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Will Irene Force Vermont to Reconsider Its Proposed Ban on ATVs?

ATVs Become Essential Tools in Vermont Cleanup

Heath Ketchum loads his ATV with provisions before heading back to his isolated home on Thursday, Sept. 1, 2011 in Bethel, Vt. With hundreds of roads and about 30 bridges impassable, ATVs are getting folks where they need to go and they're ferrying supplies, food and gasoline for portable generators to stranded residents. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot)

BETHEL, Vt. (AP) — Along Riford Brook Road in the Green Mountain hamlet of Braintree, all-terrain vehicles have been the workhorses this week, ferrying food, water and medicines to residents who can’t climb down and back up the ladders now placed where bridges used to be.

In Killington, a woman who went into respiratory distress was safely transported part of the way to Rutland Regional Medical Center by ATV. Authorities say one ambulance brought her to the end of a washed-out bridge and she had to transfer to an ATV to cover the rough terrain left by Sunday’s flood. A second ambulance took her the rest of the way to the hospital.

“She’s fine now,” said hospital president Tom Huebner.

ATVs, reviled by many environmentalists for the noise and erosion they can cause in sensitive forest ecosystems, are about to be banned from state land by the administration of Gov. Peter Shumlin. But ATVs and their riders have been coming to the rescue this week as Vermont struggles to recover from the widespread flooding caused by Tropical Storm Irene.

ATVs Become Essential Tools in Vermont Cleanup

An ATV waits for a truck delivering gravel to repair roads on Thursday, Sept. 1, 2011 in Bethel, Vt. With hundreds of roads and about 30 bridges impassable, ATVs are getting folks where they need to go and they're ferrying supplies, food and gasoline for portable generators to stranded residents.(AP Photo/Toby Talbot)

Braintree resident Kristie Tabor, a 21-year-old clerk at a car dealership, said she’s especially glad this week that ATVs are popular in her rural neighborhood.

“Everyone has them around here, and they‘ve come in really handy because we didn’t have a road,” she said.

At the Bethel fire house, resident Ron Trask, 63, stopped by with a muddy Honda Foreman 400 ATV on the back of his pickup after ferrying a man to an otherwise inaccessible house to get his pets. The two loaded four cats and two mourning doves onto the rig and made their way back down a mountain.

“Don’t get me started,” Trask said with a grin when asked about the bad reputation ATVs have among many environmentalists. “If people go in and start tearing up people’s property, yeah, I put that down,” he said. “But these things have actually been lifelines in all of this, as far as I’m concerned.”

ATVs have been hotly debated in Vermont. Former Republican Gov. James Douglas’ administration approved limited use of ATVs on state land, despite protests from lawmakers and environmental groups. Douglas left office in January, and Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin’s administration has been moving to reinstate what had been a ban on recreational uses of the machines on public lands.

ATVs Become Essential Tools in Vermont Cleanup

People head to their cut-off home on an ATV on Thursday, Sept. 1, 2011 in Bethel, Vt. With hundreds of roads and about 30 bridges impassable, ATVs are getting folks where they need to go and they're ferrying supplies, food and gasoline for portable generators to stranded residents.(AP Photo/Toby Talbot)

“ATVs are a really great way to get around,” said Jesse Mastine, owner of Mastine Motor Sports in Bethel, which sells and services ATVs, motorcycles and snowmobiles. “ATVs and (off-road) motorcycles have a pretty bad name in terms of the relationship with environmentalists and things like that,” he said. “They don’t really care for ATVers … but it seems like they’re the only ones really saving anybody right now.”

Vermont is not the first place where the machines have come in handy after a disaster. In January, ATVs were used to evacuate people from more than 30 homes left isolated during flooding on Mount Hood in Oregon. They were used last year in Arkansas to search for victims when flash flooding killed 16.

Even those who want to limit their recreational use acknowledge that ATVs are useful in some circumstances. “There’s a time and place for ATVs and this was definitely one of them,” said Deb Markowitz, secretary of the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources.

Anthony Iarropino, a lawyer with the Conservation Law Foundation and a critic of ATV abuses, said he doesn’t think any positive public relations ATVs get this week will change the terms of the debate over them in Vermont.

“I don’t accept the premise that any positive PR that ATVs get for doing a work purpose should necessarily be to the benefit of people who just want to ride them for fun in sensitive areas that have been conserved by the state,” he said.

Capt. Ray Keefe, who oversees many of the hardest-hit areas of Vermont for the State Police, took a similar view.

