms of recreational vehicle use (dirt bikes, snowmobiles, and water craft) in Vilas County in the past, I think your committee should be aware of enforcement concerts. He goes on to refer to statistics from the last three years involving snowmobile, water craft, and ATV complaints. Typically these complaints involve such matters as accidents, trespass, damage to property, speed,noise, littering, road right-of way violations, underage operators, unregistered vehicles, and intoxicated operators to name a few” Unquote. He goes on to state that the Sheriff’s Department is responsible for patrolling approximately 870 square miles of Vilas County and the 14 townships within. He further asks the committee to consider enforcement obligations and subsequent funding concerns. If the need arises for increased patrol because of serious or ongoing violations, some type of funding will be needed to address that additional workload. Could it be that that funding is going to come from the taxpayer?
I talked with the County Forester in Douglas County which has 70,000 acres of forest land. They have received some financial help from the state to put on an additional person in law enforcement. I asked him how effective that one officer was. He told me that he does write up numerous tickets, but it goes without saying that one man working 40 hours a week is not going to be very effective. He says there are several “hot spots” where they actually have cameras set up in the woods, primarily near areas that have water, and the ATVs will typically go off trail to have fun. Where’s the policing coming from the clubs? He stated that there was definitely some irrepairable damage that has been done.
Naturally the county and quite possibly the Township would have to take out more insurance against lawsuits that might result from violations to private lands. Incidentally it is up to each individual private property owner to sue for damages to his property if the ATVs run off the trail and do damage to his property. How do you find the violator? It’s impossible without witnesses while the act is being committed. Therefore you might conclude that at least the county taxpayer will not have to pay for such a suit.
WRONG.
A recent case in Newton, N. H. awarded $400,000 to a a family farm for past damages and future damages where the ATVs had strayed from the trail and tore up meadowland and fields with their ATVs resulting in crop damages and erosion. The town has already paid out $50,000 in legal fees and expects the total legal bill to go to about $75,000. Their insurance will cover less than half of the $400,000 settlement, and therefore the town has a legal obligation of over $250,000.
All of these facts and figures show that there will definitely be a cost to the towns and counties if ATV trails are allowed, but they do not address the largest loss..
In Presque Isle township, we have a majority of our property owners that do not reside here full time and therefore are not able to cast a legal vote. I know that on our lake, Armour, we have 73 property owners and only 7 people that are able to vote tonight. These property owners being primarily lakefront property owners pay the preponderance of our taxes. They pay for our schools, they pay for our roads, they pay for our government, but they have no say as to what the town does. I seem to remember from history that some years back there was a “tea party” held for the same reason. However, these property owners do have a vote. They vote with their pocketbooks. They are in Presque Isle because it is Wisconsin’s last wilderness. This awesome creation that we have been appointed as stewards for is unique. Vilas County has more lakes than any county in the world, and that’s what people are willing to pay dearly to enjoy. If we decide to destroy this beauty and desecrate the landscape, these people will soon leave. Many merchants believe that the ATVs will be plus business assuming that the rest of us will stay around and continue to pay our taxes . You might very well experience a taxpayer revolt. IF nothing else, these people will elect to spend their monies with the merchants and business that are sympathetic to their beliefs.
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To: Mr. James Knuth - NCRS
From: Rick Rollman
I am writing in response to your inquiry of me as to my experiences with All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) operations on public forest lands. I was the County Forest Administrator of the 82,000 acre Oneida County Forest for a period of 20 years up until my retirement in June of 2003. During that time the Oneida County Forest had areas open to ATV's and areas closed to ATV's. There was also a 40 mile looping ATV trail. This trail ran on State, County and Industrial Forest lands and was under the jurisdiction of the department of which I was head.
It is my experience that ATV operators are an adventuresome lot which, either will not, or cannot, seem to stay on trails designated for them nor out of areas restricted to their use.
It is my opinion that if an area is to be opened to ATV traffic then an adequate staff of enforcement personnel must be employed. This is needed to protect the environment and the rights of other forest user groups which tend to get pushed out due to the intensity of ATV activity. These enforcement people must be trained, equipped, and fully authorized to enforce the forest rules and regulations. This work cannot be expected to be carried out by the foresters, the County Sheriff's
deputies, or the DNR game wardens. There are simply not enough to go around. I have also found that self policing volunteer citizens ATV patrols, though well intended, are not effective in seeing that rules and regulations are adhered to.
If you have any further questions please feel free to get back to me.
How to Interpret the Recent Landslide Decision Against the ATV Trails?
In the last 50 years, there have been 3 US presidential elections that have been considered "landslides." These included Reagan's 59% to Mondale's 41% in1984, Nixon's 60% to McGovern's 37% in 1972, and Johnson's 61% to Goldwater's 38% in 1964. If those elections are rightly called landslides, then the recent Vilas County referendum that was 63% to 37% in opposition to ATV's on County land should be thought of as an earthquake!
The recent public comments of Vilas County Board Chairman, Charles Rayala, and Board member, Steve Doyen, are therefore astonishing. They said the ATV referendum is a clear sign that a compromise is required, and there should be some ATV trails to represent the minority of Vilas county residents who voted in favor of the ATV trail system. This convoluted reasoning is not representative of how our democracy is supposed to work. It would be akin to suggesting that 41% of Reagan's administration should have been made up of Mondale people, Nixon's should have been 37.5% McGovern folks, and Johnson's should have included 38% Goldwater supporters. The ATV referendum was not about what proportion of County land was to be given over to an ATV trail. It was a simple "yes or no" question. County Board members like Mr. Rayala and Mr. Doyen shouldn't rewrite the rules after the fact. Not only did the citizens of Vilas County vote against the ATV trail by a majority that was almost 2 to 1, the trail was defeated in each and every one of the 17 precincts in the County. In addition, the voter turn out was up 78% from the last presidential primary. Thus we had a huge turn out of local tax payers that exercised their rights as Americans to have their votes count, and they voted almost 2 to 1 against ATV trails on County land.
With respect to the ATV issue, the arguments set forth by these Board members ignore some basic realities. The number of acres of Vilas County land given over to an ATV trail system is not what is important. The noise of these machines spreads far beyond the designated trail. The smell of burnt fuel lingers and spreads over the landscape long after an ATV rides by. The threat to wildlife, wetlands, forest floor, and forest canopy goes far beyond the actual small number of acres that comprise an ATV trail. The vandalism and disregard of property rights that have accompanied ATV trails everywhere they have been permitted, will be inevitable in Vilas County, regardless of whether only a few "bad apples" are responsible. The voters of Vilas County have sent an overwhelmingly clear message to the Board. They do not want ATV's on any County land. Their votes should be heeded. Any action taken by the Board that is contrary to this strong message would be allowing the minority (the pro-ATV voters) to ruin the enjoyment of the Northwoods for the majority. If the Board decides to permit ATV's on any county land, they would be completely ignoring the wishes of the overwhelming majority of Vilas County residents, to accommodate the minority. I call on responsible members of the Board to simply not let this happen.
Burton Kushner
Conover, WI
