Maps show where street-legal all-terrain vehicles will be allowed on county roads. Red lines mark the roads that will now be open to ATV usage.
Maps show where street-legal all-terrain vehicles will be allowed on county roads. Red lines mark the roads that will now be open to ATV usage.
Maps show where street-legal all-terrain vehicles will be allowed on county roads. Red lines mark the roads that will now be open to ATV usage.
Maps show where street-legal all-terrain vehicles will be allowed on county roads. Red lines mark the roads that will now be open to ATV usage.
Maps show where street-legal all-terrain vehicles will be allowed on county roads. Red lines mark the roads that will now be open to ATV usage.
Maps show where street-legal all-terrain vehicles will be allowed on county roads. Red lines mark the roads that will now be open to ATV usage.
An enthusiastic cohort of all-terrain vehicle users celebrated Monday as county commissioners unanimously approved a long-pushed-for measure to allow street-legal ATVs on some roads in rural east Lewis County.
“It has taken a while,” said Commissioner Edna Fund, noting that the county has been working on the ATV issue for years. “I can’t recall that we’ve had so many people coming in to give their comments.”
The Board of County Commissioners heard from more than a dozen residents before taking a vote, all but one of whom favored the proposal. Several wondered why the ATV plan was limited to the east side of the county.
“The large majority of ATVers are respectful, safe and it is one of the best family activities you can find,” said Mossyrock resident Joe Logalbo.
Many of the ordinance’s supporters were members of the Cowlitz Basin ORV Club, which has long pushed for expansion of road use for ATVs. The county now joins the cities of Mossyrock and Morton in allowing ATVs on some roads.
The measure, which takes effect immediately, will allow street-legal ATVs on county roads with speed limits below 35 mph. The county has put together maps and a listing of such roads that it is distributing along with the ordinance. Officials are also seeking a state grant for signs to let riders and drivers know where ATVs are legal.
The ordinance also sets up strict guidelines for usage. Riders will need a driver’s license, and vehicles must meet the state guideline to be a street-legal wheeled all-terrain vehicle. That means they’ll need things like mirrors, lights, seatbelts, windshields and turn signals.
“It’s not just a four-wheeler or a three-wheeler or a golf cart,” said deputy prosecutor Eric Eisenberg.
In addition, riders must register ATVs with the Department of Licensing and obtain a tag for the vehicle. Lewis County Sheriff Rob Snaza said his officers will be conducting strict enforcement.
“If this is enacted, there will be a zero tolerance,” he said. “If you’re going to skirt it, you’re going to get a financial reminder. … I’m not going to let 2 percent [of riders] ruin it for the rest.”
Commissioner Gary Stamper also addressed that “2 percent,” the non-law-abiding riders he said some residents have been concerned about.
“I don’t feel like we should allow the 2 percent of the population to dictate what we can do for our personal freedoms,” he said.
Stamper and others praised the benefits of the measure, saying it will open up recreational opportunities for those who want to use county roads to connect with public lands with ATV trails. In addition, they said it will improve mobility for some elderly people and residents with disabilities. It may prove a tourism boon as well.
Support was just shy of unanimous, with Mossyrock resident Sona Markholt raising the only objections. She said she was speaking for many others in her community who have concerns about an influx of non-local riders. They’re concerned about a lack of infrastructure, such as policing, garbage cans and bathrooms, that may be needed if ATVs become prevalent in the area.
“These are good people in the Cowlitz ORV club,” she said. “It’s the specter if having out-of-state people and out-of-area people coming in … because we have had issues with those already.”
Other residents complained only that the west side of the county, including Pe Ell, Doty and Dryad, was excluded from plan.
“I would really like you to include that,” said Chip Elliott, who lives in the Doty/Dryad area. “I’m representing a lot of other people in that area who couldn’t come here because they’re working.”
Nearby resident Randy Driver added: “There’s a lot of people who would take advantage of this.”
Officials responded that the initial measure was limited to the east side of the county, because that’s where much of the push to allow ATVs had originated.
“That was where the demand was,” said Public Works Director Erik Martin. “It made sense there.”
Commissioner Bobby Jackson, whose district encompasses those west county areas, said the current proposal could, if implemented successfully, be used as a template to allow ATV use for his own constituents.
“This is basically a model for the present,” he said. “We would be able to pull from this to set up something for the west end. … The primary push came from the east side of the county.”
Barry Godfrey, a Lewis County resident who works as an education and enforcement recreation warden in Capitol State Forest, said he believes implementation will go smoothly.
“In Capitol [State] Forest, we probably deal with 200,000 people a year,” he said.
“Thirty percent of that is ATV people. … Your ATV riders are more compliant than your hikers and bikers, your equine groups.”
He also said he’s seen an increasing number of senior citizens riding and benefiting from expanded access to the outdoors.
