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Bernie McGurl, a member of the EC's board of directors who
serves on the study steering committee, said the study will
not only focus on EC property, but land all across the region.
He added while the EC most likely will not serve as the administrating
agency for an ATV recreation area, they might make some of
their land available to the activity.
"We're
hoping to create a template where properties can be identified
as an ATV recreation area and look at ways to organize the
user groups and identify if it's something that can be taken
over by the private sector," McGurl explained.
According
to Amy Gruzesky, director of public affairs and development,
the EC received a $20,000 grant from Luzerne County and an
additional $32,000 from the state Department of Conservation
and Natural Resources to perform the study. She said the study
should begin early next year.
EC
executive director Mike Dziak said the study should last for
about six months and added cooperation among other landowners
will be needed.
"They're
going to look at it on a broad perspective. You can't do these
things with a small piece of land and it's going to require
cooperation among landowners," he explained.
McGurl
said the study will ultimately identify the best way to create
a management program for the activity and will look at issues
including public health and safety, insurance and liability,
stemming illegal activity such as trespassing and environmental
impacts.
He
set a range of three to five years for full implementation
of any approved proposal.
"From
a couple of sources I'm hearing there's a lot of interest,"
he said. "Other landowning agencies are interested in
some facilities so we may see something getting developed."
But
foremost the study will identify potential partners for the
endeavor and outline preliminary management options. McGurl
said the study is basically "testing the waters to see
what the potential is."
Because
ATV use has significant property rights and environmental
issues, McGurl said partnering with user organizations is
key. He stressed that responsible ATV riders are becoming
involved in finding solutions to these issues and policing
their fellow riders.
But,
McGurl added that trespassing remains a major problem associated
with ATV use.
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