ATV riders banned from wildlife areas

Ruling goes into effect Tuesday; officials cite damage to habitat

On a nice weekend, hundreds of all-terrain vehicles cruise up and down the levee that separates Broward and Palm Beach counties west of U.S. Highway 27.

Other recreational riders venture into the wildlife management areas north and south of the levee — but they'll soon have to look elsewhere to ride.

As of Tuesday, ATVs will be banned from more than 700,000 acres and on the levees that serve as boundaries for the four wildlife areas in South Florida.

According to biologists and law enforcement officers with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, some ATV riders are causing damage to the habitat by speeding, carving muddy trails and leaving trash behind.

ATV riders are unhappy about the ban because there are so few places to ride in South Florida

"How can they do that?" Jorge Merino, of Sunrise, said while repairing one of his four-wheelers on the levee. "This is the only place we've got to ride.

"I come out here with my kids and my wife like every two weeks," said Merino, whose children are 8 and 6 years old. "We try to spend all day out here. It's really fun for the kids." [read more]

source information: http://www.sun-sentinel.com