ATV Florida Forum

On Saturday, June 9th, in conjunction with the PAWS total Forest Cleanup, ONFA will be sponsoring a trail system cleanup.  We will be riding out of the OHV Center and will divide up into groups with each group taking a seperate trail. We expect the cleanup will take the morning, 25 cent hotdogs and drinks will be provided, then group rides will be available in the afternoon. The OHV Center will be open until 6:00 pm to allow people to make a full day of riding.  We will be offering an ATV RiderCourse that morning so people will be able to see what is happening.  If interested in helping, please post here.

The new bulldozer is in, next week they are starting maintenance on the Wandering Wiregrass trail in Paisley, and by the day of the ride, you should be able to finally see what trail maintenance can do.

For trail maintenance why didn't they just hire one of those skitters pulling all those logs out of the forest along the trail system. They could destroy the trees and maintain the trail system.

Sorry to say this but.............I would be happy to come and help out with this clean up but if the trail system fees are in place at that time, then count us out. I am not pleased with what I'm seeing and WILL NOT pay to ride in the forest under the current rules. I've got other places to ride. I am also not going to pay $75 per my 3 children to take a safty course. My 6yr. old could easily out ride ANY of the instructors and there is NO better safty instructor than me.
  Sorry, Terry but I am not going to act like I am happy that "they" are letting me on a few crappy trails of MY forest. I wanted to hope for the best in all this, but it is not going to work out.

I agree with you, Why pay to ride where there use to be a forest . As for the safety course as per the requirments my 13 year old is taller than my wife she'll look funny riding a 90cc. Time to move from Florida to a state we can use our ATVS

Pay to ride?? What are you guys talking about? Are we going to have to pay a fee to ride
in the ONF? This something new to me. We would come and help the clean up,but
pay to clean up??? :o

Yes, it has been said this fee could be up to $160 per year per person.

Grizzly,

Where is the OHV Center located?

It is on FR 97 north of HWY 316.

It is not on FR 97 but is on FR 88, 2.3 mile north of State Road 316.  There is talk of a fee system in the future. Nothing has been approved yet, so no one knows what the fees will be.  Realistically they could be about $75.00 per year.  The only good thing about it is that by law, 95% must go back into the trail system.  I have asked that they not implement any fee system until they can show continual maintenance on the trail system.  Rick Lint is receptive to this idea.

I also agree about the $75.00 for the training.  It was my idea to originally offer a course that the state would approve that would be based on the ATV RiderCourse, but would not be that course.  The problem is that while the state has enacted the law, they do not want any liability and will not cover non profits who want to do this.  We are stuck with offering only state approved programs.

SO LET ME GET THIS STRAIGHT WE CLEAN UP AND AT THE SAME TIME WE MAKE OUR SELFS LOOK LIKE WE ARE THE PROBLEM, I MEAN WE CAN CLEAN UP THE TRAILS FOR US  BUT THAT STILL DOES NOT CLEAN OTHER AREAS OF THE FOREST THAT WE DO NOT HAVE ACCES TO.
I MEAN WE HAVE A ATV CLEAN UP RIDE, BUT WHAT ABOUT A HUNTERS CLEAN UP OR A LOCALS CLEAN UP ACTIVITY.  WE MAY THINK WE ARE DOING GOOD BUT TO SOMES THAT WANT TO SHUTT DOWN OUR RIDING AREA IT JUST GIVE THE MORE FIRE POWER. PICTURES AND ALL THE STUFF THAT CAME OUT OF THE EVENT WITH ATVS IN THE PICTURES  ???  ??? WHEN I GO TO OCALA I SEE THE LOCALS HUNTING (IF YOU EVEN WANT TO CALL IT HUNTING) ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD WITH FOOD AND OTHER STUFF LIKE BEER AND WHEN THEY LEAVE WHAT DO U SEE LEFT BEHIND YOU GUESS RIGHT THRASH, BUT WE ALL KNOW THAT THE GUYS ON ATVS LEFT IT THERE. AND HAVE YOU SEEN ALL THE SHELLS LEFT ON THE GROUND. AND I MEAN I,M ALL UP FOR 4X4 TRUCKS BUT I,VE SEEN JEEPS TEAR UP SOME WETLANDS, BUT ONCE AGAIN THE ATV GUYS DID IT .
DON,T WANT TO MAKE IT SOUND BAD I JUST CALL IT LIKE I SEE IT, I HOPE THAT I,M PROVED WRONG BUT WHO KNOWS. WELL THIS IS JUST MY OPINION BUT I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE WILL AGREE WITH ME.
I WOULD LIKE TO THANK ALL THE PEOPLE THAT ARE WORKING FOR US TO KEEP RIDING LEGAL YOUR EFFORT IS NOTED

I totally agree with you.... Don't wait for a response from anyone in the ONFA "your post isn't a positive one". On another note I saw a lot of clear cutting on my last ride down in ocala "must of been an ATV harscramble held there recently". because cutting the forest doesn't do as much damage as an atv  ??? right 

Everyone:

Let's talk fee system - the fee system is not in place but will take place in April. That is in black and white in the DEIS, and several other places. How much will the fee be from 60.00 - 120.00 per person. The USFS can only set the fee - the final fee will be determined by another group call rac, which has been newly formed. But you can probably bet, it won't be cheap.

If you have any questions, email me, I'll see if I can get answers for you.

Jack
Stewards

We all need to continue to show our anger but keeping it tactful is important. I dont want to give up on the ONF even though things are looking really bad. I do however want to put a plug in for MAY 19th, ATV Rally in Lakeland. Please don't under estimate the importance in this event.
I read all the post I can regarding the Forest and other riding areas and the biggest common denominator is our frustration to whats going on against us. Make your voice be heard on MAY 19th in Lakeland......
Just incase you dont surf this entire site here is the link....         http://www.floridaatvrally.com/

Why not protest where we'll be seen? Start parking along HWY 19 bumper to bumper from Salt Springs to Palatka or intersection of 40 and 19 to Salt Springs. Call the media, make signs outing the criminals in the Forest Service(by name) responsible for these closures and demand for their immediate dismissal and the reopening of our forest. They work for us the taxpayers. I'm tired of this sh*t. I have been driving and riding unfettered for over 26 years in the ONF. I tried to play by their rules at deathtrap Rodman and feel like a fish in a bowl. This is unacceptable. I will ride free!

Parrie Master - Rac - I know some of the members but not all. I also think the members were a done deal before it was even announced.

Something environmental impact study, it is essentially the forest plan for the next 3 - 5 years, that is all public information and can be found in the local library. If you read some of that it is very interesting. The fee system was put in that from the beginning. How much to charge was not, that was  or will bedetermined at a later date.

Thanks for the clarification on RAC.

Well if they are going to charge me to ride then they can hire someone to clean it.

 A protest ride, now thats what I'm talking about. How about 500 ATVs riding from the OHV center to Rodman pit and riding right throught the middle of the pit.

It would be worth it.

A protest ride the day of the clean up, at the enterance of the OHV center

Thats just what they want. so they can write us 500 tickets.


There's more of us than them.They can't ticket us if the ATV's are trailered or in the back of a truck. We just need to get organized and be heard. We need Kawasaki, Polaris, Yamaha, Honda and all the other ATV/dirt bike manufacturers to stand by us (their customers) to lobby Washington to reclaim our lands that have been stolen from us by these criminals in the Forest Service.

Grizzly ... With the lack of trails groomed.... has it been brought up to make some home made sleds to pull along while clean up is being done.    :dunno.gif

When I leveled an area behind my house we used chain link fence with weights on it it worked great.

Is the cleanup still going to happen?The state of Fla is looking at
atvers wrong.There is a article in the May 07 Atv Action the state
Minnesota Takes in 641,900,000 $  Because of Atvs.The State treats
atvers well.Not making it hard as poss to ride.

Let me see if I am understanding this.  Will I have to pay this fee if I go to big scrub or delancy?  Is it going to be a state sticker that can be used at croom and other state run parks? 

I agree why should you have to be taxed to death and then pay for something your tax dollars pay for any way and if these buggys and 4x4 trucks can ride for free on the same trails as we do.And if we are going to clean up all the trash then we should'nt have to pay at all to ride ever   >:D