My Father and I discussed the practical uses of the new machine over dinner that very evening. He was anticipating utilizing it to access the farthest points in the area we hunt bordering the Allegheny National Forest in Warren County, Pennsylvania. He also pointed out that dragging a deer out from these distant locations would now become a time to reflect on the hunt and look forward to many evenings of sampling new and old venison recipes rather than sweat, pant, overheat, and tire from such an exhausting drag, which may only serve to make one reflect as to the sanity of taking this particular animal. My Father and I did this exact thing for many years. We added a 1984 200 Honda Big Red, and then a 1985 Honda Big Red 3 wheeler to our equipment, finally doing away with the 185 in favor of the newer "utility" machines which sported carrying racks, trailer hitches, and multiple gear ranges. These machines embodied the epitome of hunting convenience along with practical uses around home.

Many other members of our hunting party purchased ATV's, as was the trend throughout much of the hunting community. Sportsmen from all walks of life could be seen using the familiar machines for preseason scouting trips, transporting gear into their stand location, and removing felled game. The features and versatility of the new models became as much a part of campfire conversation as any location or individual hunting story. The ATV had become ingrained as a key piece of hunting equipment, as much as a favorite rifle, portable tree stand, or bow and arrow. I remember listening to the tales of the "Old Timers" around camp who, after purchasing an ATV, could now access their favorite locations with ease. Before their ATV, they may have been unable to get that far from camp, and could never have dragged a deer from their favorite haunt. Before their ATV their stories were mere reflections of past hunting prowess. Their eyes would drift off, focusing on some indeterminable point on the horizon as they relived an exciting hunt in their minds. I will always remember when the same "Old Timers" stood around the campfire after returning from a successful excursion to their favorite stand on their ATV. Their eyes told a much different story. They were full of enthusiasm and focused on the here and now as they recanted the tales. Their minds needed not to reflect on a distant past and their eyes stayed focused on the crowds of listeners. I was as elated for them as I would be for myself when they returned with a deer securely fastened to the rack of their ATV. It was as if a proud old lion had returned to the pride saying, "You see, I've still got what it takes, and I can still teach you youngsters a thing or two".

I also enjoy using an ATV for the same purposes, although I am in good physical condition. It adds to the overall experience to a great degree. I can scout several locations, cover a lot more ground, and set up several stands rather than just one. Using an ATV allows me, as well as anyone with a limited amount of time, to make the most of the opportunities we have to get outdoors. Through the use of an ATV I have become a more successful hunter, trapper, and fisherman, and I have also learned a great deal more about the areas I frequent as a result of the ability to cover more ground.

I enjoyed spending time outdoors so much with an ATV that it soon became the mainstay of my recreation soon after my Father purchased the 1983 I told you of earlier. Many of my friends' Fathers also purchased ATV's for the same reasons, and the results were the same for them. I could recount an endless number of stories to you detailing camping trips, fishing expeditions, trap lines, and just plain recreational riding my friends and I enjoyed over the years. We could all teach you the fine points of strapping enough camping paraphanalia onto our ATV's to make a one night trip to a site beside a creek or pond a mile from home practically a night at a Hilton. On the occasions we can get together now, we laugh and reminisce about our outings and some of their minor mishaps. We all have different opinions as to who caught the biggest fish or the most muskrats, but one theme remains constant. We all agree that without the ATV's, and the wholesome recreation we were afforded through them, we may have gotten into a lot more trouble and never learned to appreciate the outdoors as we did. We talk about how unfortunate it is that today's youths cannot even take a responsible trail ride without someone becoming upset. In light of the negative publicity I spoke of in the beginning of this article, a responsible youth is now persecuted and sought after as a criminal by many law enforcement agencies. Why? Is buzzing down the birm of the road to get to a trail a crime? To some, yes it is. Would they rather see this same youth on drugs or vandalizing something? Of course not, but there are those who see ATV recreation as the same thing.

My Father was 58 years old when he bought our first ATV. He will turn 77 in March. I was born late in his life, and was the only boy of 5 children. My sisters never took up hunting so I was the answer to the prayers of any Father who seeks to pass on his affinity for the outdoors. It was unfortunate that when my interests in the outdoors and hunting had peaked, my Father's physical ability to accompany me had depreciated to a great degree. I was often paired up with one of my sisters' husbands, or another adult, as a junior hunter. I enjoyed these opportunities, but nothing compares to learning from your Dad. With the ATV's at our disposal, his ability to accompany me was stretched out for years. From him I learned more about the outdoors and hunting than would ever have been possible without the ATV that served to even the playing field between our physical abilities. I am sure that many Grandfathers were also afforded this opportunity with their grandsons and granddaughters, of which all feel the way I do about the value of the experience.

