Annoyed by dirt bikers?

[TripleR]

View attachment 435187

A high percentage of comments read like this cartoon.
Sad, really.

What's sad is that many of us are that way because we've tried the open access approach and had all of our wildlife killed off, ponds fished out, property damaged, fences down, bad erosion, stuff stolen leaving no good place for our own family to recreate. We have kids and grandkids who love the outdoors, but had no place to enjoy outdoors and wildlife due to others depleting it on land we owned.

Repairing the damage to our property, restocking ponds and re-establishing game animals with plots, supplemental feeding and driving 100+ miles to hunt in spite of owning several hundred acres cost us a heck a lot of money.

And what really burned was that many owned their own land, but cleared every inch for crops while we paid taxes and maintained property for recreation that could have produced income.

Having your wife and kids cursed out for refusing permission because it was being used by someone else, family or friends, sure doesn't help either.

If you want to be the good guys, have at it, buy land and open it to the public, just leave the rest of us the heck alone.

 

[Jstpssng]

Our 30 acres of woods had existing 4 wheeler paths when we bought it. I have not stopped the 4 wheelers and dirt bikes from riding. My primary concern is liability. But for the sake of youngsters, I have not closed access.

If we buy up all the land and close it off, what options do the young people have? Sit at home and play video games? Yes, we own the property. Yes, nobody has the legal or moral right to be on it if we don't want them on it. Yes, the 4 wheelers and dirt bikes tear up our property some.

I'll close access if I am forced to do so or fear for my family's safety. But there is something to be said about those with means sharing with those who have less. I want the youth to be outdoors; it's good for them and it's good for everyone for the next generation to want to be outside. Yes, in some areas there are public outdoor places that parents can transport their kids to. But realistically, how frequently is that going to happen? Parents are busy. I have a small child - I'm too busy to take her to a public park multiple times a week.

I think it is healthy for every kid to have an outdoor area they can access without a car so they can go there multiple days a week if desired. It's better than video games, watching TV, or playing soccer 7 days a week. Wouldn't it be great if those of us with property would be willing to be good neighbors? Sometimes sharing your things means your things get torn up or even destroyed. That makes sharing even more noble. Yes we risk some no-goods taking advantage - but those are the exceptions, not the rule. "Hard cases make bad policy."

Please I'm not passing judgement on anyone here who has taken a different approach. I fully sympathize with those who have others tearing up their property. I even sympathize with the guy in the article referenced by the OP. People ought to be allowed to protect their property even if doing so involves a firearm. Everybody's case is unique. This is just the approach we have taken.

Obed

I hope you can continue to allow access. It would be nice if they stopped and introduced themselves to you though. Here we have organized ATV and snowmobile clubs, who work with landowners to gain and control access. The Maine Snowmobile Associatiln is a textbook exampld of bow people SHOULd go about gaining access to private land. Clubs have insurance, plus we have laws protecting landowners from liabilith , so long as they aren't charging for access. It only takes a couple of bad apples to ruin it though.

I'm not sure about the OP's state but here most power line R/W's are just that. The power company owns the land and have the same rights as any other landowner. Use by the public has traditionally been allowed, but that's starting to change.

 

[Jstpssng]

My biggest peeve is people that use private and public land as dumping grounds... I don't differentiate between beer bottles or dumping appliances/furniture.

It is really pervasive out here and the right of ways show it...

Once I and a neighbor had had enough and used poor judgement... but it sure felt good.

We took all the trash... some of which I saw being dumped and put it back inside the car... and I mean everything...

Turns out the teens that were dumping had a grow operation hidden on city land and were parking on private property to tend to their farm...

Should be a special place for those that think the world is their trash can...

Next would be drivers that intentionally speed through stop signs and pass with oncoming traffic at high rates of speed on city streets... it happens everyday... I will be at a 4 way stop and someone comes blasting through... and I don't mean a Hollywood stop...

Dirt bikes have become an endangered species... seldom see hear one and almost never see one... they are almost mythical...

This is one way we're addressing the dumping issue; http://www.maine.gov/dacf/mfs/newsarticle.html

An excerpt...
Volunteer teams are preparing to clean up 50-60 illegal dump sites in Maine

AUGUSTA- Landowner Appreciation Cleanup Day is September 13. The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry’s Bureau of Forestry is coordinating the volunteer land cleanup effort this year. Forest Rangers working in cooperation with the Maine Snowmobile Association (MSA), ATV Maine, and the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (IFW), as well as other recreational groups, are preparing teams to clean up 50-60 illegal dump sites in Maine.

In other parts of the country, most undeveloped forest land is posted, and recreation is limited to those who pay club fees to use locations. Maine landowners have a history of sharing their forest and farm lands for responsible outdoor recreation. Millions of acres of working farms and forests are open to the public for enjoyment throughout the year. Unfortunately, the Maine privilege of enjoying access to private lands is threatened every time irresponsible people litter or illegally dump trash.

“Landowner Appreciation Cleanup Day is a way to thank property owners for allowing access to private lands for outdoor activities, recreation and enjoyment,” said Governor Paul R. LePage. “Most Maine people understand that public access to private lands is a special privilege to be respected and cherished, not a right. I commend volunteers and landowners alike for promoting public access and awareness of the need to respect private property.”

 

[newbury]

<snip>
However if I had trouble like Newbury I'd be grumpy too. Gotta watch out those kids may be mixing guns & alcohol (and have grumpy parents that do the same). I'd block those roads with stumps & stuff.

