The SCOURGE of Off-Roading - This is Why Land and Trails Get Closed

wayoflife

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One of the nice things about Zero Topaz, the ranch that Cindy and I just bought, is the fact that it butts up to BIA land or what is also known as Bureau of Indian Affairs. It's essentially tribal land and treated like public BLM land. Anyway, this means we have nobody to the north or to the west of us and that makes it feel really private. Now, if there is a downside to this, it's that people do use that land to recreate and that includes shooting, hunting and of course, off-roading. And really, we think that's great and being that our property is fully fenced, not something we give too much thought.

Back in 2012, there was a fire that did damage our gate on the north and created a breach on the west and since that time, people did start to drive through our property and over time, the traffic made something of a new road that connected the two points. Granted, it's NOT marked on any map and these people were always trespassing.

Here's a shot of the north gate or what was left of it.
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And, here's a shot of the breach on top of the hill.
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Needless to say, the very first thing I did after we took ownership of the ranch was to seal off both points to the best of my ability and posted signs indicating that this was PRIVATE PROPERTY - NO TRESPASSING. Essentially, I just used what I could find around the ranch including an old gate and barbed wire.
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Being that I got busy with other things, I had to put a real fix on hold but made sure to spend Memorial Day weekend there to start making better repairs to the fence and seal things up. While there, I heard a side-by-side approach our north gate, heard it idle there for a while and then... saw it tear up the hill and rip in virgin tracks and just so that he could go up and around our property. I should note that this is a steep hill and it looked tough enough that I never saw the guy come back to make the return trip.

The day after, same thing happened. I heard a couple of side-by-sides come up to the north gate and just idle there for a long time. After a bit, I decided to hike up to the road to see what was going on and as I got closer, I could hear one of the guys yell, "this isn't private property - it's BLM!" At that point, I started running to the road to intercept them and as I did, I calmly told the first guy that, "I'm sorry but this is private property and you are trespassing." The guy responded by saying, "Bullshit, this is BLM land and I've been driving through it for years!" I explained to him that the land he came from was BIA but everything past the gate he opened, the one with the NO TRESPASSING sign, was my property and I would be grateful if he went back the way he came and left. He responded by saying, "yeah, whatever - I'm going through!" and then, like a total dick, he blasted around me. As his buddy approached, I put my hand up to signal him to stop and yelled at him that they were trespassing, just as he blasted by.
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Of course, what neither of these guys were expecting was that the gate on top of the hill, was totally sealed off. And, that's where I caught up with them.
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Totally out of breath and a little pissed off now, I started yelling at them that they were trespassing on private property and that I wanted them to leave the way they came. To this, the first guy started arguing with me about how this has always been public land, said I was full of shit and demanded to know how long I "supposedly" owned it. I told him for about two weeks and that I could even show him the deed. At this point, he told me about a thing called On X Offroad and if I gave it a look, I would see that he was right and that I was wrong and... that's when I pulled out my phone!

Meanwhile, his buddy, the second guy was starting to realize that maybe, they were in the wrong here and might be trespassing and so, he asked for me to calm down. He said that there was no need for me to get all upset and that they were just trying to drive through my property. I reminded him that I wasn't upset when I first saw them but now I was pretty pissed being that they blew me off and blew around me like I didn't matter! He tried to explain how he couldn't hear me with his helmet on and that he was just following his friend. Realizing that they weren't getting through my fence, the first guy got in huff, got in his side-by-side, turned around and tore back down the hill. The second guy decided to stay and try to smooth things over. He introduce himself and then asked where I was from? Confused, I told him, "from here! This is my property". He then asked, "I mean, where are you from?" Kind of like, what I get from people wanting to know what country I was from being that I have slanty eyes and speak poor English. So, I told him, "Carson City!" Not sure what to make of that, he laughed and said, "well, I guess we're all locals here then and there's no need to get upset. All they wanted to do was go to a local bar on the other side of the hill and even took the time to closed my gate after going through it." And I said, that's great and all but the gate and the no trespassing sign were there for a reason. I explained that they're gonna have to find another way to the bar because they're not doing it through my property. He said that he understood, offered to shake my hand and then left. I walked all the way down the hill to make sure they left and when I got there, I could see they were still there and looking for a "new" route around my fence line. After deciding that it might be too hard, they drove back to wherever they came from and using the road.

Now, I would be the first to admit that this could have just as easily been a couple of Jeep guys but I gotta say... in recent years, anytime I see douchebaggery out on the trail, it's always with guys driving side-by-sides. And because of it, it's really hard for me to not look at them as being the scourge of the off-road world. Unless something changes, their total lack of respect for private property, public land and trails as a whole, WILL lead to an end of any of it being unavailable to anyone.

And yes, I have done a lot more since to chain and lock the gate and fix the fence line. So far, we haven't had any more unwanted visitors.
 
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It takes a special person to ignore someone when they are standing in front of you saying this is private property please turn around but I blame the green peace activists for that as well. Their have been plenty of stories of activists posting up signs and redirecting traffic to keep vehicles off of their favorite trails and camping spots. The total lack of respect for the fellow man is a little disheartening. A generation of people who have no respect for people's property because they've never had to work for anything themselves.

Side note: I've said the same thing about SxS's getting trails closed since we moved to Colorado in 2017.
 
