The confessions of an off-road-vehicle outlaw

[Jarhead]

The confessions of an off-road-vehicle outlaw
By Garrett Veneklasen
Updated: 11/04/2009 02:40:45 PM MST

By God, it was my right. No one could tell me I couldn't chop new roads through national forest land with my off-road vehicle and my chainsaw.
I paid my taxes. This land belonged to me. If a few trees had to be cut and some makeshift roads had to be opened, well, too bad. It was worth it if I got to have a little more fun. My buddies in New Mexico and millions more around the country probably felt the same way.

Then I began to notice something about the Carson National Forest near Taos, N.M. The elk were leaving, migrating somewhere else, and the quality of the hunts I'd enjoyed began to decline. And I noticed something else: The elk were moving to areas where they didn't have to face harassment from rogue off-road-vehicle users like me.

I remained quiet about this for years, but when a group of thoughtless riders ruined my own hunting experience, I had no choice but to think hard about what I'd been doing. It was time for me to change my habits and to speak out openly on behalf of reasonable and responsible off-road use.
For an entire morning, I'd tracked a herd of elk in an area that hadn't faced significant pressure from aggressive ORV riding. It was the peak of the rut, and the bugling of bull elk echoed during a perfectly planned hunt. I knew that the long effort of following this herd was going to pay off.

But then, three all-terrain vehicle riders shattered the stillness, roaring into the area on an illegal trail and blasting shotguns at a flock of grouse. The elk fled -- and my hunt was over.

When I confronted the riders, they had no clue that their raucous invasion had destroyed my outdoor experience. They didn't even think about the impacts their riding had on those who enjoy quiet recreation -- hiking, camping, hunting and horseback riding in our national forests. I knew I had to change my ways. I love ATV riding, but the truth is that my ATV and the millions like it have made severe and cumulative impacts on our public lands and wildlife. The impacts of off-road vehicles are probably even more profound and far-reaching than we think they are. It's sad but true that future generations -- including my 3-year-old daughter's -- will find our public lands roaded and devalued beyond repair if this problem is not addressed.
When I told my fellow ORV riders of my change of heart, most replied that I was "nuts." They said that even if I decided to alter my behavior, most other ATV riders would not.

Luckily, that has not been the case. My transformation into an advocate for responsible off-road vehicle riding has led other riders I know to rethink how they behave in the national forest. And as more of us set examples of prudent off-road use, we can become a powerful force to protect our key national forest lands.

It couldn't happen at a better time. Forest managers across the country are drafting long-term plans that will change how off-road vehicles are dealt with for decades to come.

Now is the time to urge our land managers and lawmakers to set aside large segments of America's national forests, preserving them for clean water, wildlife habitat and the vast majority of us who visit the backcountry seeking peace and quiet. This means accepting fair and reasonable restrictions on ORV use. After all, everyone has a right to enjoy our forests, but no one has the right to abuse them.

If we don't change our ways, then the warning of Wallace Stegner, the esteemed author and conservationist, may well come to pass: "Something will have gone out of us as a people if we ever let the remaining wilderness be destroyed ... so that never again can we have the chance to see ourselves single, separate, vertical and individual in the world, part of the environment of trees and rocks and soil, part of the natural world and competent to belong in it."

Garrett VeneKlasen is a contributor to Writers on the Range, a service of High Country News (www.hcn.org). He was born, raised and lives in northern New Mexico.

[rentalrider]

Interesting read. And it hits a group (like me) who enjoy hunting even more than orv'ing. Printed it to hang at camp. :thumb:

[T-way]

Yes, interesting. Thanks for posting this up Bob.

There isn't a user anywhere that hasn't ventured illegally into an area at some point in time. Some do it knowingly and without care, and others do it due to a simple mistake. The key is to CARE and ALTER our own behavior to preserve access for ALL users of our public lands. This writer makes good points.....I only hope his idea of limited access isn't too extreme!

But then again......defining "limited access" would be impossible. One hundred different people would probably have 100 different ideas of what it meant!!

