by Kerry Thomas
July 6, 2007
First, I want to tip my hat to those true outdoorspeople who
practice what they preach, the people who still walk to go take a walk in the
woods, the ones who still row a rowboat to go fishing, the ones who walk into
the woods when they go hunting (and drag their game out on foot). The following editorial does not apply to
you.
I had vowed to stay out of the NHAL ATV fight, because, when it comes down to it, I’m neutral on the subject. I don’t own an ATV. I’ve never ridden an ATV.
But as the anti-ATV zealots keep repeatedly preaching their
hypocritical sermons to me, knowing full welll my position, in their futile
effort to convert me to their quasi-religion, I’ve reached the point where I
can’t politely hold my tongue any longer.
From my perspective, every sport has it’s enthusiasts and
it’s detractors. Personally, I enjoy
golf, can’t stand tennis. But I don’t
think I have the right to tell a tennis enthusiast they shouldn’t enjoy their
sport, any more than I would want a tennis enthusiast to tell me I shouldn’t
enjoy golf.
I don’t expect you to modify your behavior to suit my
tastes. If something you do offends me,
I don’t have a right to use the force of law to compel you to change your
behavior. I either have to live with
it, or engage you in a conversation to work out our differences. If you won’t listen to reason, and insist on
arguing from a position rooted in emotion and hypocrisy, we will have to agree
to disagree.
If you hate ATVs that much, I’d rather you be honest about
it and say you just plain hate ATVs. You
don’t have to give me the full song and dance routine about how they’re so dangerous
and damaging to the environment.
The arguments against ATVs usually go something like
this: They’re noisy. They pollute. They’re dirty. They’re
dangerous. They ruin the
environment. They cause erosion. They kill children. And the newest one, they spread aquatic
invasives.
Funny thing is about these arguments, quite a few people
making them have never actually seen an ATV in operation, causing all these
problems. They’ve seen it in pictures
or movies, from somewhere else, but have never actually witnessed one in
person.
The argument about “they kill children” often cites
statistics where “children” are as old as 17 years of age. And if “killing children” is the basis of
the argument, then we’d better outlaw automobiles, too.
Of course, most of these same arguments can be used against
just about any other form of mechanized sport.
Pick your favorite outdoor mechanized sport. Go back and substitute the word
“snowmobiles” in place of ATV. Or
motorboats. Or personal watercraft. Or motorcycles. Or go karts. Or
4X4s. You can do the same with lawn
mowers, chainsaws, leaf blowers, snow blowers, or even logging trucks.
Let’s take snowmobiles.
Back in the 1950’s & 60’s, these same arguments were used
vociferously against snowmobiles. They
were too loud, too smelly, too dangerous, polluted the environment, and caused
erosion.
So what happened?
Snowmobile enthusiasts organized themselves and began to
work with law enforcement authorities and the public to map out and maintain a
trail system. Rules were established to
help regulate snowmobile operation. The
machines improved over time. Training
programs taught newcomers to the sport the responsibilities that were expected
of them.
You will still find people who are adamantly opposed to
snowmobiles and snowmobilers. There are
still snowmobilers who operate their machines irresponsibly. But the little invention Carl Eliason came
up with, born of necessity, to enable him to traverse the snow-covered
Northwoods has, for the most part, come of age and become an acceptable sport.
Imagine what the Northwoods winter economy would be like if
we banned snowmobiles.
Boats are the leading cause of transmission of aquatic
invasives. Irresponsible boaters are
dangerous. Outboard motors
pollute. Speedboats cause shoreline
erosion. Should we ban motorboats?
Ever seen someone take a truck back into the woods to gather
a load of wood? Ever seen such a truck
come back out of the woods all muddy?
Do you suppose that driver went back and filled in the mudhole he drove
through, or the ruts he made in the mud?
No? Better outlaw that one, too.
I know a number of people who drive golf carts along town
streets and snowmobile trails. They’re
not licensed for street operation. Do
we now tell these people they can’t drive their golf carts anywhere but on a
golf course?
When I was a kid I loved riding my bike through a deep
mudpuddle, created by logging trucks on a dirt road. (Should I even raise the idea of a paved bike trail?) My bike got really dirty and muddy (as did
I). So I rode it into a lake to wash
off the mud. If kids still do that
today, maybe we need to ban bicycles, and kids.
The sounds of shotguns and rifles echoing through the woods
in the Fall spoils the “sounds of nature.” Same with lawn mowers &
leaf blowers. Should that be a reason we ban hunting, lawn mowers &
leaf
blowers?
What about the use of ATVs by disabled hunters? Or the aging outdoor enthusiast who now uses
an ATV to get firewood from the forest?
Or just to get out into the woods (because walking is now difficult)?
I recently read one letter that referred to the NHAL Forest
as an “unspoiled ecosystem.” So I guess
the logging and railroads 100 years ago and the ongoing logging efforts today
haven’t spoiled the ecosystem? I suppose
the DNR’s engineering projects on various area bodies of water over the years
hasn’t spoiled the ecosystem? I
suppose other aspects of our modern lifestyle have had no impact on the Forest
either?
The way some of these anti-ATV zealots are
carrying on, you’d think one ATV driving through one small stream would make
all the water in the NHAL unfit for human consumption. I don’t recall any such outcry in the 1980’s
when every teenage male up here was driving his motorcross motorcycle through
the NHAL, crossing creeks and tearing up the trails.
Use of our natural resources is not abuse of the environment. And contrary to popular opinion, humans are a part of the environment, not apart from it. Everything we do has some impact on the environment. (How much CO2 will you emit just reading this editorial?)
How do you manage to travel through the NHAL
Forest? Do you know how many miles of
paved roads (and now paved bicycle trails) run through the NHAL Forest? If you’ve ever been to (or live in) any of
the small towns here, chances are pretty good that you’ve traveled on a road
built through the Forest. Do you
suppose those roads and the vehicles that travel them might “spoil” the NHAL
ecosystem in some way? Maybe we need to
rethink that one, too.
The Northern Highland American Legion State Forest is public
property, ostensibly owned by the People of Wisconsin. All of us.
Prohibiting one class of mechanized recreational use while permitting
other classes isn’t quite racism, but it’s close.
Like illegal aliens, ATVs are a reality that aren’t going away. According to official DNR registration records, as of April 11, 2007 there were 629,024 boats, 234,819 ATVs and 206,013 snowmobiles registered in Wisconsin. ATV owners pay an annual registration fee, similar to those paid by boat and snowmobile owners.
If we continue to allow boats & snowmobiles in the NHAL, ATVs should be afforded the same privilege.