Herald News: Find the best route for ATVs

MORE THAN 100 years ago, when President Theodore Roosevelt proposed a vast expansion of America's national parks system, it's hard to believe he envisioned any such public parks ever being turned into wilderness thoroughfares for all-terrain vehicles.

Yet, as many regular park visitors in New Jersey can readily attest, that seems to be exactly what's going on in some of the state's most treasured wildlife areas, Staff Writer Hannan Adely reported.

Environmentalists say the problem with ATVs degrading state park lands has become significant in recent years. The noisy, motorized vehicles are a menace not only to hikers and birdwatchers passing through, but also to the multitude of rare plant and animal species that thrive in these areas.

"They're not good stewards of the environment," said Robert Jonas, who oversees trail maintenance for the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference. "These vehicles tear up the trails. They're just big, fast destructive vehicles."

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