Public hearing at fish & game concerning snowmobiles and wheeled vehicles reciprocy with other states Nov 18th , 10 am , hazen dr Concord or written by Nov 27th , see fish and game website for details or to email comments

Here is the URL for the NH F&G web site. Meeting for the rules update. :div20:

Mark :beerchug:

PS: I am definately going to try to be there to support reciprocity! :banana: If you care about this issue please try to attend also. :div20:

I bet a lot of clubs are benefitting from the lack of reciprosity and forced membership. Gotta wonder if it might not cost them some money. Why join an NH club if your maine or VT sticker is good here. Just something to think about. Ski areas charge $40 to $55 for one day. Is it really so bad if i gotta drop $60 or whatever it is to be able to ride the ENTIRE SEASON anywhere in the state of maine. Don't seem like that bad a deal to me. Especially if the extra $$ is going to the clubs. gotta pay to play!!

true , but id rather pay $200 in the fall and be all set for the yr all 3 states

Clubs do benefit from forced membership, but no one benefits from the lack of reciprocity. This is the largest deterrent to the commercial success of the entire snow belt. Every state would experience a real tourism "boom" if we could ride everywhere, just like automobiles, bikes, atv's, but the individual states are not willing to give up their small economic gain of individual memberships at the risk of something to benefit regions of the country, like New England. Snowmobiling is too big to restrain its economic impact for very long without hurting the sport itself. There has to be another way to "finance" the necessary expenses of quality systems, and the time to find those means, is now! We should all make an effort to attend that Fish and Game meeting and make our views known on this very topic. We have to start somewhere, and this is the time, and Hazen Drive in Concord is the place!

pathfinder58 :cn:

Steve is smart a dude.

It may not be easy for most to attend , but old viper rider posted the url, i havent had a chance to look at it yet, but email fish and game sent me said ya can post opinions on their website for consideration at public meeting

some good points there pathfinder. Another thing to consider is some people don't want it to grow. Some may be against it just to impede the growth of the sport.

It is obvious to me and a lot of other people that Fish and Game's inability to enforce what they have on their plate now is having a negative impact on the ability of the system to grow. :banghead: Fish and Game are the single most negative force affecting the commercial growth of snowmobiling and four wheelers in the state. It is sad that more people don't realize this, for there are many communities that could use the economic energy that these resources could generate. Their (Fish and Game) continued non enforcement continues to erode the clubs abilities to maintain leases with important land owners, which are currently blowing wholes in the system all over the state. This can easily be seen in the southern part of the state where real estate developement is also a bigger factor. We have to act shortly or witness the beginning of the end of the sport we love.

im just wondering how it is fish and games fault for not enforcing the rules???? laws are broken every single day in the NON-OHRV world!!! so does that mean that the Police officers are not doing there jobs either????? Just because there are a few IDIOTS out there that break the laws and are not caught means that Fish and Game are not doing there jobs.. I THINK NOT!!!! U have to remember that fish and game does more than just OHRV's... Think about it this way... there are probably no more than 100 F&G officers to patrol the entire state of 1 million people... it just doesnt seem like the numbers are there... Each F&G office would be in charge of 10,000 people... im not sure but i know i cant handle 10,000 people and im sure u cant either!!! Give them a brake they are doing the best they can do with the resources they have!!

I think that is exactly Pathfinder's point. :div20: They DON'T have the resourses that they should have to even get them on a par with the state police. :banghead: More resorces need to be allocated to F&G so they CAN do their job. :div20:

Mark :beerchug:

It is my position that Fish and Game do enforce the rules to the best of their abilities, but that their numbers are not significant enough to make a difference. There are in fact about 35 conservation officers across the state and to give you an example of how that works out, two of them are responsible to enforce OHRV laws(and everything else) from Stratford to the Canadian border. This area contains about 900 miles of trail, maintained by 5-6 clubs. Is it reasonable to assume that two heroically dedicated officers could make an impact enforcing OHRV laws covering 900 miles. The fact is that most local people who ride in this area refuse to ride on weekends on their own system because of the blatant, risky behavior that routinely goes on out there. Does that sound like anyone is worried about the remote possibility of getting a ticket? The attitudes of the people riding out there alot is changing, and with those changes come the era of the 150 hp stockers that more often than not end up under people who arn't anywhere near in control of these missiles. :augen41: The situation out there is dangerous and getting worse every year that it is not addressed. :help: Just my opinion.
pathfinder58 :cn:

I tottally agree with the skiing and snowboarding thing for sure and i also agree that we should be able to pay all at once $200.00 for all 3 states or something like that. I would like one sticker and thats it would be great

Interesting points from everyone. Good info to know and be aware of. We do need to get some things done to secure our current position and not lose anymore than we already have. Wish there was more we all could do. Unfortunately like myself and my buddies from CT, most of us from down here dont realize all of this stuff is going on so maybe we are not making an impact, however i would hope that when they are looking at stuff like this they consider the number of registrations and know we are here. Tough situation. I know you guys up there are doing what you can and i appreciate it.

Jason

ps give em hell for me

:beerchug:

Jason
Thanks for your words of encouragement, and your help with some recent projects. We could use more than a few more like you and your contribution to the cause.
Armand

This is the truth about F&G. I work for them I am a marine biologist down on the seacoast. These officers are spread so thin it isn't even funny. Most officers down here have a patrol area of 4-6 towns or so. Can you imagine this time of year having to keep track of all that is going on in these towns?? Going to work for the day having to check hunters in all the many different spots they may be in, work an ohrv complaint or two, go pluck the dead deer out of somebody's front yard cause it bounced off a car out front, take a complaint or 2 in the towns of the officer that actually has the day off that day, and then for the coastal guys run down to your whaler and go patrol the Piscataqua for a while, then cruise over to the fisherman's coop to check some commercial fisherman's catch. Think they are stretched a little thin!!!!! :augen41:

Obvisiousily in winter their work load ligthens a little, but you'd be surprised how much time they take plucking dead things off the side of the road (matter of fact I often take dead deer of the side of the road in the area to help out :div20: ) or dealing with Mrs. Smith's complaint of a rabid skunk under her porch.

While it is true there are only a handful of officers up in Coos county the southern guys to rotate helping out up there on weekends, so there are usually several on patrol up there in winter.

Don't know the answers to problem, maybe grants for local PDs to help out with trail patrols?? Maybe more clubs doing the Trail Patrol program??

I can tell you this though I think I have seen more wardens per mile riden in northern NH then I have seen while riding in ME, NY, or Quebec.

this public hearing is not just for NH residents , it is open to all that enjoy their free time in NH , please let your feelings be known by responding online see link in an above post to do so.


Thank you

Steve

I sent them a comment and forwarded it to my busdddies that ride up there as well good luck

Jason

:beerchug:

Some words of wisdom there folks. :div20:


When there isn't enough enforcement of the rules.......anarchy sets in. :div20:

That just about sums up the weekend riding scene in some of the more popular areas. :beerchug: