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Every year our snowmobile club makes a special effort to thank and reward private landowners, but every year it seems we lose one or two properties due to out-of-bounds riding. Now I've seen it for myself.
There's a Class VI road next to our property in NH. A wooden bridge (rated for 6 tons) spans a brook. There is a ford on our property, next to it.
Last year, a logger repeatedly drove a 23 ton log skidder over the bridge, tearing up the bridge deck. You could still cross it, with care.
But a small number of local off-roaders decided to start using the ford instead. We didn't stop them because in late summer, fall, and winter the ground was fairly hard and they didn't do much damage.
Forward to this spring, and they continued to use it during mud season. Their tracks killed the vegetation and made tracks. Water started running down the tracks, eroding both banks. I should note this was only two or three drivers/riders: most of the rest of the ATVers and 4 wheelers took the bridge, slowly. A neighbor spotted the skidder using the ford as well, tearing down saplings and a tree in the process.
The tracks became a stream when it rained, and washed away 1-2' of soil.
The Select Board knew about the bridge damage, but not the ford. I went to the meeting earlier this week, showed them pictures, and asked, "what do you recommend?" Bottom line is the ford is now posted No Trespassing, and if there is any further use I can put a chain across (the Fire Department and Police will have keys).
9 out of 10 users respected the land. The 10% then trashed it for everyone else. The Connecticut River Conservancy is going to help us stop the erosion (two to five years to mature), but we probably can't restore the banks so they will remain closed. They are going after the logger to repair the bridge, and will require a bond be posted in future.