Attention Connecticut lurkers!

Attention Connecticut lurkers!

A call to action! Get busy.

I got this:

ATV Trails bill has passed through the Committees on Environment and
Appropriations. Soon it will reach the House Floor for a general vote. It is
very, very important that everyone call or email their Representative and
Senator and ask that they support HB 5602.

Find your legislator's contact info at www .cga.ct.gov

We've worked long and hard to get this far -- farther than we've gotten in
22 years! Please, give us a hand in opening trails (finally!) in CT. It
WILL HAPPEN!! Thanks!!

Regards,
The CT Trail Users Community Team.

http :// www .cttrailusers,com /forum/index.php

So I wrote this:

I am writing asking your support for HB 5602 summarized below:
"Title: AN ACT CONCERNING THE DESIGNATION OF ALL-TERRAIN VEHICLE TRAILS, A
TRAIL USER FEE AND ALL-TERRAIN VEHICLE REGISTRATION. Statement of Purpose:
To require all purchasers of an all-terrain vehicle to pay a one per cent
user fee, to create an all-terrain vehicle account to be used for trail
maintenance, enforcement and administration costs of the Department of
Environmental Protection and for grants to an all-terrain vehicle
association for safety and education courses, and to require the Department
of Environmental Protection to designate four trails for all-terrain vehicle
use by January 1, 2009. "

This long-overdue legislation would put some teeth into a law that has
been unenforced for almost 22 years, Public Act 86-249, S.3. which was
signed into law June 4, 1986.

The recreational use of all-terrain vehicles is one of the great
American pastimes and an uncommonly strong form of family sport. Currently,
there is only one small piece of legal public riding in our entire state;
Thomaston Dam which is a flood control area maintained by the Army Corps of
Engineers. Only dirtbikes are allowed at Thomaston, not 4 wheeled ATVs
(often called "quads"). Woods riding anywhere else in the state is
semi-legal at best since it can often be difficult to know where property
lines are. For generations, responsible riders have simply tried not to
bother people on their properties or sharing the trail as we go about
enjoying one of the greatest gifts of life - a challenging yet fun exercise
experience that requires total flow concentration while taking us to
beautiful spots that most Connecticut residents will never see. In this age
of increasingly obese population, it is doubly important to be sure that our
public lands offer such recreational activities. And it would be nice for
this family sport to be conducted where riding is legal so that parents
don't have to teach some murky lesson about which laws matter and which ones
don't.

This bill is also important in that it assures taxpayers that at least
some of the considerable revenue that the state has expected to collect from
ATV and dirtbike owners will be used to provide legal riding in the state.
It is a very widely held sentiment that ATV registrations are worthless or
worse in a state with little or no legal riding. Taxpayers expect a little
return on their investment and HB5602 provides just that.

I could go on and on but I know you are very busy. Please support
HB5602.

Sincerely,
Dean ....

Re: Attention Connecticut lurkers!

On Apr 23, 9:53 am, "Dean H." <m...@groove.calm> wrote:
> A call to action! Get busy.
>
> I got this:
>
> ATV Trails bill has passed through the Committees on Environment and
> Appropriations. Soon it will reach the House Floor for a general vote. It is
> very, very important that everyone call or email their Representative and
> Senator and ask that they support HB 5602.
>
> Find your legislator's contact info atwww .cga.ct.gov
>
> We've worked long and hard to get this far -- farther than we've gotten in
> 22 years! Please, give us a hand in opening trails (finally!) in CT. It
> WILL HAPPEN!! Thanks!!
>
> Regards,
> The CT Trail Users Community Team.
>
> http :// www .cttrailusers,com /forum/index.php
>
> So I wrote this:
>
> I am writing asking your support for HB 5602 summarized below:
> "Title: AN ACT CONCERNING THE DESIGNATION OF ALL-TERRAIN VEHICLE TRAILS, A
> TRAIL USER FEE AND ALL-TERRAIN VEHICLE REGISTRATION. Statement of Purpose:
> To require all purchasers of an all-terrain vehicle to pay a one per cent
> user fee, to create an all-terrain vehicle account to be used for trail
> maintenance, enforcement and administration costs of the Department of
> Environmental Protection and for grants to an all-terrain vehicle
> association for safety and education courses, and to require the Department
> of Environmental Protection to designate four trails for all-terrain vehicle
> use by January 1, 2009. "
>
> This long-overdue legislation would put some teeth into a law that has
> been unenforced for almost 22 years, Public Act 86-249, S.3. which was
> signed into law June 4, 1986.
>
> The recreational use of all-terrain vehicles is one of the great
> American pastimes and an uncommonly strong form of family sport. Currently,
> there is only one small piece of legal public riding in our entire state;
> Thomaston Dam which is a flood control area maintained by the Army Corps of
> Engineers. Only dirtbikes are allowed at Thomaston, not 4 wheeled ATVs
> (often called "quads"). Woods riding anywhere else in the state is
> semi-legal at best since it can often be difficult to know where property
> lines are. For generations, responsible riders have simply tried not to
> bother people on their properties or sharing the trail as we go about
> enjoying one of the greatest gifts of life - a challenging yet fun exercise
> experience that requires total flow concentration while taking us to
> beautiful spots that most Connecticut residents will never see. In this age
> of increasingly obese population, it is doubly important to be sure that our
> public lands offer such recreational activities. And it would be nice for
> this family sport to be conducted where riding is legal so that parents
> don't have to teach some murky lesson about which laws matter and which ones
> don't.
>
> This bill is also important in that it assures taxpayers that at least
> some of the considerable revenue that the state has expected to collect from
> ATV and dirtbike owners will be used to provide legal riding in the state.
> It is a very widely held sentiment that ATV registrations are worthless or
> worse in a state with little or no legal riding. Taxpayers expect a little
> return on their investment and HB5602 provides just that.
>
> I could go on and on but I know you are very busy. Please support
> HB5602.
>
> Sincerely,
> Dean ....



I wish you luck.

The fees collected by NY get put into a special OHV fund- which at the
end of every year gets put into the general fund.

The DEC runs all this in NY, and the spitzer-appointed head of the
DEC, Grannis, is anti-OHV and anti-hunting, except for deer. He's a
long-island lawyer, fer chrissakes!


Dave