Thursday, May 22, 2014

So about these ATV's on public land....

Can I go ahead and put my opinion out there on ATV's?  Great...here we go.

I'm not one that generally likes to "paint with a broad brush" or stereotype...I just don't like being wrong, and well, when one does that, they are ALWAYS wrong.  For example, just because some African-Americans are in gangs, I wouldn't say that all African-Americans are gang members; nor would I say that all skinny people have eating disorders just because some skinny people have eating disorders.  It's just so, I can't even think of the word, but "lazy" seems to fit best.  It's a lazy mans argument to paint with a broad brush and stereotype. It's great for "effect" when a valid point doesn't exist or when arguing with an uneducated opponent, but its just so lazy and disingenuous.

I say that because I want all those honest, good, considerate, responsible ATV users in the world to know I'm not lumping you in with all the inconsiderate ones that have no regard for anything or anyone past their front fender. 

BUT-you knew that was coming, didn't you?-I absolutely HATE-okay hate is a strong word, but I really dislike-ATV's.  They ruin trails (and by trails I mean anything that is not a gravel road). They create a TON of dust (way more than even their two wheeled counter parts).  In my opinion ATV's (and their ugly step sister the UTV's) belong on farms and ranches...with shovels attached to them, and newborn calves hog-tied and strapped to their racks while the mommy cow follows behind confused, or pulling cute little trailers full of grain, or with farmers riding them in knee high rubber boots.  In my opinion that is where ATV's belong, they fit perfectly there...like Michael Jordan on the basketball court.

That's my beef with the machines.  Now, their riders, for whatever reason, they just seem to attract the most disgusting, lazy, disrespectful (to other people and the land), people.  Hold on here a bit, ATV users, let me clarify: just because you ride an ATV doesn't mean you are disgusting, lazy, and disrespectful, like I said before there are some good, respectful, and even downright beautiful people that ride ATV's, and A LOT of them that spend a lot of time volunteering on public land, for the benefit of us all...BUT...if you are lazy, disgusting, uneducated, and disrespectful, and happen to live in the rural West, there is a pretty good chance you own/ride ATV's.  Does that make sense?   Yes, there are disgusting and disrespectful hikers and mountain bikers...I get it...but a mountain biker or hiker doesn't fly by my camp at Mach 1 just up wind, and dust me out...then do it over and over and over again all day...and if they do, they don't kick up any dust, so I just think they are a little weird and make sure not to make eye contact.

Okay, having said all of that... I acknowledge that my issues with ATV's are purely my opinion.  I just don't like them.  And remember that, its important, because it helps me make my next point. 

I'm sure, up to now, 100% of "traditional" environmentalists (meaning your average, run of the mill, Sierra Club or SUWA members) have been giving "high-fives" and shouting "amen" at the top of their lungs-no doubt annoying your co-workers and/or your beautiful Husky with one brown eye and one blue eye-while ATV users just ripped the sleeves off another perfectly good-though noticeably faded-Bon Jovi  "Slippery When Wet" concert T-shirt from 1986, and crushed a beer can on their heads for good measure.  And I'm confident that is about to change...

So here is the deal,  I have this thing about public land...I know a lot of my environmentalist friends don't get it, but, well, its public.  Public means that everyone owns it, and everyone has a right to it.  No one person, or user group has more of a right to the land than another. 

For that reason, I will NEVER, ever, under any circumstances, discourage a RESPONSIBLE individual  from using their land, or lobby to keep them from using their land in any way that they want or advocate for an existing ATV trail or road to be closed. .  To do so, in my opinion is pure and inexcusable selfishness. 

It's incredibly selfish of me to want to ban responsible ATV users from public land just because I don't like ATV's, and don't want to be around them.  VERY selfish.  And that is EXACTLY what every single environmental organization in America wants to do.  They want to ban ATV's from accessing their public land all most entirely for the soul reason that they don't like them and don't want to be around them. 

I'm sure environmentalists reading this right now are feverishly yanking dreadlocks from their heads, and screaming at their computer screens about the negative environmental effects ATV's cause to public land (trail proliferation, and trail creation for that matter, and the liter, and the destruction to archaeological sites, and on and on and on), and how rude those ATV riders they saw on their last hike were, and the noise pollution the ATV's caused on their last hike in the San Rafael Swell.   And further going on and on-with your most serious and devout tone-about how you don't want to ban them from ALL the land...just the most beautiful and desirable places visit (wink, wink...nudge, nudge...). 