In my 20 years of hunting and ATV riding I have seen a drastic change in the way ATV's are regarded by the public. Twenty years ago everyone I encountered in the woods would see the practicality of the machine and immediately begin planning for the eventual purchase of their own. I have hauled out too many exhausted hunters and their game in the past to keep track, but none of them scoffed at me or refused the transportation I offered. Without exception, they were thankful, and I was even credited with saving a few from an impending heart attack. I have helped locate lost hunters, and I have transported people who were injured out of the woods. Never was I scolded or snubbed because I had an ATV at my disposal. Forest managers even told me that they liked having trails maintained on their properties because it provided access for skidders, increased the number of deer taken which aids in regeneration of the forest, and provided quick access for fire fighters in the event of a forest fire. The trails also helped to prevent people from getting lost because they could simply follow the trails to a public road. The responsible ATV enthusiasts always maintained the trails. Damage created by careless riders was quickly and efficiently repaired, and all manner of enthusiasts utilized the trails with no user conflicts. Equestrians, hikers, mountain bikers, motorcyclists, snowmobilers, and ATVers alike all shared the same routes and never did I see anything resembling user conflict.

For the past ten years or so, in an ever-increasing degree, I have seen the use of ATV's frowned upon, restricted, and banned in most of the places we used to use them. The Allegheny National Forest, through their Forest Management Plan of 1986, banned their use on all of the Forest except for 4 designated riding areas, which are open seasonally, during daylight hours. The Pennsylvania Game Commission has banned all use of them on 1.4 million acres of Game Lands, along with all of the private properties, which they have signed up under their reciprocal agreements (these are agreements made with private landowners to ensure the land stays open to public hunting). The State Forests have curtailed riding to specific areas in much the same way that the ANF did. State, Local, and Municipal authorities have cracked down on "illegal use," (that means the people putting down the birm to get to a trail). Many Townships have asked for increased enforcement and laws further restricting ATV use. Lastly, but certainly not least, it has been the trend of private landowners and land managers to ban the use of ATV's for fear of liability. All of these factors have led to more legislation and increased enforcement, severely hampering the progress of responsible ATV enthusiasts.

The media constantly portrays the damage caused by reckless ATVers, injuries, deaths, and illegal activities. They have never pointed out that responsible riders did not cause these unfortunate incidents, and represent the actions of the minority. Rather, they site that ATV use as a whole is destructive, ATV enthusiasts are lawless and must be kept in check, and ATV's are dangerous. If they don't come right out and say what I just did, they present that image for us anyway. Environmentalist groups and others with anti-ATV sentiments have thrived on this publicity for years. They have made the general public envision pristine mountains and streams when they think of hiking or horseback riding, and at the same time made the public envision erosion damage, 2 cycle smoke, muddy creeks, meadows with the sod torn off of them, and who knows what else when they picture ATV's. This is not true of all areas used by ATV's. In places where it is illegal for responsible enthusiasts to maintain a trail, it will be the end result of those who use a trail illegally. Are we all to blame for this damage? No. If the land was not closed, responsible riders would have prevented and/or repaired such damage, but we are blamed anyway, and there is further calls for increased enforcement and restrictions.

What ever happened to the primary reason I began riding ATV's? It seems like lately, the people responsible for managing ATV recreation can only see the sport for recreational riding purposes, and fail to address the needs of the hunters. All of the trails designated for ATV's in the State are closed during the hunting seasons. Any attempt to utilize an ATV to aid in hunting as I described comes under scrutiny, if not outright attack by the Pa Game Commission. I have even been told by Deputy Game Protectors that riding an ATV in the State of Pennsylvania off of your own property is illegal, and the Game Commission has the authority to enforce all laws governing their use, even on private property! I have also heard comments to the effect that the Pa Game Commission will not rest until ATV's are completely banned in the State! Then I read articles put out by the Game Commission stating their concerns that the number of licensed hunters has been steadily decreasing for years. The PGC has raised license prices dramatically siting that they will not be able to maintain an adequate budget for enforcement and new land acquisition with the decease in license buyers. Could it be that Pennsylvania hunters are so tired of being continually harassed that many of them are throwing in the towel? Fully 50% of the hunters I have spoken to own an ATV, or have owned one in the past but sold it because they aren't allowed to use it. More than 90% of ATV riders I have interviewed hunt. It seems to me that the Game Commission better take heed at who they are setting their sights on. Although they may have began this ridiculous crusade aiming at irresponsible riders, they now have their crosshairs planted firmly on HALF of all licensed hunters in the State of Pennsylvania! Then they scratch their heads and wonder why there are fewer hunters! I, for one, along with everyone I know, completely disagree with the PGC on the issue of ATV use.

