Word: atvs
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Canoe Guide John Marlin of the nearby Twin Rivers Landing receives up to 16 complaints a day about ATVs. "The problems are from outsiders," he says. "When all those people get together with ATVs, and you combine that with alcohol, you have a real problem." Horror stories abound. Former River Guide Eric Dunn recalls an encounter in which an ATV jostled a canoe and knocked a little boy into the river. The child's father and the ATV driver "went at it for a while," recalls Dunn dryly. "Over three years ago, a young boy tried to run down...
Such tales finally forced the Missouri legislature to take this spring's action. But the onslaught of ATVs continues to worry local officials in Reynolds County, where the population of 7,500 increases as much as fivefold on holiday weekends. Even with the new law, says County Sheriff Gary Barton, he and his two deputies can hardly make a dent in the rampant ATV challenge. On Memorial Day weekend they wrote scores of tickets to ATV riders who trespassed on private property or were intoxicated. "Sometimes," says Barton, "it gets pretty hairy. You'll get there, and there will...
Rivers are not the only ecosystems involved in the no-holds-barred battle between ATV users and environmentalists. In California some 500,000 acres of public land are open to use by the increasingly popular off-road vehicles. The Ocotillo Wells State Vehicular Recreation Area east of San Diego, for example, draws tens of thousands of visitors. Environmentalists are enraged. Says Bob Hattoy, Southern California director of the Sierra Club: "They have ample room to play, but they feel they have the cowboy's right to ride the range wherever they want, whenever they want and how far they want...
...addition, about 28 other states, including Maine and Wisconsin, have laws regulating the vehicles. Several bills now pending in Congress would restrict the sale of ATVs or provide refunds to customers who have purchased the three- wheel versions. Hundreds of product-liability cases and class actions have been brought against manufacturers. James Lacy, general counsel of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, says there have been 998 ATV-related deaths since the beginning...
...stakes in the battle are high. Sierra Club Director Hattoy charges that the ATVs permanently scar the land, kill wildlife and destroy vegetation, as well as cause noise, safety and pollution problems. Says he: "We recognize their right to use public lands, but no one has the right to chase jackrabbits until their hearts explode, or roar over desert turtles." ATV Enthusiast Buddy Bray sees it differently. "I don't believe riding ATVs destroys the desert," he says. "All you kill is the bushes...