Although Maine’s new all-terrain vehicle law has been in effect since August of last year, ATV owners and operators are just beginning to feel the impact and awaken to the consequences.

There is, within the ATV community, a lot of confusion and quite a lot of grumbling. As with so many new laws, many of us don’t pay much attention to lawmakers and lawmaking until we feel it in our pocketbooks, or it impacts our lifestyle. The new ATV rules are doing just that.

A little background:

Last year, following recommendations of the governor’s task force on ATVs, the state Legislature passed tough legislation designed to make ATV operators more responsible and accountable. The alternative was to do nothing while Maine recreationists lost access to more land for all kinds of outdoor recreation. There really was a climate of crisis. Mainers were buying ATVs at an unprecedented rate, and landowner complaints were rising accordingly.

Although the tough new law was on the books last summer, ATVers were given a season of education and orientation before authorities clamped down.

The hiatus for ATV operators is over. The law is being enforced, and with enforcement has come public misunderstandings and misinformation about what the new law does and does not do.

Here are some clarifying points:

1. To operate on the land of another, an ATV operator must have some kind of permission. The only exception to this is land that the owner has voluntarily designated as “open land,” or land that has designated ATV trails.

2. Contrary to the popular notion making the rounds this summer, you do not have to have written permission in every case. Permission is only required in writing if you are operating an ATV on cropland, pastureland or an orchard.

3. If you are not operating on any of the above areas, verbal permission will keep you out of trouble.

4. There is no one central information source where you can find out what lands are open and what are not. Your best bet is to contact an ATV club in your area of travel, or better yet, join an ATV club and help it fix the problems that have plagued ATV use in Maine. To locate an ATV club in your area call 287-2751 or visit the Web site www.atvmaine.org.

5. The fine is $100 to $500 for riding an ATV on land without permission. If convicted, you will also lose all other licenses issued by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. The Maine Warden Service is enforcing the ATV regulations, too. According to MDIF&W spokeswoman Andrea Erskine, eight ATV operators have been convicted of operating without landowner permission. All of the offenders paid a fine and lost their hunting and fishing privileges.

6. Not all large landowners have closed their property to ATV operation. Many large landowners are authorizing ATV use through clubs on designated land.

In the early days of snowmobiling in Maine, there were growing pains, with many access issues and enforcement problems. Operator education and organized snowmobile clubs helped to make things better. Although there are more than 80,000 registered ATVs now in Maine, ATVs as a mode of outdoor recreation are still in their infancy. Things will get better with time.

As clubs develop and ATV operators learn to appreciate and respect the land they are privileged to play on, the “by-permission-only” law will be accepted as simply the lesser of two evils.

V. Paul Reynolds is editor of the Northwoods Sporting Journal. He is also a Maine Guide, co-host of a weekly radio program “Maine Outdoors” heard Sundays at 7 p.m. on The Voice of Maine News-Talk Network (WVOM-FM 103.9, WCME-FM 96.7) and former information officer for the Maine Dept. of Fish and Wildlife. His e-mail address is [email protected].