Tips for stopping trespassers needed!

Those are all fake... everyone knows that ATV's don't do damage like that!


ahem cough cough....

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Guess what folks. I did the google image search too. Agmantoo did the best post, he actually posted a couple of pictures that showed ruts that MAY have been 12 inches deep.

No one is disputing the fact that ATVs will rut a trail. I acknowledged this and gave the original poster realistic suggestions as to how to keep the ATVers off if she really wanted to. I did suggest that her analysis of two to three foot deep ruts was an exaggeration, and I maintain that position. ATVs don't make three foot deep ruts. Find me a picture of a adult man standing up to his WAIST in an ATV rut. It doesn't happen. Any idiot realizes that.

I'm not arguing the merit of protecting your land, nor defending trespassing. I AM pointing out that it is not necessary to overstate your case to gather attention to your cause.

Point out the FACT that ATVs are rutting your trails and the FACT that you don't like it. Enough said.

Pete

Hey if I started this as a franchise how many would be willing to join?
Id supply signs cameras and legal work and In return keep any money I got out of the trespassers

Costco is having a sale on a 4 camera wireless motion detecting security camera set with recording base station for $300-odd dollars.

ATV ruts will only be a foot deep at the most, the largest tires they make are 26" and most run 22-24" tires equalling a small rut, but most only have ground clearance of 8" until the skid plates hit anyway. If the ruts really are 2-3 feet deep you have a problem with farmers driving their tractors through there. I don't ride ATV's, I think they are noisy and a waste of money, but the only way to stop them is to put something large in the way like a tree so they find an alternate route. If they start chainsawing the tree stop and say hi.

Looks like this ATV rut is more than 3 ft. deep:



http://news.minnesota.publicradio.or...tv/index.shtml

http://www.bluewaternetwork.org/repo...ialeffects.pdf

http://home.interlog.com/~erhard/atv...on_canoein.htm

Scroll down the page to see a man standing in knee deep mud caused by ATVs:
http://www.yip.org/~erhard/atvs_and_...ski_trails.htm

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http://hickahala.blogspot.com/

The orginal rut may only be 12 in deep but then here comes the rain and if it is on a hill there goes the soil out of the rut into the streams or road ditches or worse into crop fields. I had a 4 wheeler because I am disabled and after riding it to the top of the mountain a couple time and seeing the tracks it left it found a new home real quick. It is sad to be driving in the country and see a set of ruts going up a hillside and watching them get bigger every year. After a few years another set appears beside them and here we go again. I allow no 4 wheeler on our property and if I were to chatch one it would likely become my property to be sold. No tresspassing signs here in WV still mean to stay off. Sam

those tires would look real sweet with a 1/2 diameter inch hunk of rebar hanging out of them.

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this message has probably been edited to correct typos, spelling errors and to improve grammar...

"All that is gold does not glitter..."

You could put a motion sensor at each end of the trail that connects to an alarm in your house, then when the alarm goes off you high-tail it out there with a shotgun and a pocket of blanks and scare the beejeebers out of them.

(careful, blanks still shoot wadding and can be dangerous at close range).

You could put a motion sensor at each end of the trail that connects to an alarm in your house, then when the alarm goes off you high-tail it out there and scare the beejeebers out of them.

Love those wheels! Ive got a Polaris just like that, plus a 400 Sportsman and a 400 Express that are both 2-stroke engines

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ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ

I ride legal trails. I don't have to trespass. If someone is spiking my trails for their personal pleasure, I will HUNT THEM DOWN.

ATV's rut trails. Yes, it is true. So do wildlife, cattle, hogs, cars, trucks, bulldozers, roadgraders and many other things.

The new tires are up to 29" and they will churn mud and eat hillsides.

It probably won't help to seek out the local ATV club. Most have bylaws prohibiting trespassing. Most belong to TREAD LIGHTLY.

The reason that ATV's are getting so much heat is that there are more and more of them. People like the freedom of riding. Unfortunately, there is only so much land set aside for such activities. People need recreational activities.

There is a small number of ATVers illegally accessing a piece of land. Lets not get over emotional and blame all ATVers. Thats like saying that all homesteaders lack a dental plan.