This may need another thread but - When do "kids" become irresponsible adults? I'm more concerned about the mattresses. When I find a nest of rats breeding I destroy the nest. These "kids" are probably breeding more kids.
I tried blocking one logging road with a downed tree, they just dragged it off to the side.

<snip> The power company owns the land and have the same rights as any other landowner. Use by the public has traditionally been allowed, but that's starting to change.

In the case of my ROW in Mississippi I OWN the land. I must let the utility company, and ONLY the utility company have RIGHT OF WAY. I can barricade it off with a locked Berlin wall if I want, as long as the utility company is provided keys to the lock. Shortly after I moved in I confirmed this with the power company that has the ROW.
I pay the taxes.

An "easement" is the legal right to use or access real estate that belongs to someone else. When there's a right-of-way easement on your property, the land still belongs to you, and therefore the property taxes remain your legal responsibility. That said, easements raise a number of issues that could affect your taxes.
Terms
Right-of-way easements are the most common kind of easement. These easements give someone else the right to use a specific portion of your property. For example, neighbors whose property is cut off from the road may have an easement allowing them to drive across a 15-foot-wide section of your land to reach the road. Or a utility company may have an easement allowing it to run a power line over a strip of your property, or bury a gas line under it. In legal terms, the "easement" is the right to use the property, while the "right of way" is the portion of your property affected by the easement. Right-of-way easements are typically written into the deed of a property, meaning all future owners of the land are bound by them.
Tax Credits
Easements don't change ownership of the property, so the land owner will still have to pay the property taxes on it. Some states and localities, however, give land owners a property tax credit for certain right-of-way easements. In Minnesota, for example, you can receive a credit -- a discount on your property taxes, essentially -- for easements for power lines. The amount of the credit is based on the length of the line crossing the property. Check with your local property tax assessing agency to see whether you're eligible for tax breaks for right-of-way easements.

Who Pays Property Taxes on Right-of-Way Easements? | Finance - Zacks

 

[charlz]

The West has a lot of public land, some with motorized access to trails etc. My understanding is back East and possibly the South the majority of land is private so there are few options for the public to ride. Trespassing will naturally be higher in areas where there are few options.

Looking at his property in Google Earth it appears to be on the southern edge of a big riding area... and situated in terrain where access is very difficult to control short of expensive fencing. Given the powerline access fencing might not even be an option.

I my experience riding... there is always someone who doesn't care and will end up ruining it for everyone else.

 

[aczlan]

I've seen many a dirt biker littering by carrying used mattresses/ old car tires on their back to dump in random areas, riding around with fishing poles/ rifles hunting with one hand and fishing with the other, carrying chainsaws to steal firewood strapping the logs on their front and rear fenders, etc., etc..

After all, we are talking about fiction here, aren't we?

No, they bring them in the back of the pickup that they use to bring their dirt bike, or they use a 4 wheeler.
Inconsiderate dirt bikers alone will "just" chew up the ground and make places for it to erode.

Aaron Z

 

[ultrarunner]

Still remember when Dad found a full pickup truck load full of every imaginable kind of trash dumped down a ravine on our property... he called the police when he found mail with address labels... officer came out and said the letters were not enough... to add insult to injury... officer said was had to remove the trash or we would be cited... since it was near a seasonal creek...

It's not hard to understand why landowners having been burned once are the way they are...

 

[newbury]

I've seen many a dirt biker littering by carrying used mattresses/ old car tires on their backs to dump in random areas, riding around with fishing poles/ rifles hunting with one hand and fishing with the other, carrying chainsaws to steal firewood strapping the logs on their front and rear fenders, etc., etc..

After all, we are talking about fiction here, aren't we?

Well obviously you don't understand the subject had turned to trespassing.
The dirt bikers have eroded my trails. They have hauled in litter. If you want to focus on that let us know where YOUR land is and we can send them YOUR way.

Like the writing on a bathroom wall "For a good time go to Yamaha2112 he's got 100 acres to ride on".

/edit - maybe you can run a free dirt bike track.

 

[TripleR]

I've seen many a dirt biker littering by carrying used mattresses/ old car tires on their backs to dump in random areas, riding around with fishing poles/ rifles hunting with one hand and fishing with the other, carrying chainsaws to steal firewood strapping the logs on their front and rear fenders, etc., etc..

After all, we are talking about fiction here, aren't we?

Many of us are talking about allowing access to our lands by the public, at least I am, I haven't seen a dirt bikers in years. My nephew owns several and rides in public areas or our family owned land on a motocross track.

As I've mentioned I use to ride dirt bikes as did my wife and most of our extended family, but we rode only on our land or approved areas.

As a result of damage to public riding lands by careless users, bikes, UTV/ATV and other ORVs, all public land in this part of the state has been closed to all off road vehicles.

When I was growing up, no one posted their land, but now pretty much everyone does. It's not because they are all a bunch of grumpy old men, they's just been pushed too far by irresponsible people.

 

[davesl708]

I used to have 80 beautiful acres in the Flint Hills of Kansas. The farm house up the road sold to a family in Kansas City. They felt they had the right to run their ATV's though my woods and hills after they cut the fence between the properties. After letting them know trespassing was not permitted they started watching to see if I was there.

The solution was to set up signs stating area closed for long range rifle shooting practice. I explained to them due to limited visibility when looking through a scope I could not guarantee I would see their kids.

Problem solved.