In 1986, when New York began requiring ATV owners to pay $10
a year, the law required half of money to be used to develop
and maintain ATV trails on public land.
In the first four years, the state accumulated about $507,500
in a special trail fund.
But in 1990, faced with a tight budget, the legislature raided
the ATV fund and amended the law so that all ATV fees are
deposited in the state's general fund. They can be used for
any purpose.
"It's been a broken promise," said Karl Logan,
of Auburn, who owns one of the 7,863 ATVs registered in 2001
in Onondaga, Oswego, Cayuga and Madison counties.
ATV owners in other states fare better.
Pennsylvania, which charges the same registration fee as
New York, maintains 188 miles of trails in state forests.
For $16.25 a year, Michigan's ATV owners can travel on 3,100
miles of trails in state forests and parks. Michigan doesn't
charge ATV owners a fee if they stay on private land.
"New York has done nothing at all for the people who
pay the ATV fee," said Jeff Huey, president of the Syracuse
Area Trail Riders Association.
New York might be missing out on a chance to collect more
than the $953,000 it raised from the fee last year, an ATV
group says.
