Scouting trip to Lick Creek

[bigpaw 77]

Last friday my wife and I drove down to Lick Creek unit to do a little scouting for the upcoming spring bear hunt. There was not much in the way of people up there on friday, but on saturday we seen a few people out scouting and hiking enjoying a nice spring day. When we got to the top of the North Fork there was some A**HOLE on his four wheeler ripping around on the closed road and across the bare land, he was ripping the hell out of the ground . His quad did not have a muffler on it, I don't think I have heard a bike that loud in my life EVER. If the guy who was doing it (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE) sees this, why don't you do the world a favor a ride your four wheeler off a cliff. This really got me fired up as you can tell. There is no reason for someone to ride their four wheeler or dirt bike on closed roads and off the roads. You may have fun for an hour, but the ruts and burn out marks you make on the ridge will be there for a very long time.

[MichaelD]

Did you get a description and turn them in?  Doesn't do any good to wish them off a cliff if you didn't at least make a quick phone call and maybe stop that from happening again.   If you did call, thanks...

[bigpaw 77]

who should I call? If the forest service cared about this problem, they would start patrolling. I have spent a ton of time in the mountains and never once have I seen anyone patrolling for people on closed roads in WA. I have seen them patrolling a lot in Montana. -Jeremy

[MichaelD]

Yea, you're right....calling would have been a waste of your time but coming on a forum two days later will stop the problem...

Who to call?  Forest Service in Pomeroy - they have an enforcement officer, Garfield County Sheriff -they have some deputies on duty, Asotin County Sheriff - they too have some deputies on duty, WDFW -also have the ability to enforce the law....? 

I am sure you are right and the one or two guys who are paid to patrol that area likely did not drive by the guy on the ATV at the moment he was riding around, but if people call and let them know there is a problem then maybe they can put a little emphasis patrol out earlier in the year and catch one or two of the people responsible a lot of damage is done.

I guess I see it as part of our (my) responsibility to be stewards of the land where we hunt, fish, hike, camp and enjoy.  If we can't be part of the solution ourselves then we have one more person to complain about when things get ruined and they begin to take away accessibility to the rest of us.   

[wastickslinger]

A game warden or sheriff will normally respond if you make a call. If nothing else you could call in the plates on the rig and they will be contacted later for questioning. They might not get caught in the act but may prevent this in the future.

[CJ-5]

Thats too bad that idiot was up there ripping around...no respect..anyways how was the scouting trip other than that?  Any bears running around? 

[hirshey]

Boy I sure would like to catch some of these offroad vehicles in action... unfortunatly I've been a few days late at a significant amount of my favorite locations. I don't think they understand/care that some of these ecosystems are incredibly fragile and that those ruts and disturbances will be there for a lifetime in some cases.

Good descriptions or accurate locations can go a long way if you catch them in action.