[joe_jeep]

if the land they set aside was actually protected, instead of raped like tellico has been it would be easier to accept it.

if they had not closed millions of acres to orv use already i could accept it.

if there were open legal and challenging trails on public land i could accept it.

if the dnr/usfs would know the law, follow it, and stop abusing their power i could accept it.

under the current system i dont accept any of it.

when wheeling is outlawed, only outlaws will wheel!:ninja:

[phittie1100]

I call BS. This guy is no more a reformed ORV user than I am a world-reknown cosmetologist. Note the adjectives he uses to describe his "former" activities - agressive, raucus, severe, rogue, thoughtless and harassing the wildlife. And note the subtle way he winds back to the notion that only by conceeding to carving out big primitive areas of wilderness can we atone for our evil ways and become responsible ORV users. This should be on the NY Times list of top fiction short stories of the year. I hunt, fish, hike, bird watch, canoe, ride horses and sometimes just sit in the woods and enjoy the scenery - like Pat B I am proud to consider myself a tree hugger. But I also believe that our public lands are there for all of us to share responsibly - no need to fall on my sword and repent for my evil ways as the fiction writer of this article does.

[2TrakR]

I agree with Paul completely. Doubtful this guy has ever sat on an ATV; clearly wolf (anti) in sheeps (OHV) clothing.

Edit: http://www.interangler.com/aboutinterangler.html

More skeptical that such an avid and affluent fisher-dude would be a hardcore wheeler....

[oz97tj]

I'm gonna jump on the bandwagon with the cosmetologist...


Something about the story just doesn't give to me. I either get the "he doesn't really care or he would have never been as disruptive to the environment as he was" vibe or the "he is just trying to paint the picture that off roaders are all reckless and should accept setting all land aside to be saved" vibe.

[WhiteRhino]

I'm glad Paul said it. I read this last night & it seemed kind of odd to me but I felt I might be out of line to give a negative comment.

Note;
I like Joe's comments too.

[joe_jeep]

Note;
I like Joe's comments too.

admitting your problem is the first of 12 steps.:lmao:

[WhiteRhino]

admitting your problem is the first of 12 steps.:lmao:

Yes Joe, I admit you are my problem.:bootyshake:

[joe_jeep]

Yes Joe, I admit you are my problem.:bootyshake:

:thumb:

[yj_hank]

I also agree with Paul. The guy makes it sound like you need a chain saw and some sort of land destruction to 4 wheel. I dont ever remember wanting to head out and mame the land I wheel on. In fact it is just the opposite. I love wheeling because of the beautiful views of the surrounding area I am wheeling at.

Henry

[T-way]

I've got to admit that I read this rather quickly last night, with LOTS of distractions around me!!

I went back and re-read it, and I also agree with Paul. It seems real fishy to me for a number of reasons. Who's going to take a chainsaw and cut down a bunch of trees to wheel? That would have to be a pretty lucrative track to wheel to go to all of that work - I'm sure there would be easier routes to take (even illegal ones).

And I find it interesting that he seems to profess to be an avid wheeler, but when it comes to his elk hunting, well......wheeling be damned! In my personal experience (based on myself and others that I have spoken with over the years / read their comments), anyone who is multi-sport user of our public lands likes to BALANCE all of their interests, and promote them all. They don't advocate severely limiting one activity to promote another.

So I'm jumping on the bandwagon and calling BS as well. I believe that this is some eco-Nazi pretending to be something that he (or she) is not.

And I'm also going to be the first to call for a KICK IN THE JUNK to whoever wrote this!!!!

:hitwithrock:

(NOTE TO ECO-NAZIS WHO MAY PICK THIS UP ON THE INTERNET: Not all wheelers are prone to violence, or advocate kicking people with opposing views in the junk! However, this particular wheeler sometimes IS. My views and opinions should not be taken as representative of the entire off-road community).

[oz97tj]

(NOTE TO ECO-NAZIS WHO MAY PICK THIS UP ON THE INTERNET: Not all wheelers are prone to violence, or advocate kicking people with opposing views in the junk! However, this particular wheeler sometimes IS. My views and opinions should not be taken as representative of the entire off-road community).

:lmao::lmao:

[Renegade II]

With over 12 years as a Field and Stream club & MUCC member and 25 years as an ORV user, I can legitimately question "what the hell is that guy thinking." Sounds like a bad therapist trying to get someone to admit they're doing something bad because it doesn't mirror his ideals.

I have as much right to legally wheel 'open' areas much as anyone else has a right to enjoy 'their' sport in these same areas.

[T-way]

CONFESSIONS OF A FORMER LAW-BREAKER

I confess.....I'm a rehabilitated former criminal. Oh, I tried to comply with the law. But it just became too hard!!

Let me explain - For years I have slept in beds with pillows. This requires a mattress, and of course, pillows! So I would spend hours wandering the furniture stores in search of the perfect mattress. And countless more hours in places like Bed, Bath, and Beyond looking for those perfect stuffed neck supporters we call pillows to help me drift off to dreamland every night. Do you know the Sandman? I know him personally, and he's a heck of a guy!