“I think an ATV is much like any other piece of equipment,” Keefe said. “They’re invaluable in a situation like this,” but can be abused. He pointed to a situation in his own neighborhood in Hartford, where a former neighbor set up an ATV and dirt bike track on his property and ended up being “charged and recharged” with violating local noise ordinances.

“This person didn’t understand that his recreation was our nightmare,” Keefe said.

Comments (73)

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  • The Bulletproof Patriot
    Posted on September 2, 2011 at 11:07am

    How typically pathetic – environmentalists hate ATV’s until the moment when they need one.

    I’m also at a loss for how these damage public land… where I live, if you drive an ATV onto public property it’s almost always on an established trail. How does erosion of an established trail ‘destroy’ public lands?

    http://www.thebulletproofpatriot.com

    Report Post »  
    • IvanK
      Posted on September 2, 2011 at 1:11pm

      You’re surprised by this? In my 44 years I discovered long ago that when it comes to libs, rules apply to everyone else. Take weapons for example. Libs believe all weapons need to be banned… Until that is, they need one to defend themselves – take Rosie O’dennel for example. She cried out that all guns should be banned… Except she didn’t mention the fact that her body guard carried one…
      On taxes… Everyone needs to pay taxes… except them….
      So, there you go – Libs are hypocrites – PERIOD.

      Report Post » IvanK  
    • In.Spite.of.Myself
      Posted on September 2, 2011 at 2:11pm

      Look all, we want to blame someone for policy, we have to blame ourselves. “What”?!?!?! you say. Where were we when these laws were being put in for a vote, or when the election for the politicians proposing these laws were being held? You, me, and every other like minded person on here has the responsibility to do everything legally in our power to stop this non-sense, and for years now, we have been failing.

      Report Post » In.Spite.of.Myself  
    • mendolover
      Posted on September 2, 2011 at 2:20pm

      It’s the knuckleheads that think they can go anywhere (usually drunk and from Connecticut) they please.

      Report Post »  
    • chazman
      Posted on September 2, 2011 at 3:08pm

      … I just ignore them. They come after me there’s gonna be a fight!

      Report Post »  
    • mils
      Posted on September 2, 2011 at 4:13pm

      i do believe environmentalists hate everything…

      Report Post »  
  • GrumpyCat
    Posted on September 2, 2011 at 10:59am

    As a dirtbiker I have had some very interesting conversations with US Forest Rangers about their mis-conception of dirtbikes and ATVs. For some misbegotten reason they wrongly lump dirtbikes with ATVs. As contrary as it appears at first glance a fat-tired ATV does much more damage to the ground than does a dirtbike. The fat ATV tires have to scrub to turn, and scrubbing digs up the ground. Most have a locked rear axle, causing even more scrubbing. And then there is the issue of mud puddles which ATV riders can’t seen to resist but dirtbikers will go around or over, but not through.

    Report Post »  
  • AZ Prosecutor
    Posted on September 2, 2011 at 10:41am

    The environmentalist wackos in VT forced me to move to AZ. They only want public lands for people who hike. Not everyone can hike and I do pay taxes unlike many of the one in four people in VT on the dole.

    Report Post » AZ Prosecutor  
  • CrazyTexan
    Posted on September 2, 2011 at 9:54am

    Imagine that, certain vehicals are made with certain functions in mind. ATV = All Terrain Vehical.

    Report Post »  
    • Ruler4You
      Posted on September 2, 2011 at 10:30am

      FTA: “This person didn’t understand that his recreation was our nightmare,” Keefe said.

      So, the only ‘permissible’ recreation is something this Bozo promotes? where’s the list, Bozo?

      Report Post » Ruler4You  
    • My Two Cents
      Posted on September 2, 2011 at 11:27am

      RULER4YOU: Without a doubt, if ATVs were replaced with horses the bozo would complain about the horse manure.

      Report Post »  
  • IDrive4Fun
    Posted on September 2, 2011 at 9:49am

    I have an ATV for fun riding, but I do understand how they can be annoying or destructive. Here in Ohio, we have some areas of state land that you are allowed to ride your atv on, and others that you are not. There should be enough room to allow both on the state land. It isn’t an all or nothing proposition! Come on Vermont. Also, the state doesn’t sound as though they are banning them completely (yet). Just on state land.

