Where the Pavement Ends

[MasterBlaster]

It sure looks like FUN.

 

[sotc]

I agree without reservation with your last sentence of fourth para, Carl.

 

[Burnham]

 

[cory]

I'm huge on protecting the environment (though I'm not liking the new low emissions, gutless blower I just bought, and I'm practically afraid to try 2 new 201s for the same reason, and I'm about to buy a new truck and adding the urea for low emissions and the regen thing I'm definetly not looking forward to), it will be interesting to see where this thread goes. The ATV fun factor is gigantic I will say. I went ATVing for my first time this summer in Colorado on gravel roads in the mountains. It gave me a freaking SERIOUS Rocky Mountain High.

 

[treesmith]

I think they're a hoot to ride and play on, and as long as some care is taken about where you ride, I'd say erosion and its related issues would be a far second to logging, at least as logging is known around here. I've seen logging roads with ruts washed 4' deep. Most off-roading around here is done on private property or in gravel pits, etc, so any resulting erosion would not concern the general public. I have asked my brother-in-law not to ride his in to hunt when the ground is soggy, because when climbing the back hill going in to his stand, even in 4WD, some surface disturbance is inevitable, and the hill is washing bad enough without any help.

Mine hasn't been run in about three years (carburetor problems). I've been walking in and out from hunting, and only take the truck or tractor down in the bottom when I kill a deer.

 

[stig]

If y'all lived in a small country with a shitload of people, like I do, you'd see it like Burnham does.

You guys have a lot more outdoors than we do, but if you don't start taking care of it, America will end up looking like Europe.

You really need to loose that " Apre's moi, le deluge" attitude!

 

[Old Monkey]

Carl I think it's OK for you to keep killing nature just as long as, in the back of your mind, you feel really, really guilty. Otherwise, have fun!

 

[No_Bivy]

and wear a helmet

 

[MasterBlaster]

It's "ya'll," Stig. It doesn't sound right when you say it.

It must be the accent.

 

[treesmith]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y'all

....just sayin'.....

 

[MasterBlaster]

I'm saying it with a coon ass accent.

 

[cory]

You guys have a lot more outdoors than we do, but if you don't start taking care of it, America will end up looking like Europe.

I definetly agree. When I was camping in Montana years ago, we encountered SO MANY A-HOLES, locals who just did not give a shat about anything or anybody except their own good time. Drunk, dog beating types, flip-the-bird types at traffic intersections. It definetly occurred to me at the time that people like these will eventually turn paradise into the most forsaken parts of an inner city. Just alot of gross, ignorant people. Obviously not everyone in MT is like this but it was striking how many people we encountered were.

 

[squisher]

Heh a--holes are everywhere. C'mon up to Canada, I'll flip ya the bird! Lol.

 

[gf beranek]

Keeping erosion in check is the biggest priority here too. In a study about 10 years ago the corporate timberlands came in far below that of the surrounding private ranches for the amount of erosion going into the rivers. That really made my day to read that. However it did bring on new ordinances on grading and road maintenance on the private land owners. Which they didn't much care for, of course.

It's all about erosion now in these parts and the rules put on logging about it has had a darn good effect. The rivers are running much cleaner today.

 

[sotc]

Carl said all of this....

An aside, are Oregon rivers typically rock lined and have clear flowing water? Most of Mississippi isn't like that.

With the four wheeler videos, none of that is connected to a water way and are man made water structures built with the intent of riding. The last part of the longer video is a racing track on a 550 acre riding park with roughly 22 miles of trails. The cloudy water is most likely due to low alkalinity of the water keeping the particles in suspension.

I agree that atv tires can tear up the surface causing both mechanically and hydraulically formed ruts although both are readily fixable with modern heavy equipment. The amount of sediment being added to the water ways from that is by my estimation quite negligible sources of sediment. My county has a water area of near 3%. To put sediment contamination in perspective (for me at least), the Mississippi Delta's hugely fertile alluvial plains was created by soil erosion. In some areas the fertile soil can be over 30' deep and covers ~13k square miles. I read that it's estimated that the Mississippi River moves around 160 million tons of sediment per year.

I disagree on ATVs causing subsurface compaction, given their low contact pressure and my understanding of how soil compaction works from an engineering front, I highly doubt the influence depth is deeper than a foot around here. Also the surface area disturbed by off roading activity is substantially lower than our infrastructure.

It's an interesting topic I'm enjoying researching.

And you agreed with a tiny portion of it, kinda cracked me up is all

I agree without reservation with your last sentence of fourth para, Carl.

 

[squisher]

Don't be trying to stir up trouble there Willie Wonka!

 

[cory]

The rivers are running much cleaner today.

Nice!

 

[Burnham]

Ahhh...well, Willie, that's because most of the rest of it is wrong, donchaknow.

 

[sotc]

I figured you felt that way, see the humor now?

 

[Burnham]

Yup

 

[Thor's Hammer]

All human activity is detrimental to the environment in some form or other.

Ive done plenty of what Carl enjoys, but mainly on old Industrial landscapes, like old sand quarries, mines, and spoil tips.

I've seen the immense damage human feet do to the trails and paths in the mountains round here, the way bridalways and moorland paths are destroyed by horses, motorbikes and 4x4's.

Man is a parasite on the Earth.

 

[MasterBlaster]

More like a virus

Earth preferred the dinosaurs, I'm sure.

 

[woodworkingboy]

Carnivores sure ruled.

 

[lumberjack]

Put 17 miles on the RZR last night, had a friggin blast!

Sure wish some of it was caught on video. At one point I was playing on a dirt pile, trying to launch up a ledge and on to the pile. I had the middle of the pile figured out so I moved about 10' over where the ledge was probably near 4' tall (on approach the ledge was higher than my hood). I got the front tires on top and fired the main rockets (skinny pedal) sending me rather straight up in the air. It didn't feel that high, but I wasn't at the best perspective to observe. Witnesses said my rear tires were 4-5' off the ground , would have made for a good video. Guess that explains why my neck is a lil stiff this morning...

 

[MasterBlaster]

That looks like a hella ride and a lotta fun!