Ban pits off-road enthusiasts against horse riders

The state's decision to close Georgetown-Rowley State Forest to motorized off-road vehicles is being applauded by horseback riders who hate the noise and the danger they say it presents, while motocross and ORV enthusiasts decry the move as elitist and discriminatory.

The April 9 announcement is the first news on a year-old proposal for such a ban, first discussed at a bitterly contested public hearing in Georgetown. Now as the state gears up to enforce the ban, voices are still vehement as supporters celebrate their victory and riders ponder appeals.

"It's not right, what they are doing to us over there," said Lynn's Andrew Savy. "I raised my kid on dirt-bike riding over at Georgetown. We're not going to put up with this. We want to ride."

For now, Savy and other motor enthusiasts will have to go elsewhere to ride. The state's Department of Conservation and Recreation said signs will be going up and law enforcement officers will be dispatched to keep ORVs out of Georgetown-Rowley, where the riding season would have started May 1, according to agency spokeswoman Wendy Fox.

Georgetown-Rowley was the only state property to ban ORVs after the department proposed new regulations last year to define more clearly where ORVs could be used. It was one of only seven state forests open to ORVs when the department started formulating new regulations last year.

State-owned properties must meet certain standards to remain open to ORVs, and Georgetown-Rowley failed on a few of those measures, Fox said.

"The park includes fairly extensive wetlands," she said. "And it's an important habitat for animals protected under the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act."

Another problem with ORVs at Georgetown-Rowley is there are not enough trails to accommodate them, Fox said.

The forest had about 5 miles of trails open to ORVs and the new state regulations require trails of 30 or more miles.

The shortage of places to ride in the state's northeast and the shortage of trails to ride in Georgetown-Rowley helped make the proposed closure a particularly contentious issue. There are two horse farms abutting the densely wooded forest, and riders from each complained of the damage and noise from ORVs using the trails they share.

Pat Fenton of Manchester said she's had ORV riders harass her and her horse until she's had to dismount for fear of being thrown.

"It's a very dangerous mix to have the two sharing the trails," Fenton said of ORVs and horseback riders. "They rev their motors and often don't stop and turn them off when we come along. I didn't go into the park for years because of the ORVs. They make it less accommodating for everybody."

Of particular concern in the forest is that an endangered species of animal could be injured by ORVs using the trails, Fox said. The animal was not identified because state policy is to refrain from drawing attention to places where rare animals can be found, Fox said.

"It's bigger than a house fly and smaller than moose, and it's something that could likely be harmed by ORV activity," she said. "If I identify it, then you get people out there looking for it."

The state's reluctance to identify the endangered animal fueled arguments by critics of the ban that this is not about the environment.

There have been ongoing debates between ORV riders and horseback riders at Georgetown-Rowley and the state simply sided with the latter, according to Ken Anderson, the president of Mass ATV, a 100-member group of all -terrain vehicle riders based in Kingston.

"There's a lot of political posturing going on here," he said. "In Essex County there are quite a few people that chose equestrian activities as a primary form of entertainment, and they have been the most vocal critics of motorized uses in the park. This is an elitist position they are taking; they just want the park for themselves."

Anderson said closing the park will simply prompt more people to ride ORVs there illegally. The nearest state facility that allows ORVs is F. Gilbert Hills State Forest in Foxborough, and that's a long way to go when you live on the North Shore, Anderson said.

Fox said conservation officers will be looking out for ORVs at Georgetown-Rowley and other woodlands that might lure illegal riders because of the ban.

To help get word out about the closure, the state has scheduled a meeting to discuss it on Monday at Georgetown High School.

Savy said he'll be there. He said he'd like to hire attorneys to fight the decision.

Alan Gray, another ORV rider from Lynn, said he, too, will attend to ask the state to reconsider the ban.

"Obviously, I'm upset, along with the thousands of other riders," Gray said. "It was the only place we had to go. Without it, where are we going to go?"

NorthTalk
Did the state do the right thing in banning off-road vehicles from Georgetown-Rowley State Forest? Should some public areas be set aside for those enthusiasts? Log on to boston.com/northtalk, e-mail globenorth@globe.com, or write to Globe North, Suite 200, 1 Corporate Place, 55 Ferncroft Road, Danvers, MA 01923.