    Report Post »  
    • SgtB
      Posted on September 2, 2011 at 10:10am

      I think it is ridiculous to believe that the government can tell you how and where you can travel. To me, an ATV is nothing more than a mechanical horse and to limit its use is a violation of our rights. Also, public land should not be land closed off from everyone. It should be land that everyone can traverse and enjoy.

      Report Post » SgtB  
    • NeoFan
      Posted on September 2, 2011 at 10:27am

      I am sure authorities are taking note of who is using an atv to help feed their family during the emergency and charges will be filed soon. Freedom and Liberty is the enemy to government thugs. To think that they would see the value and use common sense is laughable. I am sure we will see a few thousand new rules and regulations in the areas where citizens used atv’s along with many new atv taxes. That’s why I live in the west where people actually have brains.

      Report Post »  
    • BOUGHT YOUR SILO YET?
      Posted on September 2, 2011 at 10:33am

      Agenda 21 anyone? Those people have no right to take care of themselves. They need to wait on the government to come and bring them supplies.

      This is so out of hand. 2012 can not get here soon enough!

      Report Post » BOUGHT YOUR SILO YET?  
    • sWampy
      Posted on September 2, 2011 at 10:35am

      I think they shouldn‘t sell them to people that don’t own land to ride them on, the destruction they cause to both public and private property is often major. My parents own land on a creek, and the morons illegally riding 4 wheelers on their land, cost them thousands each year in repairs to the fences and banks of the creek that prevents their cows from getting out/hurt and allows them to safely drink water. About 20 miles up creek from them is a private place where people pay to ride every weekend, the creek that goes through my parents land was a beautiful clear waterway with several perfect swimming holes, now it’s a cloudy brown mess, that looks more like a sewer than a stream. It’s so bad, the cows don’t even like drinking out of it. ;-/

      Report Post »  
    • BOUGHT YOUR SILO YET?
      Posted on September 2, 2011 at 10:41am

      Sampy- so because of people who are riding illegally, those that do abide by laws should be punished? What is wrong with owning ATV’s, although you live in a suburb, and taking them with you when you go camping. That is what we do. Nothing at all wrong with that. But, by your standards I wouldn’t be allowed to own one.

      Report Post » BOUGHT YOUR SILO YET?  
  • vtech61
    Posted on September 2, 2011 at 9:30am

    To get back on topic, it seems the ‘problem’ with the ATV’s up there is limited to
    “use of ATVs on state land.’

    Side note and yes off topic and what I really wanted to talk about:
    Funny, that the newly elected Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlim
    was eating dinner in my brothers restaurant/hotel Wednesday night.
    By candle light of course, as the area was devastated by the floods.
    No power, all communications out, bridges out, caskets out of the ground.
    Dead deer and cows wrapped around tress. Stuff like that.
    (Also noteworthy, my family up there are no longer Dems. either, haven’t been in years)…

    My mom, who also works at the Huntington House in Rochester…
    was finally able to communicate with me briefly via cell phone Thursday night.
    Last I had spoke to her was Saturday, warning her
    that massive flooding was expected from Irene.
    The only way I knew they were OK was I saw an article first part of the week,
    mentioning how my bros. establishment was feeding people
    and taking in people who lost their homes.
    My bro was able to climb up a mountain and using a lap top,
    with one of those cell cards left a message on FaceBook letting people know they were OK.
    (But I didn’t see that until later in the week)…

    It’s a small world after all huh? I’m just glad my family is safe
    and I’m very proud if them.

    Report Post »  
    • ChiefGeorge
      Posted on September 2, 2011 at 10:14am

      Irene did way more environmental damage than 10k ATV’s could do in a whole year on trails through wooded lands, swamps and bogs. ATV’s may be the ticket right now, but this will only serve to make those who do not have them be jealous and for that retribution. Lets be honest here….people are very trite and infantile these days. This is not the country my Grandfather left me.

      Report Post » ChiefGeorge  
  • mom4times
    Posted on September 2, 2011 at 9:29am

    had my 4wheeler since may…..was the perfect mother’s day gift…..always wanted one and not about to EVER give it up…..fatherinlaw just got a gator the other day…..we’re ready for anything now :)

    Report Post » mom4times  
    • copatriots
      Posted on September 2, 2011 at 9:59am

      Love mine too, Mom. Have a Grizzly 660 and I’m a small woman. That baby can fly and has no problems climbing the mountains in Colorado. Thankfully, w have never needed the ATV’s for an emergency but know they will be worth their weight in gold when they are really needed. Meanwhile, they sure are fun!