Good thing you don't have moose buggies.

there are at least 10 miles of legal state maintained trails less than a half mile from my house and i still get get atv riders trespassing on my small piece of the world. my big beef is when they screw up my hunting. i rely on legally harvested venison, usually taken from my forest, and i don't appreciate folks who can't respect private property. rebar is a friendlier solution than running my bramble trellis wire neck high across the trails.

"no trespassing...bramble farming in progress"

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this message has probably been edited to correct typos, spelling errors and to improve grammar...

"All that is gold does not glitter..."

Yes, I was thinking of dropping a pile of trees at the access routes, large deadfall sized, if I must. If they have to spend 2 hours moving deadfalls every week, eventually they would give up, I suppose.
LOL
Another LOL Actually, I do give a few neighbours permission to hunt throughout the year on the property, and they get pretty annoyed to catch others in there---and they have my blessings to tell them to get lost. The bonus is that these people know a lot of the trespassers, so legal action is made a little easier if they get busted a second time.
The reason I haven't been out there lately is that I've been busy. But I couldn't enjoy those trails if I wanted to now because they are tore up and I don't relish riding my horse through that much rugged terrain. The spring water is sitting in the ruts---normally it would drain away but now it'll sit there, maybe evaporate by August if I'm lucky.

I didn't realize that for me to be justified to complain, that I must use these trails on a specific, regular basis? It is not a matter of "if I don't use it, someone else can". I OWN this land, they do not, so I have the right to do whatever I want with it (or not).
I didn't say three feet, the other owner did, I didn't see those ruts. I "guesstimated" with the two-footers. Basically, wearing rubber boots, the ruts come up over them, to my knees---pretty close to two feet---keeping in mind that the mud is not only driven through, but pushed up to the sides of the trail.
Yeah right! We're talking trails in the woods! There is NO room to "drive around the muddy spots". The other owner was complaining also that he brought his tractor through there with his equipment he used to level out the trails and make them nice.....and the ATVers prompty tooted on through there and tore his trails up again. Can you see why he might be a little annoyed at that?
Um, actually I have driven ATVs before.....on some LEGAL trails that I PAID to use! I would never drive on trails that I suspected were private, where I was not welcome.

When we bought THIS property it was with the plan to ride my horse on them (that would be, occasional rides of one or two horses, not a herd, so the trails would not be tore up from that) or for trail hikes. BOTH are out of the question now in the back woods, since the trails are tore up.

Anyhow, looks like the deadfalls are going to be the best option right now (well, and contacting the authorities). I'm not into scattering nails, etc around. Again, I'm not looking to tick people off by destroying their ATVs or injure them, just make them go elsewhere.

As it stands, most of the land owners are NOT happy about the ATVs and snowmobiles, so there is a good chance that there will be a lot of blockades before winter comes. I think a lot of them didn't do much about the trespassing because they believed that it was their neighbours doing it and were trying to "be nice". Now that they know it's actually people who do NOT own land in the area, they are not so amiable about it.

That is what I just don't get: people buy ATVs with no land of their own to use them, and assume that because there is a trail somewhere, it's fair game? That really paints fourwheeling people as being selfish and inconsiderate (and cheap). A property owner should not have to go to so much trouble to keep their property to themselves.

**peace**

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"The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese in the trap."

Dixy is there ANY chance it is a public trail? I know that right off the bat you dont think so but if its been there so long it might be, If it lays over an old trail it might be.if its part of an old easment it might be There are a TON of ways it might be . If at ANY time it EVER was a public trail it stays public FOREVER. So ask the oldtimers around there, get out that old 1880 plat book, the old areial pictures the Japanese took in 38 and the old topograpic map from 48 and look for evidence.
Where Im at there s a piblic road that the new owners keep pulling a cable across to them it proably just looks like a trail across their propertybut it is the ONLY actuall access to four seperate feilds on two different landowners. because of the way the creeks and propertylinesrun its veryconfusing and the feilds are small and the owners havent farmed them in a while but it is an established access.

I'm an ATV rider for many years so this is from riders experience.

Nails would probably not work. ATV tires will work pretty good with almost no air pressure. They won't notice they are low until they get to someplace where they can open it up and gain some speed. By that time, they will not be able to relate to getting the nail on your land.

There is another method that involves digging several deep ditches close to each other. That takes care of the 4WD Jeep type vehicles but does nothing for small ATVs. It actually creates a pretty interesting technical riding challenge to get over them so it does the opposite of what you want.