I TOTALLY get where you are coming from, my granola eating friends, but I'm not talking about irresponsible ATV use...and its irresponsible ATV use, and users, that causes trail proliferation, and trail creation, and liter, and damages archaeological sites, and dusted you out on your last hike (responsible riders would slow-or stop-and allow you to pass).  Those guys, the irresponsible ones, well, they need to go.  But I'm talking about responsible users. 

Yes, an ATV has a larger negative impact on the environment than, say, hiking.  But when used responsibly, that increased negative impact is not enough justification to warrant banning responsible ATV users from public land.  We all have a negative impact, everyone of us, whether its Dunlops or Chaco's...granola bar wrappers or beer cans...revving motors or a belted-off key and out of harmony-chorus of "kumbaya"...we are all negatively impacting nature. So lets not start splitting hairs here...and remember this isn't our back yard, it is PUBLIC land we are talking about. 

I was at a public park the other day...and there was a group of teenagers hanging around one of their cars with the doors open and this ridiculous noise was coming from the speakers of their car....they were singing along and dancing, so I GUESS it was music (kids these days?)...was I annoyed? Yes.  Did I want them to go away?  Yes.  On the other side of me there was a group playing Frisbee, and they were awful at it, the Frisbee kept trying to fly into my head.  Was I annoyed? Yes.  Did I want them to go away? Yes.  On the playground where I brought my kids to play, there were some older kids (bigger, more coordinated, faster, stronger) playing, and my kids didn't feel comfortable playing with them there.  Did I want them to go away? YES. Was I annoyed? YES.

All of these annoyances at a public park...why do I go there?  Because I don't have a play ground in my back yard, and my kids like to go down slides and swing...so I have to go to a public park.  And since its public, I have to put up with people using that park in ways that annoy me.  It's just the way it is.  I don't have any right to ask those other users to leave, or to petition the city council to ban them from the park; they weren't necessarily doing anything wrong, they were just annoying me (even though I could make the exaggerated argument that Frisbee's to my head was a health risk).  If I want my kids to play on a play ground without other people doing things I don't like,  I'm going to have to buy my own play ground and put it in my back yard. 

And therein lies the lesson to be learned from this-way to long-post...why is it so easy to understand this concept when talking about a public park, but so impossible to understand when talking about public land????   We don't own the public land, and as such, if we choose to use it, we are going to have to put up with other people using the land in ways we don't agree with, and that annoy us.  We can't tell those other users to go away or to stop using the land, just because they are annoying us.  If we want to enjoy the great outdoors without other people around, we are going to have to buy some of the "great outdoors" and then we can do what we want with it.  But until then, we need to be unselfish and allow other Americans the right to use the land the way they want to use it. They have just as much right to it as we do. 

And, in the off chance that we do want to get away from "machines", lets not forget, that right now, there is almost 150,000 square MILES (not acres, miles) of federally designated wilderness in America (a land mass larger than the entire state of California) where machines aren't allowed (and that doesn't take into consideration the national parks, monuments and preserves that don't allow ATV's either).  So there is PLENTY (more than I think is fair, in fact) of land in America set aside specifically for quiet recreation. 

Come on, my fellow environmentalists, lets be reasonable, fair and honest about this debate...more than anything you want ATV's banned from public land because you don't like to be around them (selfish), and so we exaggerate and sometimes even make-up (really, ATV use in Utah is melting the snow faster in Colorado?  Really? I have no idea how anyone can make that argument with a straight face) the negative environmental affects of ATV use (I know nobody likes to admit that happens, but lets be honest with each other and at least admit the obvious; IT HAPPENS!)...and stop trying to ban ATV's from public land.  You wouldn't advocate putting all African-Americans in jail because SOME African-Americans are gang members, so why on EARTH do you feel it makes sense to try and ban all ATV's from public land because some of them are complete and utter morons?   

We've got enough land set aside specifically for us (more than any of us could ever see in a lifetime), so give it a rest....lets stop spending money closing existing ATV trails, and on banning things we-personally-don't like, and start spending that money on educating the public about how to use the land responsibly and helping them better understand the land and its history so they'll appreciate it more.  That is a sound way to spend money. 

Why can't we all just get along???   We can!  We just all have to be a little less selfish...     