      Report Post »  
  • 4wheels
    Posted on September 2, 2011 at 9:22am

    Can you imagine what would happen if they all depended on electric cars? How do you charge your car to get groceries when you don’t have electricity?

    Report Post »  
    • ashestoashes
      Posted on September 2, 2011 at 9:50am

      @4wheels…”can you imagine what would happen if we only hd electric cars? Yes… we would all be susceptible to being rendered powerless. Think 9/11 when the twin towers were hit, everyone was even discouraged from using cell phones and no one could get through, or the hurricanes, tornadoes and other natural disasters, not to mention …was it China and Russia who had locked into our power grid., recently without our knowledge? You cannot beat gasoline powered vehicles. We need every power source availabe. Oil and gas have served us well, tried and true. Most know what it’s like to go without electricity.but they don’t know what it would be like to be stranded because of their cars dependency on it…

      Report Post »  
  • bulletsinthegun
    Posted on September 2, 2011 at 9:10am

    We own a John Deere Gator and I think my wife would reather give up her truck then the gator. Also the gator will run when they shut down computers

    Report Post » bulletsinthegun  
  • TomFerrari
    Posted on September 2, 2011 at 9:05am

    Ya know?

    When I heard they were AIRLIFTING BY HELICOPTER food to people whose towns were “cut off” by washed out roads… NOT actual ISLANDS, just washed out roads…

    My first thought was that they were using a sledgehammer to hang a picture!

    Why AIRLIFT food across a washed out road?
    Does NOBODY have a monster truck? An ATV?
    Seems like REALLY BIG mountains were made out of a few molehills.

    (NOT to diminish the loss of life or those that suffered… God bless and keep them!)
    But, it really sounds like a whole lotta knee-jerking was going on – almost like someone “wanted” this to be a big disaster… Now, I’m not naming any NAMES (potus), but you have to wonder who would benefit from blowing a “crisis” completely out of potus? (er, I mean proportion)?
    .
    .
    .
    GOOD OLD AMERICAN, “GET ‘ER DONE” is what will save the day EVERY TIME.
    .
    .
    .

    Report Post » TomFerrari  
    • addie
      Posted on September 2, 2011 at 9:48am

      You don’t even need a monster truck, a Jeep Wrangler can get you any where you want to go for the most part, even a stock jeep. But the tree hugging environuts hate jeeps because they are gas guzzlers. However, they make Jeeps with diesel engines in Europe that get 35 mpg but this government won’t let them sell them here in the US. This country is so f’n up, excuse the french.

      Report Post »  
    • sWampy
      Posted on September 2, 2011 at 10:40am

      Addie, you nailed it, diesel in cars, and freight on rail, are the 2 things we need to do to get fuel prices down, mileage up, and Americans back to work, that doesn‘t fit in with the progressive’s one world government plans though.

      Report Post »  
    • GrumpyCat
      Posted on September 2, 2011 at 10:54am

      Jeeps were recently available in the USA for one year with diesel engine. Clearly management designed the vehicle using parts from others because it was a nightmare to keep operating. When one can not do it right, is best not to do it at all. Discontinued the next year.

      As for diesel, current Tier 3 EPA regs are killing the once simple reliable fuel efficient diesel with complexity. My Prius is simpler than my 2008 F-250 Powerstroke Diesel. Tier 4 kicks in in 2014.

      Report Post »  
    • TomFerrari
      Posted on September 2, 2011 at 10:57am

      Darn right!
      Diesel engines were the FIRST engines, and were actually, origainally, designed to run on peanut oil !
      (“green” before “green” was “green”)

      My point was simply that they used a HELICOPTER to take groceries to people who just needed something that could drive over 6inch rocks. Talk abou OVERKILL !!!
      .

      Report Post » TomFerrari  
  • TRUSTNO MAN
    Posted on September 2, 2011 at 9:04am

    Remember when horses where the “thing”!! They were great in Natural disasters too!! ATV’s are a fact of life out in the west….get with the program ya dang fools!! (note: ATV’s will NOT crap on your rug)

    Report Post » TRUSTNO MAN  
  • BMWmech
    Posted on September 2, 2011 at 8:52am

    In my home state of SD, you can license them and drive them on the street just like a motorcycle. Not only do people do it to beat the heat’ but also to cut their fuel consumption.

    Report Post »  
  • Cat
    Posted on September 2, 2011 at 8:33am

    Take a look around …
    We’re surrounded by, blood sucking, vicious, ruthless, contemptuous, snarling … attorneys.

