ATV riders aim to change law

STAFF WRITER

Members of the Fishtrap ATV & Recreation Club are planning to flood the Pike County Justice Center next week to support 18 “martyrs” who were caught illegally riding ATVs on public land.

The group, geared toward establishing recreational ATV trails at Fishtrap Lake, has gained support of many politicians — many of whom are card-carrying members who want trails to improve the area’s economy.

In a club meeting Wednesday, State Rep. W. Keith Hall said area residents have a mentality of “anti-Corps-ism” and that the citations issued Saturday were an “overreaction” and “humiliation.” The Fish and Wildlife officers should have just warned the men, he said, and the government is not serving the needs of the people.

Fish and Wildlife officer Jason Campbell, who issued the citations, said he and wildlife management area manager Herbie Adams were patrolling Fishtrap Saturday because the week before, vandals tore down gate in the Powell’s Creek section. Club members, who reported that they planned the ride at their last meeting, said they knew they were not supposed to be on the land, but decided to do so anyway, Campbell said.

Campbell said he told the men to not return to the area. He told them he would arrest them if they rode ATVs in the wildlife management area again.

Hall called the Director of the Department of Natural Resources Monday in an attempt to get the citations voided or “nullified.” He told the men Wednesday that the Director of Fish and Wildlife is “on our side” and committed to putting in a trail system at the Fishtrap Lake reservoir.

“It’s a shame our 18 people were cited,” he said. “I told them that they’ve got a whirlwind now. We are at the mercy of the judge and the people legal. I pray we lay it over or delay it or whatever else.”

He said he didn’t propose legislation to get funds to make Fishtrap a recreational area where people are denied the right to ride ATVs.

Calling the 18 men “martyrs,” Hall told the group that supporters would “march” into court with them.

The 18 men discussed whether they plan to plead guilty or not guilty when they appear in court Wednesday. Club president Gary Bevins said he felt as though he did nothing wrong and touted the club motto: “All for one and one for all.”

Club members and officials congratulated the men for getting caught up in the illegal ride.

“Now that you guys got caught, it’s up to everybody to be down there at that courthouse, jeering them damned feds like a fly wouldn’t lite on them,” said Randolf McCoy, a member and “back-builder” of McCoy Motorsports in Pikeville.

Pike County jailer Rodney Scott, a Fishtrap ATV & Recreation Club member, promised to feed the men three meals a day if they are put in jail.

Circuit Judge Steve Combs, also a club member, said there is no reason why the federal government can’t establish trails at Fishtrap Lake for ATV use. He talked about parks in the Northwest and Midwest portion of the country where ATV clubs with 200 or more members trek through federal lands while staying in state lodges for a week or longer.

Combs urged people in attendance to call state representatives and politicians and tell them that they want to be treated the same as people in other parts of the country.

But Kentucky is unlike other states in that most of its land is privately, not publicly, owned.

Mark Marraccini, a spokesperson for the Department of Fish and Wildlife estimated that only about 5 percent of Kentucky land is publicly owned, which makes it difficult to place land aside for ATV use while preserving the health of wildlife.

Marraccini said officials are trying to find a way to fit recreational ATV use into the overall Fish and Wildlife plan. He said the department, the Fish and Wildlife commission and state legislators will probably work out some type of solution to the ATV vs. wildlife dilemma, but he said the solution will probably have “some rough edges.”

The care of all wildlife management areas in Kentucky is paid for by licensed sportsmen and women, who purchase annual hunting and fishing licenses.

“Even though a group rips and runs through an area, there are other people who paid their money to get those lands set aside for their use,” he said. “I’m sure Commissioner [Jonathan] Gassett would want nothing better than to work through and find a good solution, find a way where everybody can be served, but he obviously can’t turn his back on the million license holders out there who use the areas. They paid for it. They own it.”

Marraccini said recreational ATV use destroys habitats and nesting areas and harasses wildlife, causing animals to leave the management area. When that happens, people who actually pay for the land aren’t able to use it, he said.

He also said that wildlife management areas were designed through funding that was legally and contractually earmarked for the protection and management of wildlife. If the land is used for something other than that purpose, the contract is voided. State and federal laws prohibit the operation of motor vehicles in wildlife management areas.

“Even if the state law was somehow changed, there is still federal law and federal contractual issues,” he said. “There is no simple fix to it.”

Any solution would have to “mix friendly and coherently” with the original objectives of the wildlife habitat, he said.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service called “unmanaged recreation,” like ATV use, one of greatest threats to country’s public forests. Unmanaged recreation causes erosion, user conflicts, spread of invasive species, damage to cultural sites, disturbance to wildlife, destruction to wildlife habitats and risks to public safety, the department’s Web site says.

The Forestry Service has tried to set aside land for ATV use, but the land becomes a hub for more illegal trails, the Associated Press reported this year. The Forestry Service has pledged to partner with agencies to develop travel management plans that regulate ATV use on designated roads, trails and parks in an appropriate manner.

Wildlands CPR, a Montana-based group that’s trying to stop illegal trail riding, encourages stiffer patrols, tougher penalties and electronic monitoring in wildlife management areas.

Officials who manage Pike County’s wildlife areas say the citations they issue aren’t generally taken seriously in court.

State charges or riding an ATV on public property without consent were dismissed against Robert Coleman, 31, of Regina, Timothy Cline, 43, of Rockhouse, Palmer Todd Prater, 47, of Pikeville and Elkhorn City residents Timothy Ray Goins, 35, and James May, 65, after they paid $100 fines in federal court for the violation.

Fish and Wildlife officials and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers cited the men after they were caught illegally riding ATVs at Fishtrap.

Pike County District Judge Kelsey Friend also dismissed misdemeanor criminal mischief charges against Prater and felony criminal mischief and fleeing charges against Cline after they paid $125 in federal court fines. They charges were filed against them after they tore down a bridge in the management area.

Deputy Judge-Executive John Doug Hays told the court that Pike County had been paid in full for the incident and that the county had no further interest in presenting the case, the court record shows.

Friend is scheduled to arraign club members Pikeville residents Buck Jones, 61, Victor Hunt, 58, Gerold James II, 63 (a Pike County sheriff deputy), and Gold Star Dairy Bar owner Lones Adams, 69; Rockhouse resident James Damron, 61; Rolling Hills resident Gaylan Adams, 49; Towns Creek residents Benny Slone, 46, and Billy Thomas, 44; Powells Creek residents Timothy Epling, 46, and Gary Bevins, 64; Elkhorn City residents Greg Coleman, 46, and Ricky Ratliff, 50; Phyllis resident Johnnie Hunt, 63, Shelbiana resident Kevin Picklesimer, 41, Fords Creek resident Freddie Fields, 66 and Cletis Webb, 64, Wednesday.

The men are charged with operating an ATV on public property without consent, a traffic-related offense. Sen. Ray Jones said he would be willing to represent them free of charge.

Bevins said the group is drafting a letter to send to Congressman Hal Rogers. He complains that an impaired mobility trail available to card-carrying disabled Pike County residents is not accessible or safe. Fishtrap has good access roads and is located near several strip mine areas that could be used as ATV trails, he said.

Bevins claims club members are being discriminated against because officials with gas companies and mining-affiliated companies can use trucks or ATVs in the wildlife management area and because people who use the horse trails also drive trucks through the land.

“If we’re causing damage, they’re causing damage,” he said. “Not everyone likes horses and not everyone can afford to keep horses. A select few are enjoying what should be open to all.”

Since the club was organized last year, several members have quit because of controversial issues. One man left the meeting Wednesday because some group members admitted to knowing that they were breaking the law when they planned to ride in the wildlife management area.