Gates with no fence on each side... easy ways around.

Actual fence.... nobody I know would ever cut a fence.

Logs across trail.... make sure they are 14" or bigger. Any smaller and they create a fun challenge. No knowing any better, some riders will think that the logs are just winter blowdowns. They would be tempted to use a chainsaw and clear for the 'benefit' of the other riders. If you go this route, put up a sign at the entrance to the trail saying 'trail closed'. They will get the idea. I think this is your best idea... in my riders experience of things that stop me cold.

Wire across the trail... you could kill somebody. Is that an extreme you want to go to?? Maybe try orange marking tape across the trail. Sure it will easily be broken thru but it will get the message across. Easy to replace. Be sure and put it at the entrance to the trail.

No tresspassing signs at entry to trail..... this would sure stop me and anyone I know. Maybe there are some riders that don't respect them but I don't know anyone like that. This is cheapest and easiest method when combined with the marking tape.

I see that my Hay Creek ATV damage site is messed up. The pictures aren't linking. I'll try to fix it tonight when I get home.

Logs don't work around here because the riders just come back with a chainsaw. Signs are either ignored or torn down. One solution might be to drop some trees across the trail and then take the chainsaw and cut grooves into the trunk. Fill the grooves with sand so when they try to cut through it dulls the teeth or drive a bunch of 16d nails out of sight into the trunk.

In MN trails that I grouse hunted for many years are now closed after a change of ownership. I contacted our DNR to see if was legal to use the trail to pass through the property to reach public land further in the woods and was told it would be illegal.

These photos (linked to ncrs site) below were taken after our state ATV organization held it's annual meeting. Supposedly ATV club members are the most responsible riders.


http://www.ncrs.info/images/smgilbertatvam661.jpg

http://www.ncrs.info/images/smgilbertruts5-9-02-717.jpg

http://www.ncrs.info/images/smgilber...5-9-02-702.jpg

After years involved with land law working for government let me assure you the people you talked with at DNR dont know hoot UNLESS they are either lawyers or the problem has come up and they contacted lawyers or there was just a big court case about it.

How long was that acess open there? Did you ask the folks at DNR how they knew the answer to your question? Is there other acess to the site?
And best of all did you ask the new owners if you could quietly walk across the old trail to your old haunt?

The first thing to do is understand the law. Speak with your local Law enforcement. Ask them for the specific sections of the code related to trespassing.

Notify them that you have a problem (in writing to document the issue). Get your neighbors to file complaints. Always carry a disposable camera with you when you are out and about your property. Take photos and document any damage. If you can get pictures of the miscreants all the better.

If you encounter the individuals involved accept that there is a possiblity that they will be aggressive or downright hostile if you tell them (even politely) that they are trespassing and need to leave. How you deal with that is your decision. Personally I don't take kindly to people trying to buffalo me on my own property.

Rather than blocking your trail along the length of your property you might want to consider making some larger piles of trees/brush layed out closer to your property line and blocking for a ways in either direction from the trail.

You might also consider planting a bunch of something thorny as well.

I think the best thing to do is to take the time to catch them in the act. In Ohio the law allows anything used in illegal hunting to be confiscated (including ATVs, trucks, etc). Don't know what the law in your area is but in our local area the Game Wardens and Judges have gotten more aggressive about going after poachers/illegal hunters.

Just a few thoughts. Notwithstanding the folks who claim it's only a small problem (the ruts) or these folks aren't hurting anything, I figure that it's your property and if you have it posted then no means no.

Mike

Dixy, first contact the OPP Rural Crime Team rep in your area. Just call the local detachment and ask to be put in contact with RACT. I've met the Eastern Ontario officers but I can't remember their names. They have lots of good ideas and they're about the only ones I know in the OPP that seem to take farm trespassing seriously.
If you're a registered farmer, or your neighbour, and these trespassers are travelling on planted or cultivated fields (including hay) or in a woodlot being used as part of a farm operation, you do NOT need to post anything in Ontario. Growing a crop, tilling, or managing a farm woodlot are considered exactly the same as posting the land, however, most police officers don't know this so you might need to get your local OFA or CFFO Member Service Representative (if you or your neighbour are members) to suggest ways to remind the police what the laws are.