Anyway......once I would get that new mattress delivered or those new pillows on the bed........well, I couldn't help but notice those little tags with the warning "NOT TO BE REMOVED UNDER PENALTY OF LAW".

Oh it was easy to ignore at first. But then........as I would go about my daily activities (mostly sitting in front of the TV or on the internet talking about wheeling), it would begin to gnaw at me.........

"What if I just tore those tags off?" What would happen?? Would the "tag police" show up and take me away? Would the economy get worse (or possibly better)? Would I be damned to a wretched life of misery? Would I grow a third eye in the middle of my forehead?????? WHAT WOULD HAPPEN????

Well of course I couldn't resist the irresistable pull of the tags!!! So.......I would always end up creeping into the bedroom, scissors in hand, AND REMOVE THE TAGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Of course..........nothing happened!!! But the guilt. OH THE GUILT!!! It would keep me up at night! What kind of person do you have to be to do something so blatantly illegal and foolish??????

But in the ensuing years, I have learned the error of my ways. What if everyone removed the mattress and pillow tags??? What then?? This type of behavior could lead to even more dangerous and illegal activities, such as ignoring the warnings on your blow dryer to not use it in the tub! Or ignoring the warning on the side of the saran wrap box that states that you should not use it as a toy for babies!!! Or even illegally downloading songs from the internet!!!!!

And of course......it could even lead to using a chainsaw to cut illegal 4wd trails in the national forest.

I am SO glad that I learned the error of my ways. I propose that we require ALL citizens of this great country to have to take their mattresses and pillows to a check-station once a year to verify that they have left the tags intac. Anyone who has removed them should be dealt with harshly.

And that is MY take on the situation as a former criminal!!!

[oz97tj]

CONFESSIONS OF A FORMER LAW-BREAKER

I confess.....I'm a rehabilitated former criminal. Oh, I tried to comply with the law. But it just became too hard!!

Let me explain - For years I have slept in beds with pillows. This requires a mattress, and of course, pillows! So I would spend hours wandering the furniture stores in search of the perfect mattress. And countless more hours in places like Bed, Bath, and Beyond looking for those perfect stuffed neck supporters we call pillows to help me drift off to dreamland every night. Do you know the Sandman? I know him personally, and he's a heck of a guy!

Anyway......once I would get that new mattress delivered or those new pillows on the bed........well, I couldn't help but notice those little tags with the warning "NOT TO BE REMOVED UNDER PENALTY OF LAW".

Oh it was easy to ignore at first. But then........as I would go about my daily activities (mostly sitting in front of the TV or on the internet talking about wheeling), it would begin to gnaw at me.........

"What if I just tore those tags off?" What would happen?? Would the "tag police" show up and take me away? Would the economy get worse (or possibly better)? Would I be damned to a wretched life of misery? Would I grow a third eye in the middle of my forehead?????? WHAT WOULD HAPPEN????

Well of course I couldn't resist the irresistable pull of the tags!!! So.......I would always end up creeping into the bedroom, scissors in hand, AND REMOVE THE TAGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Of course..........nothing happened!!! But the guilt. OH THE GUILT!!! It would keep me up at night! What kind of person do you have to be to do something so blatantly illegal and foolish??????

But in the ensuing years, I have learned the error of my ways. What if everyone removed the mattress and pillow tags??? What then?? This type of behavior could lead to even more dangerous and illegal activities, such as ignoring the warnings on your blow dryer to not use it in the tub! Or ignoring the warning on the side of the saran wrap box that states that you should not use it as a toy for babies!!! Or even illegally downloading songs from the internet!!!!!

And of course......it could even lead to using a chainsaw to cut illegal 4wd trails in the national forest.

I am SO glad that I learned the error of my ways. I propose that we require ALL citizens of this great country to have to take their mattresses and pillows to a check-station once a year to verify that they have left the tags intac. Anyone who has removed them should be dealt with harshly.

And that is MY take on the situation as a former criminal!!!


Wow, I'm so proud of you right now.

[T-way]

I'm just hoping that it gets posted on some mattress forum so other criminals can see the error of their ways!!!!

(It was all in jest, in case anyone missed the point!)

:poke:

[phittie1100]

lmao - Tway you're killing me!

[DDS4X4]

Please refrain yourself T-Way, we need Paul to stay around for a long time!

[Jarhead]

CONFESSIONS OF A FORMER LAW-BREAKER

I confess.....I'm a rehabilitated former criminal. Oh, I tried to comply with the law. But it just became too hard!!

