Clean up Brendan T. Byrne State Forest (Central NJ)

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Live Frisson

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I recently came across this article and was disgusted with what I read. The summary is that mere days after volunteers and teenagers with a local YMCA came to the forest to plant saplings and rebuild habitats for local endangered species, some trashy folks with OHVs came and destroyed all the work they put in. They didn't just mindlessly do it either, they targeted it. They did doughnuts on the saplings, left a giant pile of trash, even spray painted "F U" on an entrance piling. I'm new to this hobby and the forums so I can't create an event, but I know I'm not the only one who might be upset about this. This could be the first time these teenagers hear about off-roading, it could reinforce the negative views that other folks surely have. This is the kind of thing that really paints us in a bad light and will harm the hobby in the long term. The article mentions making the park off limits to OHVs completely. That's not what we want. This park is close to big cities on the east coast (pretty rare for us in the east) and I think we ought to show the community the other side of off-roaders, that we care just as much about the environment as any other visitor does, and want to be able enjoy it just the same.

I don't know what the process is yet to create an event (rally point?) but I'm curious, if I or someone else were to reach out to these volunteer groups and offer to help out and maybe replant saplings with them, maybe even figure out better management and have ways to prevent this from happening again, who would be interested in joining? It might seem like a small thing to do but for the local community it would make a difference and do a lot for the image of this hobby.28068146E.jpg
 
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Mountain Goat

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I recently came across this article and was disgusted with what I read. The summary is that mere days after volunteers and teenagers with a local YMCA came to the forest to plant saplings and rebuild habitats for local endangered species, some trashy folks with OHVs came and destroyed all the work they put in. They didn't just mindlessly do it either, they targeted it. They did doughnuts on the saplings, left a giant pile of trash, even spray painted "F U" on an entrance piling. I'm new to this hobby and the forums so I can't create an event, but I know I'm not the only one who might be upset about this. This could be the first time these teenagers hear about off-roading, it could reinforce the negative views that other folks surely have. This is the kind of thing that really paints us in a bad light and will harm the hobby in the long term. The article mentions making the park off limits to OHVs completely. That's not what we want. This park is close to big cities on the east coast (pretty rare for us in the east) and I think we ought to show the community the other side of off-roaders, that we care just as much about the environment as any other visitor does, and want to be able enjoy it just the same.

I don't know what the process is yet to create an event (rally point?) but I'm curious, if I or someone else were to reach out to these volunteer groups and offer to help out and maybe replant saplings with them, maybe even figure out better management and have ways to prevent this from happening again, who would be interested in joining? It might seem like a small thing to do but for the local community it would make a difference and do a lot for the image of this hobby.View attachment 113573
That's discussing they need to take their trucks off them not close the area punish the individuals, not the majority that do the right thing and love these areas
 

Live Frisson

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That's discussing they need to take their trucks off them not close the area punish the individuals, not the majority that do the right thing and love these areas
Yeah I agree. Unfortunately, until we do something about it, most people probably can't tell the difference between those individuals and us
 

MuckSavage

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@Live Frisson you're right. We're caught under a wide net. Here in South Jersey, no matter what we do (publicized trail cleanups, toys for tots, etc) we're still lumped in with the bad element
 

B-rizzle

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I recently came across this article and was disgusted with what I read. The summary is that mere days after volunteers and teenagers with a local YMCA came to the forest to plant saplings and rebuild habitats for local endangered species, some trashy folks with OHVs came and destroyed all the work they put in. They didn't just mindlessly do it either, they targeted it. They did doughnuts on the saplings, left a giant pile of trash, even spray painted "F U" on an entrance piling. I'm new to this hobby and the forums so I can't create an event, but I know I'm not the only one who might be upset about this. This could be the first time these teenagers hear about off-roading, it could reinforce the negative views that other folks surely have. This is the kind of thing that really paints us in a bad light and will harm the hobby in the long term. The article mentions making the park off limits to OHVs completely. That's not what we want. This park is close to big cities on the east coast (pretty rare for us in the east) and I think we ought to show the community the other side of off-roaders, that we care just as much about the environment as any other visitor does, and want to be able enjoy it just the same.

I don't know what the process is yet to create an event (rally point?) but I'm curious, if I or someone else were to reach out to these volunteer groups and offer to help out and maybe replant saplings with them, maybe even figure out better management and have ways to prevent this from happening again, who would be interested in joining? It might seem like a small thing to do but for the local community it would make a difference and do a lot for the image of this hobby.View attachment 113573
I know this is an old post. I was a pretty shitty kid when I was younger and had done similar stuff back home in NC. And regret it now because I have been educated and have grown up. To be honest I bet one of those kids is either the culprit or knows the culprit.