ATV/UTV studies

To the Editor;
There have been two letters to the editor written recently regarding the Vilas County ATV/UTV Alliance’s request to the Vilas County Highway Department regarding opening all county highways to ATV/UTV use, and the use of a study done by the Wisconsin ATV/UTV Association. In fact, there are two studies that were conducted; the first by the Wisconsin Office of Outdoor Recreation, and the second by the Wisconsin ATV/UTV Association. Let’s take a look at the facts.
Both studies clearly show that all aspects of outdoor tourism in the State of Wisconsin grew with the exception of one area. Per the Wisconsin Office of Outdoor Recreation of 2023, the sport of Motorcycling/ATV/UTVing contributed $1.1 billion to the state’s economy. The Wisconsin ATV/UTV Association study showed that in 2023 ATV/UTVing contributed $5.4 billion, with $4.2 billion attributed to rider spending. It makes no difference which study a person believes, the economic impact of this sport cannot be denied.
While it may be true that Vilas County policy, created 20 years ago, allowed individual towns to create their own rules regarding the use of ATV/UTVs in their jurisdiction, the sport was in its infancy and many changes have happened since that time regarding voter opinion of the sport. For example, in Boulder Junction this past summer, a petition was circulated among both voters and visitors to the Boulder Junction area on their thoughts regarding ATV/UTV’s. The results were that 1530 signatures in total were received with only 48 no votes. In addition, the Town of Plum Lake has now passed an ordinance that allows ATV/UTVs on county roads which takes all traffic through the town. To quote Bob Dylan “the times they are a changing”.
The Penn State study highlighted in previous letters stated all the negative environmental impacts listed; however, there was a codicil stating that these negatives occur when trails are not properly managed or designed. As part of the WATVA study, the Wisconsin DNR provides guidelines for trail maintenance, including how to address issues like trail rutting, drainage problems, and loss of surfacing. As an officer for the St. Germain ATV Club, I can attest that the DNR is very serious about this issue and we conform to all requirements set forth by the DNR.
Finally, while law enforcement does need to understand the difference in laws for the areas they patrol, having diverse rules for county highways does make this difficult, not only for law enforcement but also for our visitors. There are many rules and regulations that our visitors have to follow and removing this one rule will have a significant impact. One impact is that our visitors will be able to traverse all of Vilas County into Iron County. We frequently have to address this lack of access with our visitors.

Lisa Penner
St. Germain