Which do you prefer, a bit of fun or clean safe water?

 I don't understand why people don't 'get' that we cannot wreck the environment, just for 'fun'.

These photos are from the Baysville ATV Facebook page.


They were recently in front of Council at Lake of Bays requesting that ALL roads in the municipality be opened to ATV traffic.

Which is fine, I guess... If you want to run these things on the roads, if they are properly equipped with mufflers, then off you go.

The problem is that it gives the riders access to virtually unlimited land.  Their argument has always been that they are riding responsibly, for the peaceful enjoyment of the area... that they bring $$$ in for meals, fuel, even accommodation.

But looking at these pictures, the lake ones taken in April, the mud bog ones taken in August, one has to question that they are in any way considering the impact of gas, oil, dirt, the transmission of invasive species into our once remote and pristine areas.

Even with the machines NOT legal on roads, they are on the roads (that was argument #1 -- we're already doing it illegally so you should make it legal) and as a result we see a lot of trespass issues.  One 'happy ride' through a ski trail or hiking trail, and that is done -- the damage can't be reversed, and the bush would take a generation (20 years) to even come close to restoring itself.

 I don't understand why the Province, why the Ministry of Natural Resources and Fisheries, is not more concerned, not more active, in limiting or eliminating this type of enviromental damage.

Ride on the gravel roads, ride on unused log roads, ride on established maintained 'dry' trails... sure

But really? Is this what the majority of us want to see happening out there?

(argument #2 at Council was: everybody else is doing it)

The President of the Baysville ATV Club looked me straight in the eye and said, 'no, we are restricted to crossing streams slowly, at 90 degrees, that's all."  Well, he looks pretty dashing in his hipwatders and burgundy t-shirt out there in the bay...