Mechanized Monsters

America still contains hushed placesbeaches, mountains, snowy woods where a man on foot can find the old communion with nature. Now those oases have suddenly become vulnerable to a new breed of vehicles that are unbounded by roads or rules.

Powered by short-stroke engines, "off-road vehicles" ride on bloated tires or whirling treads that enable them to go almost anywhere at average speeds of 30 m.p.h. Proliferating from Maine to California, they now include 200,000 dune buggies, 2,000,000 trail bikes, 1,100,000 snowmobiles and, newest of all, 25,000 all-terrain vehicles (ATVs).

No one disputes the value of these versatile gadgets to people who live and work in remote, roadless areasfarmers, ranchers, Eskimos, trappers, rural doctors and utility repair crews. To other users, the raffish vehicles offer instant fun at relatively little cost: $200 for the smallest trail bike, $1,000 for an average snowmobile, $1,200 for a dune buggy, $1,600 for an ATV.

Morning Tracks. But to nature lovers, off-road vehicles represent the ultimate invasion of privacythe land equivalent of outboard motorboats that now choke the nation's lakes and rivers. In some wilderness areas, undeclared war has broken out. Hikers and crosscountry skiers block trails with felled trees; in response, some bikers and snowmobilers carry chain saws to slash roadblocks and cut free firewood.

In some states, snowmobiles must be registered; park officials restrict other machines to specific trails. Such rudimentary rules are virtually unenforceable, and marauders on ATVs or snowmobiles occasionally strip hunters' shacks or loot vacation homes. Says Jack Butterfield, administrator of Michigan's state parks: "About all we ever find the next morning is the tracks. It's like a man on foot trying to catch somebody on horseback."

These are the acts of a few criminals. But the new machines cause more general damage. Trail bikers litter the landscape with beer cans, pull-top rings, plastic bags, oily rags, empty bottles. Pistol-packing snowmobilers are decimating Alaskan caribou; overhunting is common elsewhere. At Minnesota's tiny, remote Pierz Lake, a reporter counted 67 snowmobiles and 120 fishermen in one winter day. The sportsmen took out 556 Ibs. of medium-sized fishabout a year's production for the lake.

In Michigan's Upper Peninsula, a snowmobiling club planned a fox hunt in which the winner would get to crush the panting beast under his treads (the event was squashed by public outrage). Other drivers play a game called "spooking." The object is to chase a terrified deer (or coyote, wolf or moose) until it drops. Debilitated by winter cold, the animal often dies of exhaustion or pneumonia.

Many of Maine's big paper companies may soon close their forests to recreational use; snowmobilers have unwittingly flattened entire plantations of snow-covered seedlings. In parts of California's Sequoia National Forest, trail bikes were banned after they started erosion that was ruining hills and the breeding grounds of golden trout. With their six chubby wheels churning, ATVs ravage blueberry crops, chew up stream bottoms and rip the thin top layer of vegetation off swamps.

Drivers also damage themselves. Forced up steep inclines, ATVs and buggies can flip over like turtles, riders underneath. Snowmobilers who forget to "post" over bad bumps often suffer fractured spines. Noise is a problem too. Most of the vehicles make a racket like a chain saw, and users tend to ride in deafening packs. Snowmobilers, in fact, have been run down by trains because their engines drowned out the sound of approaching locomotives. More efficient mufflers would help, but since the sound of power is a major selling point, the decibel count remains high. Better regulation seems overdue.

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