Let me explain - For years I have slept in beds with pillows. This requires a mattress, and of course, pillows! So I would spend hours wandering the furniture stores in search of the perfect mattress. And countless more hours in places like Bed, Bath, and Beyond looking for those perfect stuffed neck supporters we call pillows to help me drift off to dreamland every night. Do you know the Sandman? I know him personally, and he's a heck of a guy!

Anyway......once I would get that new mattress delivered or those new pillows on the bed........well, I couldn't help but notice those little tags with the warning "NOT TO BE REMOVED UNDER PENALTY OF LAW".

Oh it was easy to ignore at first. But then........as I would go about my daily activities (mostly sitting in front of the TV or on the internet talking about wheeling), it would begin to gnaw at me.........

"What if I just tore those tags off?" What would happen?? Would the "tag police" show up and take me away? Would the economy get worse (or possibly better)? Would I be damned to a wretched life of misery? Would I grow a third eye in the middle of my forehead?????? WHAT WOULD HAPPEN????

Well of course I couldn't resist the irresistable pull of the tags!!! So.......I would always end up creeping into the bedroom, scissors in hand, AND REMOVE THE TAGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Of course..........nothing happened!!! But the guilt. OH THE GUILT!!! It would keep me up at night! What kind of person do you have to be to do something so blatantly illegal and foolish??????

But in the ensuing years, I have learned the error of my ways. What if everyone removed the mattress and pillow tags??? What then?? This type of behavior could lead to even more dangerous and illegal activities, such as ignoring the warnings on your blow dryer to not use it in the tub! Or ignoring the warning on the side of the saran wrap box that states that you should not use it as a toy for babies!!! Or even illegally downloading songs from the internet!!!!!

And of course......it could even lead to using a chainsaw to cut illegal 4wd trails in the national forest.

I am SO glad that I learned the error of my ways. I propose that we require ALL citizens of this great country to have to take their mattresses and pillows to a check-station once a year to verify that they have left the tags intac. Anyone who has removed them should be dealt with harshly.

And that is MY take on the situation as a former criminal!!!

As the Cableguy says, "That there's some funny stuff, I don't care who you are."

[Mr-S]

Dug into this a bit more.

The author is quite deep in bed with The Hidden Gems Wilderness Campaign.


The Hidden Gems Wilderness Campaign is seeking designation of major new wilderness additions on the White River and Gunnison National Forests and nearby Bureau of Land Management lands.

Our proposal would create several brand-new, standalone wilderness areas, while significantly enlarging our existing wildernesses.

http://www.newscientist.com/blog/environment/uploaded_images/080422_green_fascism_2-796793.jpg

[offroadguy]

Dug into this a bit more.

The author is quite deep in bed with The Hidden Gems Wilderness Campaign.



http://www.newscientist.com/blog/environment/uploaded_images/080422_green_fascism_2-796793.jpg

whats up with that NAZI picture?

[Mr-S]

That's the eco nazi symbol

[DieselMTU]

So gld to have T-Way back to himself... well.... I think that is good...

[T-way]

So gld to have T-Way back to himself... well.... I think that is good...


What are you tryin' to say??????????????????????????

:crazy:

[DieselMTU]

Exactly....

[BlueJay]

If this guy really did "see the light" then he was blinded by it. I find it hard to believe that anyone who hunts & rides ATV's. would find so many ways to describe the unenlightened/uninformed as borderline evil.
He strikes me as someone who hunts with a camera (and thats ok!).Even so, a possitive message spread (although somewhat questionsble) is better than a bad one.:thumb:

[Mr-S]

If this guy really did "see the light" then he was blinded by it. I find it hard to believe that anyone who hunts & rides ATV's. would find so many ways to describe the unenlightened/uninformed as borderline evil.
He strikes me as someone who hunts with a camera (and thats ok!).Even so, a possitive message spread (although somewhat questionsble) is better than a bad one.:thumb:

It depends on what message you are looking at. The "be good to the environment and all can enjoy it" message or the "all orv's destroy the planet and all public land should be closed to them" message.

[T-way]

Tim's right...........there's a LOT going on in that "message" when you read between the lines!!

[rodolo]

This is bull. This reads more like eco-propaganda. I myself hunt, fish, and wheel. If this person really did hunt like that he would of understood that revelation first a long time ago!

This was my first read and it got me pissed off.

So who brings a chainsaw on a atv for a ride really?
New story tag: Urban wheeler let loose in the wild. :lmao:
This reminds of propaganda from the Smoky the Bear ads. Remember the spark arrester fib in the ads?

:banghead::confused::banghead::confused::banghead: :confused::banghead: