State ends moratorium on ATV trails in forests
Many Butler County residents ride all-terrain and utility off-road vehicles, especially the kind that provide side-by-side seating.
Some use them to plow snow and help maintain their property, but many who use them for recreation haul them to privately owned off-road riding parks in surrounding counties.
All of the 260 miles of ATV trails Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources have opened are in state forests and none are located in Butler County or anywhere else in Western Pennsylvania.
ATV riding is not permitted in state parks or on state game lands. There are more than 100 miles of ATV trails in the Allegheny National Forest.
The DCNR ended its moratorium on opening new trails in state forests and has been authorized to consider new trails and connector trails in state forests under a revised ATV policy, which was the subject of a hearing last week in Harrisburg.
The DCNR will continue accepting comments on proposed changes to the policy until March 27.
April 22 is the deadline for local governments and recreation and conservation organizations to submit grant applications for a variety of outdoors projects including trails for motorized vehicles.
On Wednesday from 10 to 11:30 a.m. the DCNR is hosting a webinar for entities interested in applying for those grants.
The Butler County commissioners aren't planning to apply for a grant for ATV trails, but they probably would support grants submitted by municipalities.
“It would be unlikely the county would apply for that,” said Leslie Osche, board of county commissioners chairwoman.
She said county-owned parks do not have enough space for ATV trails.
“If it's something the municipalities want to do, the county typically supports them. If it's something they want and they thought it out, we typically support them,” Osche said.
A lot of area ATV riders haul their machines to places such as Mines and Meadows in Beaver County, Scrubgrass Village OHV Park in Armstrong County and Rock Run in Cambria County, said Josh Snow, manager of Snow's Polaris in Chicora.
“Those types of parks are gaining traction right now,” Snow said.
He estimated that a third of his customers use their ATVs for snow plowing and other property maintenance work, a third take their ATVs to parks for recreational riding and a third ride them recreationally on their properties.
ATVs that provide side-by-side seating have become more popular than standard ATVs that are steered with handlebars.
“In my market, the side-by-side popularity is higher than it's ever been,” Snow said.
He said there still is a market for standard ATVs, but the side-by-sides are more popular even though high-performance models can cost more than $30,000.
ATV riders would welcome more trials, said Stephen Hartle, co-owner of Four Wheeling for Less in Summit Township.
“They're passionate about it. They'd love more opportunities to ride. Our customers would be in favor of expanding the trail system. They love getting out in nature,” Hartle said.
He also said side-by-side ATV sales have grown dramatically.
