grrr quaders

[7 REM MAG]

out fly fishing today north or nordegg on a nice little quiet river with a good friend and we hear the rumble of quads approaching, pause to look think that there riding along the bank or on the quad trail on the bank and look back again to see 2 quads, a mule and a razor come ripping up the river in the water, one guy on a quad proceeds to drive half his quad into a very deep pool holding some good size fish all while me and my friend are 150 yds upstream, they allow the atv's to idle here for a couple minutes and keep coming upstream towards us, look back they see us, we are both fighting fish and they stop 50 yds away and we over hear look they got one then its full speed ahead and the rip up the river making a mess as they went making the river dirty for 500 yds driving right down the middle of the freaking river making it unfishable as you couldnt see squat, tried on drift and couldnt keep an eye on the strike indicator enough to get a natural drift going so on we go walk until we see trcks going up the bank and go figure we start catching fish again, why do people do this, they have given all quaders a bad name and didnt even stop to see if we could work something out that would be beneficial for both groups, just the old you dont matter so too bad. ok rant over. And ive been sworn to secrecy about the waterway we were fishing but these jerks definetly put a dampener on my learning how to fly fish

[kissacoyote]

Some people have their heads up their own wazoos pretty far. Unfortunately, these same type of people also own quads, dirt bikes, snowmobiles, FWDs and firearms (scary) but so do a lot of intelligent people. Those who have no consideration for others are probably above average intelligence: So smart, in fact that they probably didn't even have to finish high school. You know the type: Strong on opinion, short on fact. Poor spelling, poor grammar and can't deduce the area of a triangle. The same kind of morons that want to have a scrap when you disagree with them. It's a tenet in psychology that "Violence is the last act of a limited mind". Morons like to fight because they think it will hide their intellectual inferiority. Stupid people have always been around and will always be around: And age is no barrier; stupid young people turn into stupid old people. The same kind of people that run their quads down the river when you're fishing.

[Don Meredith]

I've run into these kind of people too often; they ruined more than one hunting and fishing excursion. They are their own worst enemies. Although I use a quad from time to time to haul game out of the woods, if they are banned from the areas I frequent, I will not complain. In fact, I may just quietly shout a ya-hoo and enjoy the new quiet in the woods.

[Kutenay]

I think that quads are a great invention for industrial and agricultural uses, as are Ski-doos and other such devices. I have used a Ski-Doo when employed in the BCFS and have never even sat on an ATV of any sort; they should be VERY strictly controlled and morons such as this should be horsewhipped, IMHO.

[7 REM MAG]

i would have had absolutely no proble if they had stopped and had lunch and let us get upstream or just crossed where the trail crossed but what they did was just ignorant

[Shrubs]

I own a quad and would hate to see areas shut down but I really don't see any other way sometimes. There are a lot of good responsible atv owners out there but the knuckleheads are just getting a little to high in numbers imho. Maybe a course on etiquette should be mandatory before you can register you're bike I don't know.

[drake]

Guys like that would have had a tough time getting home without air in their truck tires had i been around. Ok, im joking.........but they deserve it. I can not stand these ignorant quad jockies. At the very least i would have hailed them down and gievn them a peice of my mind.

[redneck posse]

a few bad apples can ruin it for every one. i love taking my jeep out on the trails and having some fun. BUT i also can't stand people that don't think when they hit the trails. driving in ANY FLOWING WATER is just plain ignorant.if you must cross i always try to leave as little disturbance as possible, some people just think its okay to ride any where they feel. if it would of been me and my club they ran into they would have gotting sh*t and a lesson in proper off roading. sorry your trip was ruined by some quaders some of them need to learn the right way and the wrong way. just don't judge us all by the few. actually its probly should be, don't judge us FEW by the actions of the majority. kevin

[Chironomid]

Dude, this BS has been going on long enough. We need to stop this. GRRR so much the government needs to do, and yet they need to LISTEN (at least they're starting to)

Not only do they do this kind of stuff, but they WASH their quads and top up fluids in them as well, and PARK them in the water.

I almost want to cry going west of Cow Lake on 752 once you get on the crown, they have just destroyed what was once walk-in areas only to an easily accesible quadding area, and every open spot of crown land along the road is 15 RV's.

