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While this might not seem related to Mt. Biking we have had issues in the past with ATV's on our trails and it's great to see the Corp and the County taking action on the issue.
From the Cherokee Ledger News
"People who live around Lake Allatoona, along with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials, are complaining about noise and damage from all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), and are asking the county for help. All-terrain vehicles are completely prohibited on Corps of Engineers property, Corps officials say.
In response, Cherokee County may soon be the first county in the metro area to regulate all-terrain vehicles through a county ordinance. Forsyth, Fayette, and Cobb counties have laws that mention ATVs, but the ordinance being prepared for Cherokee County would specifically spell out provisions in regard to their use.
“We’ve had issues with ATVs for years, but the past two or three years have been really bad. They’ve even damaged the wetlands,” said Barry Richards, an assistant project manager with the local Army Corps of Engineers. “We have our own Title 36 rules and (regulations) against vehicles on Corps property, but we want to partner with the county.”
Richards said residents in the neighborhoods that surround Allatoona often complain about riders cutting through their yards to get to trails on Corps property and about noise from ATVs.
“They call the county sheriff’s office, but, by that time, they are on Corps property, and the marshal or responding officer is out of his jurisdiction,” Richards said.
Post 4 Commissioner Derek Good said the Corps of Engineers approached him about the situation.
The ordinance, Good and Richardssaid, would correct that situation.
“There was nothing local law enforcement could do,” Good said. “What we did in this ordinance, in essence, was to copy the federal law (that the Corps uses). This will give the marshal and the sheriff the authority to enforce the rules.”
Good pointed out that riding ATVs on public streets already is illegal and noted that residents who neighbor the lake have called him about damage from riders cutting through to Corps property.
Richards explained that ATVs are not allowed on Corps of Engineers property at all, although there are several illegal and well-used trails. “We’ve written quite a few tickets,” he said, noting that the Corps does patrol its property as well. The Corps has supplied the county with maps of the illegal trails.
“We run stings from time to time. We’ve even had people truck-mudding,” Richards said.
The Army Corps of Engineers owns 11,586 acres of property in Cherokee, he said. It owns the land that surrounds Lake Allatoona and the land adjoining a lot of tributaries that feed the lake, up to 863 feet in elevation – the highest elevation to which the Allatoona Dam can back up water.
Doug Evans, chief ranger in charge of land management, said those who are caught with motorized vehicles on Corps property by rangers are fined $50, although some “get to talk to the federal magistrate in Rome.”
Those people are the ones who have caused damage to the property and may have to make restitution, Evans said.
The state prohibits ATVs in its parks under the Off-Road Act of 1975, documents show. It gives the county authority to adopt an ordinance regarding ATVs.
The draft ordinance that will be considered by the county commission limits the use of ATVs within unincorporated Cherokee County.
It prohibits the use of the vehicles in a careless, reckless or negligent manner; limits noise the vehicles can produce, and prohibits towing of people or things on a public right of way by an ATV. It prohibits use of the vehicles on private property without written consent of the owner and also prohibits their use on airport property, public school grounds, park property, playgrounds, recreational areas, golf courses, cemeteries, Corps of Engineers property or on any portion of public roads used for motor vehicle travel. Exceptions include posted “ATV trails” and those who have written permission of the Allatoona operations project manager.
The proposed ordinance would not prohibit the use of ATVs in organized parades approved by the county.
Under the ordinance, those who violate its terms could be found guilty of a civil violation subject to a fine of up to $1,000.
Richards said the closest ATV trails he knows of that are legal and open to the public are in the Chattahoochee National Forest in extreme North Georgia. Otherwise, he said, the vehicles must be ridden on private property with owner permission." |
