ATV Traction denied ice access
Feb. 26, 2004 – Brian Mills, president of the 700-member ATV Traction club in Pennsylvania, uses his ATV in the winter to move ice-fishing gear on Presque Isle Bay.
Before the bay froze up this year, Mills, on behalf of ATV Traction, asked state officials to allow ATVs and snowmobiles to enter the bay from the public Niagara boat launching area and the Presque Isle Marina at Presque Isle.
It is illegal for any ATV or snowmobile to enter the bay from public land. And it appears it will remain that way.
That's because the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources rejected Mills' request.
Officials told Mills that the bay can become crowded with fishermen, ice skaters, ice boaters, hockey players, kite skiers and others during good ice conditions, and putting ATVs into that mix could cause safety concerns.
But Mills says that last winter when he went on the ice from private property with the landowners' permission, he saw no more than a dozen other ATVs on the ice at any one time. Mills went on the ice half a dozen times last year.
He believes the bay is large enough to accommodate everyone who wants to enjoy the ice.