PARIS – Months of hard work are beginning to pay off for a new X-tra Mile ATV club, which has opened up nearly 12 miles of off-road trail from Paris to Buckfield.
The hope, founding member Mark Stearns said on Friday, is to create a 17.5-mile trail that begins near Colby’s Arctic Cat Sales & Service on Route 26 and runs to the railroad bed in Buckfield. There it will connect with other regional trails.
In the past, ATV riders have gotten a bad rap “because there’s been so many people abusing people’s property,” Stearns said.
He wants to improve public relations for ATV riders by creating clearly marked trails with the permission of landowners and encouraging riders to help maintain the routes. That means disposing of trash at containers placed along the way, not throwing cigarette butts in the woods and staying off trails when the ground is wet because large ATV tires can do considerable damage, Stearns said.
His own ATVs were parked in front of his garage Friday, and he said he won’t be riding for another couple of weeks. The club’s emerging trail is not open because of the wet conditions.
To date, Stearns said, the ATV club has brought in 26 paid memberships. A $20 fee covers everyone in a family who joins, so there are actually about 70 or 80 club members.
Stearns said 80 landowners have given the club permission to cross their properties.
“(With) that plus a couple of loops that we’re working on,” he said, “we’ve got permission from 100 people.”
Stearns and other members of the club have been working on the main route and side loops since last fall, when Stearns got the idea for the club. He also is vice president of the Paris-based snowmobile club, The Snowhoppers. He was trimming their trails when several landowners said they wished he could organize something similar for ATV users.
Stearns said he realized landowners were frustrated and he “could see no trespassing signs going up” if he didn’t act.
The X-tra Mile ATV Club is working with a program under the Maine Department of Conservation and also has sought the help of towns such as Paris and Norway and several area businesses. State funds, club dues and donated materials from the towns and businesses all are being used for the trail creation and maintenance.
In the end, Stearns said, “The trail is going to contain two mud pits, a hill climb and a sand pit we’re working on now, which will not be closed in the spring.”
The club already has two events planned for June. The first will be an ATV safety course conducted by a training and safety coordinator for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. The class will be held at 8 a.m. June 5 at the Western Maine University and Community College Center in Paris and will provide certification for riders under 16.
On June 11, the club will hold its first Family Fun Day and BBQ at 11 a.m. at Singepole Mountain.
For more information on the ATV club or either event, Stearns may be contacted at 743-3870. The organization also has an e-mail address, [email protected].
Stearns said a Web site for the group is under construction.
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