    Report Post » Cat  
  • DanWesson455
    Posted on September 2, 2011 at 8:31am

    Here in upstate NY I use my 660 for plowing my driveway. Hauling firewood, logs, stone, Deer, my utility trailer (fairly big). It can attach sideboard garden plow, disk harrow, de–thatcher and other implements. It doesn’t coat 15,000 dollars like a decent tractor either.

    Report Post » DanWesson455  
  • ronljl
    Posted on September 2, 2011 at 8:29am

    Socialist believe in registration. Then lets help them in that respect. If you are a lib and you what help from someone that OWNS an a big 4×4 or other off roader like an ATV the list will show it. If you want your neighbor to help protect your property rights from from wolfs or human miscrantes and you are a lib, then let the list show it. Those of us that fight for the right of our guns, bibles and ATV’s are all misguided and should then also be selfish (lib’s are being so, aren’t they?) and check the list is see if they should be help by our destructive “toys.”

    But unfortunetly, that will never happen, because we are not selfish and we are the ones that stop and help our neighbors even at costs to ourselves. Conservitives have always lended a hand (and frequently get bit later) to neighbors and even those not so close. It’s just what we do.

    Report Post »  
  • Inbred Jed
    Posted on September 2, 2011 at 8:18am

    My bet is operator error. The fact that you are posting a technical issue in a political forum shows one of 2 things. 1. You are totally full of crap and are just trying to bad mouth GBTV. 2. You have very few skills in the navigation of a subscription website “operator error” My bet is both,

    Report Post » Inbred Jed  
  • Nervous Investor
    Posted on September 2, 2011 at 8:02am

    Gottcha Lottcha ….. LOL …… the good old RTM prescription ….. (Read the Manual) …… next to the “Is the device plugged in?” problem this fixes 95% of remaining issues. The Blaze site has a similar one … requiring log in with a User Name but on the support site requiring log in with an Email address ….. causes unnecessary confusion …….

    Report Post »  
  • GENEPAGLIARI
    Posted on September 2, 2011 at 8:02am

    THEY DON’T CALL YOU nickylouse FOR NOTHING.

    Report Post »  
  • Mateytwo Barreett
    Posted on September 2, 2011 at 7:57am

    But- but-but!!! They are daaaangerous! Don’t you remember when that 13 yr old boy took his girl friend riding and she got killed. And the manufacture had to pay punitives of a couple Mil. That’s the importance of getting congress to work together, to pass miore laws, so we can get more of those evil corporations to pay for somebody’s stupidity. . .And increase the costs of a lot of tools and equipment.
    But, when the going gets tough. . . well- we won’t hunt you down-for now!

    Report Post » Mateytwo Barreett  
  • Perspective
    Posted on September 2, 2011 at 7:46am

    Just another case of the eco-terrorists pushing through their agenda.

    Report Post » Perspective  
  • lottcha
    Posted on September 2, 2011 at 7:45am

    I have never had a problem, and I have been with them for around 3 years and when they switched over to GBTV I read the directions and it works fine.

    Report Post » lottcha  
  • Meyvn
    Posted on September 2, 2011 at 7:37am

    It’s a tool. Just like my bow, guns, chainsaws, truck, etc. Lighten up.

    Report Post » Meyvn  
    • Vechorik
      Posted on September 2, 2011 at 7:47am

      Ditto MEYVN. VT is almost a socialist state thanks to people like Bernie Sanders. The south has a lot of tornadoes and those ATVs surely come in handy! They aren’t allowed on roadways, so the woods and trails are the only place left for them. They are used by hunters on private land. What’s the beef? Aren’t people allowed to use their land the way they want? Oh yeah — socialist, forgot for a second.

      Report Post »  
  • NewLife56
    Posted on September 2, 2011 at 7:36am

    That’s funny, 4 of my family signed up the past two days and theirs works fine, as does mine.

    Report Post » NewLife56  
  • NewLife56
    Posted on September 2, 2011 at 7:35am

    Uh Uh Vermont, you have to sleep in the bed you made, you banned them and can’t pick and choose when your stupid liberals rules and regualations are good or when they are bad. What happened vermont? WHAT? You didn’t consider there may be a time when you need them?

    Report Post » NewLife56  
  • NickyLouse
    Posted on September 2, 2011 at 7:28am

    Glenn Beck and GBTV will not give me access after paying for a year-long subscription….

    Report Post » NickyLouse  
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