My Father has been unable to hunt for 5 years due to the all out harassment of ATV users. He is told that he can apply for a permit to use his vehicle as a blind from the PGC. This means that he can park beside the road and shoot a deer out of the window. There are also hundreds of logging roads which street legal, insured automobiles might utilize, but ATV's are prohibited. The PGC tells him to drive up these often unimproved dirt trails with his pickup and hunt there. He refuses to hunt from the road in this manner. I imagine it would be like that old lion I told you about. He wants to prove he can still hunt with his own skills, not be tossed into a pen and told to kill one of those deer! Simply the kill does not gratify his hunting experience; it is a culmination of the entire outdoor experience that he thrives upon. If he were not allowed to access the remote locations he has hunted for over 50 years, he would just as soon sit in camp. I spoke earlier about the elation in the "old timers" eyes when they returned from a successful hunt. Something is missing around the campfire now. The 'Old Timers" are gone. They are sitting in camp letting us "young bucks" relive our hunts without them because they are too depressed about not being able to join in. They know we have heard their stories time and time again and fear that telling them again may come off as the ramblings of an old man. I am also depressed to see the man who instilled in me all of the values and appreciation for the outdoors, sitting there, especially when I know he may be sharing his own tales if only he were allowed to use the ATV to get into the woods. He shot a doe in the back yard of the camp a few years ago. Upon my return he was elated to share the experience with me. Soon afterward I saw something else welling up inside of him and he told me what it was. He described the feelings he was having about the whole situation without using nearly as many words as I have to, to relay it to you. He said that doe didn't deserve to die. He had not defeated the animal's keen instincts or senses, he had killed it because it had evaded a hunter who hadn't defeated it either, and by all rights he should not have been sitting there in camp to ambush her while she headed for cover. The kill had taken place, but it wasn't hunting, was it? According to the Game Commission's philosophy, he should have been pleased at the results of this hunt, as this is the exact same circumstances they wished to envoke on him through their "vehicle as a blind permit".

I am now the Father of 3. My wife is also an avid hunter, and god willing my children will be as well. I am also the founder of one of the largest ATV organizations in the State of Pennsylvania, ATV Traction Inc. The reason I so avidly pursued the formation of this organization was to preserve the experiences I have had with ATV's for my children and their children and so on. Our motto is "Preserving Our Sport For Generations To Come". I am reminded through telling you of my Father and our other Elder hunters that I too may need an ATV to continue hunting and sharing the outdoors with my children and grandchildren. I think of the words of a disabled hunter who has devoted all of his spare time toward lobbying for the rights of disabled hunters to use ATV's to assist them. He says, "Everyone is temporarily able bodied." Then I take a deep breath and reflect on the way that sportsmen and recreational ATV enthusiasts are being treated. I try to figure out a way to make those who oppose us understand that further restrictions and more laws will only increase the problems, rather than eliminate them. The only words that come to my mind are discrimination, harassment, and ignorance, to describe the plight of the ATV enthusiast in the State of Pennsylvania.

Those are 3 strong words, allow me to reiterate: Discrimination. ATV enthusiasts are the most discriminated group of trail users alive. We pay to have our machines titled, registered, and insured; law requires all of which. We pay 47 cents/gallon in Pa gasoline taxes for the fuel we use in the machines without any benefit from the money, not to mention the fuel we burn transporting our ATV's to a trail in a truck. We pay Pittman-Robertson excise taxes on outdoor sporting goods and apparel which helps fund our public lands (most of which we are banned from). Hunters who own ATV's pay license fees every year to the Game Commission, the money from which goes to pay for enforcement (harassment of ATVers) and the purchase of more Game Lands, which we are banned from. There are more laws governing ATV's in the State than any other recreational trail users. There are more State enforcement agencies charged with enforcing the ATV laws than any other motorized vehicles or trail users. There are strict manufacturer's age restrictions placed on ATV's that do not apply to any other motorized off highway vehicles. Furthermore, no other group is required to pay any fees for the use of any public trail system (through titles, registrations etc) except snowmobiles, which fall under nearly the same guidelines as ATV's.