9 comments:

  1. I saw this blog linked on another board, and I read it, and I love the sentiment. I hate ATVs as much as you do but not as much as I hate UTVs and side by sides, and for all the same reasons too. The difference is, I suppose, that I'm an avid 4WD hobbiest, and I have the misfortune of having all those beer-can-crushing Judas Priest-wearing mouth breathers on my "side" in the war for (or against) motorized access.

    And I get it, I really do. Irresponsible access is incredibly damaging to the land we're all supposed to be sharing, and the easiest way to prevent irresponsible access is to prevent all access, and that sucks for the rest of us that are doing our best to leave things as we found them. Thanks for taking the time to point out that the majority of motorized users are responsible users, and thanks for checking my own hypocrisy as I stew in my hatred of everybody who doesn't recreate like me.

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    1. as much as you may hate utv's, the one we own lets me get my brain - injured brother out to see nature and have fun where if we didn't own one he would miss out on life and be stuck inside at some support place playing board games.

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  2. What a great post. I was shown the link on an off-road user forum. As a self-proclaimed 'responsible' land user it is very nice to see some sensibility from the 'other side'..
    being prepared has allowed me to give a helping hand (food,water,emergency care,etc) to a few needy hikers through out the years. What a difference it makes when we, being hippies or motor heads, look past our differences and get along. My experience has shown that, for the most part, getting along is actually quite easy.

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  3. I have fought for our right to ride in Washington for a handful of years now. Being fairly young (early 20's) I have seen off road recreation take massive hits and massive gains in a few short years. The key is this: define sustainable. Until that word is defined, all off road recreation areas are in danger. The next key is to create areas within each larger area for different user groups. Designate trails as single track, or quad & motorcycle, or 4x4, or downhill mountain bike trail. Now, if a hiker is on a mountain bike trail, they are gonna know it, and it is their responsibility to remain safe and out of the way. Non motorized recreationists should have leniency to share non motorized trails, and visa versa with motorized recreationists. Non-motorized trail users should never have to share a trail with motorized trail users, and motorized trail users should never have to share a trail with non motorized trail users. Share the LAND, create areas for different users, incorporate difficulty levels for each user, and we can all recreate how we want peacefully.

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  4. wow, fantastic post. Just for fun, you can even cross out "ATV" and enter in any other controversial topic.
    *Also, I don't own an ATV, but I fully support peoples right to own and use one on shared land. Even the fat and lazy ones. (Although I hope their carb gets clogged with ethanol sludge 20 miles away from their truck/cell service)

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  5. As the son of an environmentalist, back in the 1990's ive been on River Watch Monitoring where we've found industrial waste on river banks from chemical plant discharge. THAT is environmental damage. ATV riding on trails with proper maintenance is NOT damage whatsoever. Also my parents support my ATV addiction :)

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  6. It's nice to see this stance. I enjoy hiking, mountain biking, camping, and riding my ATV too. There's room enough for everyone and bad apples in every crowd. I would love to see the efforts from closing areas go into more open areas. More open areas for OHV specific use means less OHV out in multi-use areas. The beer-crushed-on-forehead breed of ATV user is a special sort, and not one we particularly care for as a group. There are plenty of people that ride bikes and quads that try to educate other riders as well. There are plenty of good apples out there, on both sides.

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  7. Is it possible for ATV riders to have fun without behaving like knuckle-dragging Trump zombies but more importantly not making so much GD noise? Could you whoop and holler and insult and threaten people if your machines were electric and not driving you wild with names like ThePredator, The Impailer, The Noxious BadAss, or whatever testosterone building, third leg enhancing, hot wheels childlike infatuation creating, bullshit fantasy wet dreams you get from your frickin summertime Snow Machines?
    The worst is that you endanger your OWN children while you teach them bad manners and shit-on-the-next-guy values for generations to come. Play video games at home then beat people up at the mall in the suburbs you inhabit.
    Stay out of quiet, clean wilderness areas you neither respect, appreciate let alone belong in. Stay TF OUT! You probably will run into polite quiet people who won't back down from your BS someday and embarrass you permanently.

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    1. The point is that this is public land! And we have to share it. If you don't want to hear other public land users, then you have to go buy some land...if you can't afford to buy any land, then tough luck, you get to share the public land with the rest of us.

      Again, if you don't want to see other people while you're outdoors, then go buy as much land as you can afford and do whatever you want with it...if you can't afford to buy any land, then suck it up, and get off your high horse...those people have just as much right to RESPONSIBLY use the land as you do. (and making noise, "whooping" and "hollering" and having weird names on their machines, isn't irresponsible...even if it is annoying).

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