Mountain Bikers on WMA's

[Stevo]

Here is the law copied from your website.

 

Mountain bicycles (non motorized) are allowed on existing trails and secondary roads on wildlife management areas from March 1st to April 15th and June 1st to September 15th as well as on Sundays throughout the year.

 

Our WMA's are turning into parks for Dog walkers, mountain bikers, and I even had a guy in a steel frame Go Kart go by one day with his kid in it. I have had my hunts ruined many times by these guys riding through on their bikes. Manasquan River WMA has become a Mountain Bikers Paradise. They have cut new trails far into the woods with signs nailed to the trees to direct each other to different areas. I visited your office in Assunpink last year to advise you of what was happening over there. A CO explained the laws to me and even gave me a sheet of paper with the rules on it. I guess it is the pamphlet you give any Mountain Bikers that inquire. I was then told by the nice young lady to report them next time I saw them. Which brings me to today..........

 

I met my BIL over at Manasquan WMA off of Ramshorn rd. As I was getting my gear out he said a biker just went down our trail. I got my stuff together and while walking in called your office. A lady answered and I explained the situation. She told me there was no law that said they cannot be in there. I told her there was a law. She then said no there is not. I still had the pamphlet from last year in my truck. I told her I have the law on paper in my truck from your office. I then told her the dates they were not allowed to be there. Again she told me there is no such law. Well about now anyone else would just give up. But I'm not just anyone. I said send a CO over here and I will show him the law and then he can give them a ticket. She asked for my number and name and said I will see if anyone is in the area and hung up. No one came.

 

This is the 3rd time I have ever called your office. Once for someone spotlighting Deer on my Farm and a CO was there the next day. Another time when the range at Colliers Mills was destroyed. Got answering machine no one called back. And now this.

 

I plan on hunting WMA's a lot during the Special Permit Coyote/Fox Season. I will have at least half my hunts ruined by these Bike Riders. But I will still hunt there and expect these guys to come through. My License fees and tax money on all the hunting and fishing equipment I buy was and is used to purchase and maintain WMA's. These Bike Riders contribute nothing. The WMA's need to be returned to Hunters and Fisherman. They have turned into Picnic Areas, Dog Parks, Cross Country Joggers, Mountain Bikers, and lets throw in Party Hangout for the kids tagging the Rifle Range.

 

Something needs to be done. If you are under manned do something about it. I am going to be calling a lot. Every time I see one I am calling. I am doing my job as a sportsman reporting the violations. Now it's up to you to do yours. Get out there and write the tickets. They won't stop until you do.

 

Steve

[LPJR]

Well said. This deserves a response from the state.  

[BowhunterNJ]

Definitely well said. Unfortunately this forum isn't followed by them. I created it to auto publish the news and updates from their website. Would be great to see someone from NJDFW join the site and answer questions such as this that get asked by NJ sportsmen and women!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[thefirstndsecond]

Send an email. Documenting the law you state and copy their Upper mgmt.

[Stevo]

Oh they are here I promise you. Whether or not they will reply........... that's the question.

 

Well either way maybe if they get tired of me calling they will do something. It has to be fixed.

[RPK0620]

The horseback riders on the WMA's used to have an insurance policy to ride there so that if something happened to them they were covered.

They complained saying that the hunters didn't need one so why should they, and now they don't.

Like the bikers they don't contribute any money to help maintain the WMA's.

Fishermen who don't have a hunting license are supposed to buy a boat ramp fee.

I think there should be a charge for the horseback riders, the hikers and the bikers like there is for the fishermen.

[NorthNJHunter]

I agree 100%. Hopefully they do something about it.

[BowhuntingJersey]

This is something going on in all WMAS and State parks. JORBA is a mountain bike organization that keeps the trails in Allaire clean for the park. They ride in there at night. The park doesn't even realize the new trails the cut. No one walks them or checks them. Soon there won't be a place to set up without a bike riding by you. I call the State Park Police all the time. They just give warnings no tickets. It's a joke that are license sales go to these parks and riders don't pay anything.

[mazzgolf]

Horseback riding DOES require a $25 annual fee and IS ONLY allowed on some WMAs, as spelled out here:

 

http://www.nj.gov/dep/fgw/wmaregs.htm

 

Horseback Riding

This is allowed only on designated WMAs (listed below) with a permit ($25.00 per person, per calendar year, plus $2.00 application fee) purchased from the Division of Fish and Wildlife's license Web site at www.nj.wildlifelicense.com. For information, call 609-259-2132.

 

 

 

If you see someone riding horseback, ask to see their permit. They must have one.

 

And here is the mountain bike policy, directly from their website :

 

http://www.nj.gov/dep/fgw/pdf/mtbikepolicy.pdf

 

Note that they *can* be on the WMA roads (those open to motor vehicles) all year round, but only on existing trails and secondary roads from March 1 to April 15 and June 1 to September 15 - in other words, they cannot be on the trails or secondary roads during virtually all the major hunting seasons.

[Stevo]

How could they get "Back to Nature" if they stayed on the paved roads they are supposed to be on. I wish I had one of those fancy trail cams that sent photos to your cell phone. I would set one up on the main trail they use and call every single time one  went by.

[Haskell_Hunter]

Stevo, I don't think you're going to get legs on this.

 

I am still very bitter over, and have not gotten anything of any kind of response on, the "gifting" of the Wanaque WMA to the Ringwood State Park.  The land was purchased with hunter money, designated as a WMA, and then given to Ringwood SP.  There was no compensation to the WMA fund for the transfer.  So essentially your license money was used to give a WMA gift to Ringwood.

 

I don't expect the state to enforce any reasonable management of these lands or follow any of the rules the put in place.  This should be held high as an example of the state throwing hunters under the bus and thumbing their nose at us.

 

I'm sorry for the pessimistic post, but the state does nothing for the WMAs and has given the land away without compensating the funds that actually purchases the land.

[bill43]

 

 

Fishermen who don't have a hunting license are supposed to buy a boat ramp fee.

I think there should be a charge for the horseback riders, the hikers and the bikers like there is for the fishermen.

Be careful what you wish for here. Charge them a fee and you give them a voice.

Also. Fisherman already pay

They buy a fishing license.

[TDietz]

You would think this money grubbin state would figure out a way to, as scumbag Jon Corzine would say, "monetize" State land usage. And then write complicated nonsensical regulations to make it easy for LEOs to hand out citations, (tax), on lawbreakers. They could pattern it on the hunting digest. 

[RPK0620]

Be careful what you wish for here. Charge them a fee and you give them a voice.

Also. Fisherman already pay

They buy a fishing license.

 

Valid point.  And when I said fishermen I was thinking about canoists and kayakers who don't fish and have a license. I stand corrected.

[kuz]

i think anyone using the WMA's should contribute a small fee. $5? something. and put that money into some enforcement. 

I would work as a CO for commission on violation fines and be a millionaire. start enforcing the existing regulations, on non-sportsman and sportsman, and use those monies for hiring some more CO's. I haven't even been asked for my license in 12 years and i hunt and fish a lot.