Harassment. The newly enacted law (act 68), which further restricts ATV use, empowers enforcement agencies to stop an ATV rider for "suspected" violations of the ATV code. This means that although you may be legally riding, they can stop you and make you prove you are legally riding. Doesn't our constitution say that we are innocent until proven guilty? I guess when it comes to riding an ATV, the opposite is true. The PGC thinks they have the right to fine you for any and all violations they can trump up, even if it is not on game lands or one of their reciprocal agreement properties. This is obviously false, but try getting anyone in the legal system to agree with you. Again, you are guilty until proven innocent. Although I am riding a titled, registered, insured motor vehicle, and I pay gasoline taxes, I am not allowed to turn a tire on an inch of public road. If I can't use it, why do I have to pay for it? Can you name any other vehicle, which is "discriminated" against in this manner? Now, I have to register my ATV even if it doesn't leave my own property. I can have an old farm truck that doesn't need to be registered. Kind of makes you wonder, doesn't it? I have a friend who was hunting with a bow and arrow. While sitting in the stand at 5:30pm (the time the deer begin to move) 2 uniformed officers of the PGC approached and ordered him out of his stand to check his license. They were not even finished interrupting his lawful hunt (which is a violation of the Game Code) when they heard an ATV on a distant powerline. They immediately told my friend that they had bigger fish to fry and took off in hot pursuit of the ATVer. Wait a minute, maybe I'm just not sure what their job is, but aren't they supposed to be more concerned with policing for violations of the Game Laws? I got stopped in my pickup while legally spotting deer. The Deputy told me that he was policing this particular piece of private property for ATV's and "other motorized vehicles." It never even occurred to him to ask if I was poaching deer (which I wasn't of course). I could go on and on, but it should be apparent that the Pennsylvania Game Commission is the driving force behind the majority of ATV harassment. Wait another minute; didn't they say they needed more money for their enforcement budget? Is that for catching poachers or ATV's?

The really touchy word is ignorance. I don't mean to say that our State's land managers or the general public are stupid by any means. Ignorance simply means that they may not be aware of all of the facts, or choose to ignore them. I would prefer to think they are unaware, because if they know what the problems are, then they are purposely ignoring them at the expense of responsible ATV enthusiasts. Here is the process by which trail closures and further restrictions only beget more damage and illegal use. First of all, when a trail is closed, many riders still feel it is their right to continue riding there. When they do, it is termed as "illegal use". With the absence of responsible riders on the trail, no maintenance is possible. This is when the trails become excessively eroded, and the environmentalists bring the newspaper reporters in to point out the destruction that ATV's cause. ATV's didn't cause the damage, lack of maintenance caused it. It is a snowball effect because this angers land managers and the public, and more trails are closed in an effort to avoid more damage. More damage occurs on these closed trials, and then the legislators come in and make more laws. More laws means that now there are going to be more violations because previously legal activities are now illegal, hence, "illegal use". This has been going on for 10 years people. When are we going to sit down at the same table and say "this doesn't work" and come up with a new strategy? The DCNR (Department of Conservation and Natural Resources) placed an "absolute moratorium" on further expansion of the ATV trail systems until they can get a handle on the "illegal use problems". It only stands to reason that if there are not enough riding opportunities available, and riders are utilizing closed trails, that further restrictions will only continue the snowball effect. It never ends, and it never will unless a completely new management approach is adopted. I explained earlier about the benefits which can be derived from multiple use trails, where ATV's, hikers, equestrians, and all other forms of trail users can utilize the same trails. The State has to see the benefits. There doesn't have to be separate trails for every kind of enthusiast. With trails that cater to everyone, there would not have to be as many total miles of trail. That means that the cost of maintaining them, and enforcing the rules would decrease drastically. Volunteer groups from any number of organizations (such as an ATV or Snowmobile club) could also help to maintain trails with volunteer labor. The State needs to recognize that it would be mutually beneficial to work with us, rather than against us. To close this paragraph, I would like to point out that the term "user conflict" is an entirely fictitious idea that was created by environmentalist organizations in their campaign to ban motorized vehicles. I said it earlier, and I'm saying it again, I ride trails where there are horses, hikers, mountain bikers, motorcyclists, and everyone in between. I have been doing so for 20 years, and I have never had a conflict with another trail user. Maybe we should ban automobiles due to road rage too.

It is high time that this Great State is able to distinguish between the outdoorsman, and a recreational ATV rider. There is a need for both. The sportsmen and sportswomen of this State, along with their children and grandchildren have suffered enough. It is also time for a new managerial approach to the entire sport of ATV recreation. We are not lawless vandals, criminals, or hellions. We are simply folks who enjoy the great outdoors and like to take a ride in them once in a while. An ATV is not a weapon of mass environmental destruction, a bulldozer clearing the way for a new parking lot is. An ATV does not damage property and violate the law, an individual person does. The people of this State, along with the entire United Sates of America, are the most intellectual, rational people in the World. Why does it have to take so much to make them understand?

I hope by reading this article that the reader may be more enlightened as to the plight of the ATV enthusiast and outdoors people alike. I also hope that I did not come off as an ATV zealot who wants to be able to drive my quad anywhere in the USA. I know that there has to be some limitations, and I know there has to be rules and regulations, but not nearly as many as there are. Lastly, it is my sincerest hope that all ATV enthusiasts and sportsmen and women will become active and rally to this worthy cause before our children are denied this valuable recreational experience. Through education, cooperation, and responsible recreation, we can "Preserve This Sport For Generations To Come".

Sincerely;
Brian Mills

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Brian Mills is the President of ATV Traction an ATV Club in Erie Pennsylvania and can be reached at Atvtraction@aol.com