Posted by Clint dixon on Friday, October 22, 2004 at 12:41PM :
In Reply to: Re: Depending on where you live... posted by Joe Cimoch on Friday, October 22, 2004 at 10:26AM :
Here, near the Mississippi River, on the Illinois side of the Illinois/Iowa border, we basically have no public land. All land is either privately owned (farms), cities, or State, County, and Township roadways. To wheel, dirt bike, snowmobile, hike, or ride horses around here you either get permission form the land owner, trespass, or do it illegally on the road right-of-ways, shoulders, and ditches (shoulders and ditches I guess are technically not illegal to hike or ride horses in). There are only a handful of "off-road park wantabes", again private land, that cater to dirt bikes and four-wheelers, and private land where the owners have established AMA sanctioned racetracks. To get to any national forests, I have to travel 8 hours in either direction. Most local legal four-wheeling is done on old township roads, which are not maintained any more. This really ticks off the farmers who still use these roads during planting and harvesting seasons, and who then, must navigate their equipment over the washed out ruts.
What I am saying is, a good portion of the country doesn't even have these lands in question to argue over. Something to think about regardless of what side of the issue you are on.
Clint