Jim Lockwood
Tri-Town Times
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SANDOWN – If you want to ride an ATV on Sandown’s town forest land along Fremont Road, you had better have written permission.
“If they get caught without written permission, there’s no ignorance,” said Mark Traeger, a member of the Sandown Conservation Commission.
‘That’s a complaint the chief of police has had calls on,” added fellow commission member Brian Butler. “We want to educate the people.”
“It’s the town forest that’s getting destroyed,” he added.
To that end, the conservation commission, which acts as steward of the forest, received permission from the board of selectmen last week to post signs reminding riders that they need to seek written permission to ride on the town forest.
Further, signs will be available to private homeowners who wish to remind ATV riders to make sure to not ride on their land without permission.
Interestingly, the majority of calls Sandown Police Chief Joe Gordon has had on the issue have come from private landowners. Some of the complaints have been that riders tear existing signs down and leave trash.
“(It’s) a lack of care for other people’s property,” said Gordon. “To violators, I say, ‘Would you want me doing this on your lawn?’”
When he spoke to the Tri-Town Times, Gordon was not sure of the exact amount of complaints over a given period of time.
The decision was approved by the selectmen based on the current law which requires ATV riders to seek written permission to ride on someone’s land.
However, ATV riders can still ride on the railroad beds that wind their way through the town forest because that land is managed by the New Hampshire Trails Bureau.
Finally, use of the trail once the sun goes down is prohibited for wheeled vehicles. People who ride snowmobiles, however, would still be allowed to use the trail at night.