[7 REM MAG]

redneck i get what your saying, i own a jeep and like to get out and sling some mud or run a couple trails everyonce in a while but i do it on private land or stay the heck away from rivers etc.

[drake]

Shut the whole province down to "recreational offroad use" and i wouldnt complain....Open it up during hunting season, and close it during the spring and summer.

[7 REM MAG]

ah but thats restricting the rights of one group and not another do that and there will be outrage that hunters can use quads and quadders cant, dont think that will fly. if this happens again i will be having words with the "opperidiots"

[drake]

We hunt during specified seasons....why can't recreational quadding have a designated season?. I dont really understand why ATVers feel entitled to tear up sensitive ground year after year.

[g-tard]

There is ample room for everyone out there. There will always be someone complaining about something. It is beautifull outdoors and should be enjoyed by all

[59whiskers]

Far to many people with out a environmental background or I do not give a sh** attitude with ATV,s on public lands. More areas will be shut down in the future.

[drake]

There is ample room for everyone out there. There will always be someone complaining about something. It is beautifull outdoors and should be enjoyed by all


enjoyed YES.....destroyed and abused on an ATV NO.

[Waxy]

This thread should really be titled "grrrrrr idiots".

It's VERY unfortunate that these guys were on quads, for MANY reasons, and yes, there is far too much of it going on, that's plain to be seen. It ****es me off just as much as the next guy, and probably more, because while they may have cost you a day of fishing, they might end up costing me a lifetime of enjoying OHV activities.

The fact of the matter is that it's the idiotic individuals involved that are the problem, not the quads. There were likely plenty of other people out there in the area on quads enjoying the outdoors and riding that you weren't even aware of, because they were using common sense and respecting the trails, environment, and other users. There just isn't enough money to go around to pay for education, let alone enforcement, when it comes to OHV use. Sadly, you can't teach intelligence either.

Unfortunately, as is all to often the case, the instant knee-jerk reaction from most people is just to "ban all off road vehicles". It's a small minded approach not too many steps removed from the actions of the individuals that are the subject of the thread IMHO.

Waxy

[Shrubs]

This thread should really be titled "grrrrrr idiots".

It's VERY unfortunate that these guys were on quads, for MANY reasons, and yes, there is far too much of it going on, that's plain to be seen. It ****es me off just as much as the next guy, and probably more, because while they may have cost you a day of fishing, they might end up costing me a lifetime of enjoying OHV activities.

The fact of the matter is that it's the idiotic individuals involved that are the problem, not the quads. There were likely plenty of other people out there in the area on quads enjoying the outdoors and riding that you weren't even aware of, because they were using common sense and respecting the trails, environment, and other users. There just isn't enough money to go around to pay for education, let alone enforcement, when it comes to OHV use. Sadly, you can't teach intelligence either.

Unfortunately, as is all to often the case, the instant knee-jerk reaction from most people is just to "ban all off road vehicles". It's a small minded approach not too many steps removed from the actions of the individuals that are the subject of the thread IMHO.

Waxy


Well put Waxy, as usual:)

Some areas have already been shut down and sadly I see more in the future. It would be sad if any of us had to give up OHV use in our favourite areas for the rest of our life but the amount of damage guys like that can do over there lifetime is the reason why I think we're going to see some more heavy restrictions in the years to come.

I was thinking that the money for education would be paid for by quad owners. Just like a firearms course I guess. Maybe these people just need to be fully aware how much damage they are doing.

[Bushrat]

I love to see this kinda activity by quadders, the more they **** off the rest of the public the sooner they will be banned from more places. Seriously though, much like hunters and fisherman have to keep the bad apples in line the rest of the concientious quadders must take action against these type of idiots or they will lose it all.

[Copidosoma]

Education is pretty much a generational issue and requires the buy-in of alot of people. You can hound a person day and night about how harmful their activities are but enough will ignore it that the damage still gets done. It does work in the long term once the current crop of idiots is too old to quad anymore (ie. loooong term). Then you hope their kids do a better job. Hit and miss at best. Closures tend to work alot better in the short term. Knee-jerk as it may be. At least it gets people riled up enough that they might be more willing to self-police a bit if they know they might lose another area.

