Off-Roaders, Greenies Spar Over Western Lands

ATV-riders also vie with quieter nature lovers

By Dustin Lushing, Newser Staff

Posted Dec 30, 2007 4:36 PM CST

(Newser) – Outdoor enthusiasts are bickering with the feds and each other over the use of federally owned lands in Colorado, Utah, and Montana, the New York Times reports. Off-roading fans of motorcycles, pick-ups, and ATVs are butting heads with quieter explorers who hike or ride horseback and want to preserve the landscape—and the federal government is caught in the middle.

Greenies argue that people should stay off the terrain to protect fragile soils and wildlife. Last year, the rock formation Factory Butte in Utah was closed off in order to preserve cactuses. But off-roaders, who lobby the feds to have trails kept on maps, portray themselves as old-fashioned nature lovers. Environmentalists "think it has to be kept in this pristine state," one motorcycle shop owner said of a forest on the Montana-Idaho border. "These people don’t even use it.”

ATV riders hit a trail Thursday, March 29, 2007, on the Hatfield-McCoy Trails near Gilbert, W.Va. The Hatfield-McCoy Trail System totals over 500 miles of off-road trails in nine southern West Virginia... (Associated Press)

A motorcycle rider hits a trail Friday, March 30, 2007, on the Hatfield McCoyTrails near Man, W.Va. The Hatfield-McCoy Trail System totals over 500 miles of off-road trails in nine southern West Virginia... (Associated Press)

ATV enthusiasts ride the trails Thursday, March 29, 2007, on the Hatfield-McCoy Trails near Gilbert, W.Va. The Hatfield-McCoy Trail System totals over 500 miles of off-road trails in nine southern West... (Associated Press)

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Off-Roaders, Greenies Spar Over Western Lands

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OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

environment • Montana • hiking • Utah • motorcycle • Colorado • ATV • Factory Butte

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

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More Newser Stories

Yosemite Deaths 3 of Many in West This Year

Yosemite deaths a reminder of rivers' risks

Ravenous Beetles Decimate West's Pines

Harsh winter sole hope for containing insect that has affected millions of acres—and is moving east

West's Water Woes May Be Permanent

Diminishing snowcap, shrinking reservoirs could 'wipe out' states

Injured Hiker Survives 4 Days in Desert

North Carolina man inspired by '127 Hours'

Plane Forced to Land on Highway ... Kind Of

He ran out of gas ... or so he thought

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Newser By Users

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