MEXICO – The ride into Halfmoon Pond via Poplar Hill Road and a network of eroding skidder trails is nearly impassable in some spots now due to damage caused by thrill-seeking truck drivers.

The land, most of which is privately owned, is also being used as a dumping ground for trash, appliances, furniture and building materials. Additionally, people are starting fires. Extensive rutting on the roads prevents firetrucks from getting into the backcountry.

All of which concerns fire Chief Gary Wentzell enough to get permission last Wednesday from selectmen to gate the road on town property from April through May.

“It’s getting so bad in there, we can’t keep up with work to repair the damage. Why fix it if we can’t control it?” asked Wentzell, who is also a member of the Mexico Trailblazers Snowmobile Club.

The club has permission to maintain and use the network of trails, and could, along with others now using the land, be denied traditional hunting, recreational and fishing access due to the damage.

“We want control over four-wheel-drives going in the spring and tearing the road up. Five years ago, you could drive a firetruck into Halfmoon Pond, but now, a car can no longer get through. Ninety percent of the destruction is coming during April and May,” he added.

According to town records, 2,798 acres in the area have been owned by Natan and Miryam Vishlitzky of Brookline, Mass., since April 16, 2003. Wentzell said the former paper company land was heavily cut over and slash piles left behind, creating fire hazards.

“People are lugging tires in and leaving fires all over the place,” Wentzell said.

Over the April 28-29 weekend, someone destroyed Jake and Brenda Chartier’s camp on Steele Field off Coburn Avenue, causing an estimated $5,000 in damage. Furniture and doors were taken out and burned, according to police.

“They had a big bonfire and they burned tires. Five days later, when we got high winds, it fanned the fire and, last Friday, it got into the woods for a 2-acre burn. If a big fire gets started in there, that’s a lot of land,” he said.

The damage has caused so much concern that several area snowmobile and all-terrain vehicle clubs are meeting with Maine Department of Conservation snowmobile and ATV officials at 6 p.m. today in the Mexico municipal building to address the issue.