Anyone have any better ideas? That tends to be the hard part.
It would be nice if some of the ATV associations would adopt some sort of stronger stance on the issue. Not sure what they can do though besides advocate for more education.

[drake]

Good points. I think these people who drive in streams, and generally raise he!! know full well the reprocussions of their actions. I believe they just DONT CARE. These types of people should not be allowed to own ohvs; let alone operate one unsupervised.

[Waxy]

Anyone have any better ideas? That tends to be the hard part. It would be nice if some of the ATV associations would adopt some sort of stronger stance on the issue. Not sure what they can do though besides advocate for more education.

All of the ATV/OHV groups in Alberta take a hard line stance against this kind of activity, the problem is, they're as powerless to do anything about it as the rest of us. So, they advocate for more education in hopes of reaching some more people with their message.

It's not the members of these groups that are the problem, they're doing everything they can, many going above and beyond, funding these projects and awareness out of their own pockets and volunteer time.

Unfortunately, Drake is exactly right. Most of these idiots know what they're doing is wrong and simply don't care, they do it anyway. They're no different than bank robbers or poachers, and the OHV community doesn't want to be associated with them any more than hunters want to be associated with poachers. We don't call for an end to all legal hunting because a poacher kills an animal out of season or leaves it to rot. That would be ridiculous right? That's what's so upsetting about some of the responses here. If we just changed a word or two in this thread, the whole board would be up in arms.

My better idea is a simple one, but sadly one that will never happen due to money and manpower. PUNISH THE OFFENDERS SEVERELY. Firstly, put the laws in place in plain english for all to see, then put the enforcement in place and make the consequences severe enough that people think twice and quit being stupid for the sake of being stupid. Just like bank robbers and poachers, you'll never entirely prevent it, but you sure can limit it's impact and punish those that do break the rules.

OHV groups have been pushing this for years, and always get the same response "there's no money".

Waxy

[Copidosoma]

All of the ATV/OHV groups in Alberta take a hard line stance against this kind of activity, the problem is, they're as powerless to do anything about it as the rest of us. So, they advocate for more education in hopes of reaching some more people with their message.

It's not the members of these groups that are the problem, they're doing everything they can, many going above and beyond, funding these projects and awareness out of their own pockets and volunteer time.

Unfortunately, Drake is exactly right. Most of these idiots know what they're doing is wrong and simply don't care, they do it anyway. They're no different than bank robbers or poachers, and the OHV community doesn't want to be associated with them any more than hunters want to be associated with poachers. We don't call for an end to all legal hunting because a poacher kills an animal out of season or leaves it to rot. That would be ridiculous right? That's what's so upsetting about some of the responses here. If we just changed a word or two in this thread, the whole board would be up in arms.

My better idea is a simple one, but sadly one that will never happen due to money and manpower. PUNISH THE OFFENDERS SEVERELY. Firstly, put the laws in place in plain english for all to see, then put the enforcement in place and make the consequences severe enough that people think twice and quit being stupid for the sake of being stupid. Just like bank robbers and poachers, you'll never entirely prevent it, but you sure can limit it's impact and punish those that do break the rules.

OHV groups have been pushing this for years, and always get the same response "there's no money".

Waxy

Sorry, didn't mean to slag the OHV groups. As usual, it is the ones who belong to these groups who are the least likely to be doing this sort of thing.

Maybe we need more people out there with cameras taking pictures of these people. SRD might have to start doing something about it if they were flooded with a mountain of evidence.

[Waxy]

Maybe we need more people out there with cameras taking pictures of these people. SRD might have to start doing something about it if they were flooded with a mountain of evidence.

It's a good start. Record the activity and as much info as you can about the offenders and turn it over to SRD.

Every bit helps.

Waxy

[packhuntr]

Why is Conservation Education not MANDATORY for at least 1 semester in high school???????? We have entire generations trapped in one place at any given time for a given time.. Why not educate there. At least enough education about all things wild, so people that arent in constant contact with wild places and its inhabitants, know exactly how to go about leaving it alone when its encountered.....

About 2 whole weeks of training about why these machines are detrimental to conservation in this new world would be a great thing too. Should be tons and tons of pictures available out there that could be used to build one very shocking slide show.....