It takes a special person to ignore someone when they are standing in front of you saying this is private property please turn around but I blame the green peace activists for that as well. Their have been plenty of stories of activists posting up signs and redirecting traffic to keep vehicles off of their favorite trails and camping spots. The total lack of respect for the fellow man is a little disheartening. A generation of people who have no respect for people's property because they've never had to work for anything themselves.

Side note: I've said the same thing about SxS's getting trails closed since we moved to Colorado in 2017.
You don't find a whole lot of the green types out here but I could totally see that.

As far as SxS go, I have seen them do more destruction to trails and pristine land than I would have ever though imaginable and in a very short amount of time.
 
That’s total bullshit! Hopefully that’s the last time you’ll see that douche. Seems like now a days not many people care about others properties or our public lands. Sad for sure…
 
You don't find a whole lot of the green types out here but I could totally see that.
It only takes a news article to plant that seed in someone's head though.
As far as SxS go, I have seen them do more destruction to trails and pristine land than I would have ever though imaginable and in a very short amount of time.
The SxS community needs to do a much better job of conveying responsible and respectful operation. The number of drivers you see pull off trail to go around other groups without a second thought or care needs to be addressed before all the trails end up closed.
 
It only takes a news article to plant that seed in someone's head though.
Sadly, you are right about that.
The SxS community needs to do a much better job of conveying responsible and respectful operation. The number of drivers you see pull off trail to go around other groups without a second thought or care needs to be addressed before all the trails end up closed.
Couldn't agree with you more.
 
That’s a bummer…I’m not a fan of disrespecting private property.

When I was fishing the Green river earlier this year, I was fishing a section known as C Section below the put in for rafts and drift boats near the border of Colorado and Utah…I was on the side of the river that runs alongside a ranch, which posted serious no trespassing signs (serious as in “You Will Be Shot”)…as long as you were in the river, you were on public property; but the bank was private. After a couple hours of wading, I was sitting on a rock near the bank when someone walked up and told me I was trespassing. I talked to that person for a few minutes…he told me of all the problems of fishermen making fires, crapping and leaving toilet paper everywhere …I told him I fully understood, was in no way disrespectful, and never intended to walk on the bank.. he then showed me a spot where he knew a few big browns hung out. I thanked him, and kept on fishing, wading back the way I came.

Anyone who disrespects private property makes it more difficult for those of us who do respect private property rights and make access to these pristine wilderness areas more and more difficult…
 
Glad it appears they have stopped trespassing!
I agree about the SxS community, I hate to lump a hole group of people in the douchebag category, but the evidence is what it is. Every time I go anywhere off road some idiot in a SxS is off the trail.
 
That’s a bummer…I’m not a fan of disrespecting private property.

When I was fishing the Green river earlier this year, I was fishing a section known as C Section below the put in for rafts and drift boats near the border of Colorado and Utah…I was on the side of the river that runs alongside a ranch, which posted serious no trespassing signs (serious as in “You Will Be Shot”)…as long as you were in the river, you were on public property; but the bank was private. After a couple hours of wading, I was sitting on a rock near the bank when someone walked up and told me I was trespassing. I talked to that person for a few minutes…he told me of all the problems of fishermen making fires, crapping and leaving toilet paper everywhere …I told him I fully understood, was in no way disrespectful, and never intended to walk on the bank.. he then showed me a spot where he knew a few big browns hung out. I thanked him, and kept on fishing, wading back the way I came.

Anyone who disrespects private property makes it more difficult for those of us who do respect private property rights and make access to these pristine wilderness areas more and more difficult…
Thing of it is, if the guys were just cool about it from the get go, I might have just said "go on through".

A few years back, Cindy and I were wheeling through a really remote part of Nevada and when we dropped down the back side of a mountain range, the trail ended up at the back of a guy's ranch. Clearly, we made a wrong turn somewhere along the line. Low on fuel, I got out and started to look for a way around the gate and that's when the rancher pulled up in a hurry on a quad. When he pulled up, he asked what I was doing with his gate and immediately, I said I was sorry sir, I wasn't doing anything, just trying to see if maybe there was an easement that allowed travel. He started asking where we came from and I told him and he said nobody has run that trail in years. I apologized again, told him we meant no harm but were low on fuel and asked if he could point us in the right direction to get back out without crossing his property. Again, being polite and referring to him as sir. After a bit, he warmed up to me and said, "oh heck, come on through."

Attitude and respect can go a long way and it would have made a difference with me as well. But, being that these dicks blew me off the way they did, it just made me want to shut everything down so that I wouldn't have to deal with it again.
 
Glad it appears they have stopped trespassing!
I agree about the SxS community, I hate to lump a hole group of people in the douchebag category, but the evidence is what it is. Every time I go anywhere off road some idiot in a SxS is off the trail.
So far so good. I keep checking the perimeter and while I have seen evidence of SxS tracks, they are all looping around and going back the way they came.

All I can hope for is that the word will get out that my ranch is no longer a through route.
 
Sounds like the Dutton family needs to camp out by your fence line with a few shovels and a few pissed off ranch hands 😏
LOL
Good luck with the ranch. That would be awesome but next to Bureau of Indian Affairs land may be a challenge.
Technically, it's a combination of BLM to the northwest and BIA to the north. It's kind of a patchwork of land but all the locals just refer to it as being BLM as they're the only ones managing things. Also, the BIA is part of the US Department of the Interior. There are no reservations around, just empty land. Regardless, it's wide open public space with cool trails and yes, I'm sure it'll have its challenges if only because people use the land.
 
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