Funny, last I checked, ATV's have been around longer then I have and suddenly in the last couple of years, NOW they're such a horrible problem.
I personally don't see what the big deal is anyways. Most people I know who have ATV's don't use them just for a pleasurably little sunday stroll, but use them to get somewhere where they want to camp, or where they're going fishing, or trying to get to a destination in which mom's dodge neon can't get to, or where a trail is too small for a truck...... and walking 5-10km's to reach somewhere isn't very practical.
The whole argument about removing trails from ATV riders in order to protect the bears seems kinda like a pointless attempt to make it look like someone's doing something worthwhile, when they're not.
ATV's are noisy.... bears can hear them...... exactly how many reports are there each year of Bears suddenly jumping out in front of an ATV, getting hit and dying?
And claiming some people are shooting off of ATV's while hunting bears?
Well there's laws already in place for that sort of crap.
Sure they're bad apple ATV riders that seem to ruin it for everybody else, but there are bad apples with boat riders, car drivers, skateboarders...... Gun Owners.... Hmmmm.... :-?
Some people argue the point of banning firearms because of the amount of idiots out there who don't know how to use them properly or respect them, and there are a number of people who don't like that idea and continually defend gun ownership to be free and available to just about everybody...... yet I see a couple of those people in this thread above arguing the exact same practice to be applied to people who operate ATV's.
Bit of a double standard if you ask me.
People shouldn't be using ATV's simply to drive around and waste time cuz they have nothing better to do with their buddies.... they should be used for transportation and other practical purposes..... but in reality, not everybody is going to use them for that, just as some people will make their cars into street racers and be total idiots.
Shall we suddenly ban all vehicles because of those bad apples?
Won't happen.... and banning ATV's won't happen either.
I don't own an ATV, but I've used a couple in my day, and I live in an area where there's plenty of places for ATV riders to go through various trails and do..... I have no issue with them.