Tynan19
May 02, 2006, 10:21 PM
Taken from HCS.
It's ironic how easy it is for these scum bags to skew the truth and lump snowmobiles with ORV's...
This green rhetoric is comical but it scares me that some believe it.....
Read on!!!!!!!!
Tuesday, May 02
To the Editor of THE Berkshire EAGLE:-
In his recent letter urging ORV riders to protect access to trails in state forests, Bruce Wood raises several interesting points. I agree that illegal trail use by ORVs and dirt bikes is a serious problem, and that greater enforcement of regulations restricting use of ORVs on state land is essential. Better enforcement will require more funds that should be generated by higher registration fees for ORVs and significant fines for illegal use, rather than higher taxes.
Mr. Wood thinks it is unfair that Massachusetts has used tax dollars to fund the Ashuwillticook trail without providing access to ORV riders. This abandoned railroad was formerly a refuse-lined corridor used by a very small number of ORV riders. Currently, the trail is lovingly maintained and enjoyed every day by an enormous number of hikers, runners and bikers; it is a wonderful place for families to spend time together and meet neighbors.
It is also a major tourist attraction that draws many visitors to Adams. It could not function as a magnet for outdoor recreation if it were open to ORVs. As the town of Adams develops Greylock Glen, it should use the enormous success of the Ashuwillticook trail as a model and work with the state to ban ORVs, including snowmobiles, in Greylock Glen and Greylock State Reservation to boost tourism.
ORVs must be registered to operate legally on state land. Currently there are 23,444 in-state and 3,507 out-of-state ORVs registered. There are approximately 6.4 million residents in Massachusetts, so the legal in-state ORV riders represent less than four-tenths of one percent of the population and legal out-of-state riders hardly count as a boon to tourism.
As the entire nation worries about the obesity epidemic, it seems entirely reasonable for the state to fund the Ashuwillticook trail and make it available to 99.6% of the population. If ORV use was effectively restricted and the trails were improved, residents would be eager to hike and ski in the state forests and tourists searching for outdoor recreation would bring in much-needed revenue to Berkshire County.
The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that nationally 10 percent of vehicle hydrocarbon emissions are generated by dirt bikes, snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles. Snowmobiles account for 90 percent of emissions in Yellowstone National Park, no stranger to passenger vehicles and RVs. The California Air Resources Board estimates that using an ORV with a two-stroke engine for seven hours generates as much smog-producing pollution as driving a modern car more than 100,000 miles. As a society, we need to reduce greenhouse gases that cause global warming, and a relatively painless way to make a tremendous difference is to limit or ban ORV vehicle use on state land.
Let the Department of Conservation and Recreation (ORV.feed back@state.ma.us) and your state representatives know how you feel so that they can effectively negotiate with the small but vocal and well-organized ORV special interest group.
PAUL KARABINOS
It's ironic how easy it is for these scum bags to skew the truth and lump snowmobiles with ORV's...
This green rhetoric is comical but it scares me that some believe it.....
Read on!!!!!!!!
Tuesday, May 02
To the Editor of THE Berkshire EAGLE:-
In his recent letter urging ORV riders to protect access to trails in state forests, Bruce Wood raises several interesting points. I agree that illegal trail use by ORVs and dirt bikes is a serious problem, and that greater enforcement of regulations restricting use of ORVs on state land is essential. Better enforcement will require more funds that should be generated by higher registration fees for ORVs and significant fines for illegal use, rather than higher taxes.
Mr. Wood thinks it is unfair that Massachusetts has used tax dollars to fund the Ashuwillticook trail without providing access to ORV riders. This abandoned railroad was formerly a refuse-lined corridor used by a very small number of ORV riders. Currently, the trail is lovingly maintained and enjoyed every day by an enormous number of hikers, runners and bikers; it is a wonderful place for families to spend time together and meet neighbors.
It is also a major tourist attraction that draws many visitors to Adams. It could not function as a magnet for outdoor recreation if it were open to ORVs. As the town of Adams develops Greylock Glen, it should use the enormous success of the Ashuwillticook trail as a model and work with the state to ban ORVs, including snowmobiles, in Greylock Glen and Greylock State Reservation to boost tourism.
ORVs must be registered to operate legally on state land. Currently there are 23,444 in-state and 3,507 out-of-state ORVs registered. There are approximately 6.4 million residents in Massachusetts, so the legal in-state ORV riders represent less than four-tenths of one percent of the population and legal out-of-state riders hardly count as a boon to tourism.
As the entire nation worries about the obesity epidemic, it seems entirely reasonable for the state to fund the Ashuwillticook trail and make it available to 99.6% of the population. If ORV use was effectively restricted and the trails were improved, residents would be eager to hike and ski in the state forests and tourists searching for outdoor recreation would bring in much-needed revenue to Berkshire County.
The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that nationally 10 percent of vehicle hydrocarbon emissions are generated by dirt bikes, snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles. Snowmobiles account for 90 percent of emissions in Yellowstone National Park, no stranger to passenger vehicles and RVs. The California Air Resources Board estimates that using an ORV with a two-stroke engine for seven hours generates as much smog-producing pollution as driving a modern car more than 100,000 miles. As a society, we need to reduce greenhouse gases that cause global warming, and a relatively painless way to make a tremendous difference is to limit or ban ORV vehicle use on state land.
Let the Department of Conservation and Recreation (ORV.feed back@state.ma.us) and your state representatives know how you feel so that they can effectively negotiate with the small but vocal and well-organized ORV special interest group.
PAUL KARABINOS