UPDATE!! The following is an article published in the Worschester (pronounced Wuster) local paper.
Article on Telegrams WebsiteStopping traffic
Off-roaders unwelcome at Coy Hill
By Bradford L. Miner TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
bminer@telegram.com
WARE— With its sheer rock faces, rock-strewn access roads beneath power lines, and trails cut into the mixed hardwood forest, the Coy Hill Wildlife Management Area, abutting Palmer Wildlife Management Area and private parcels, has become something of a mecca for Jeep owners from across the state and beyond.
Until recently, if one were to search Google for “Coy Hill” and “Jeep,” a host of forums of Jeep owners and clubs would come up, along with photos of Jeeps climbing rock faces and negotiating trails.
Now much of the wildlife management area boundary has been posted by the state Division of Fisheries & Wildlife, and the state Environmental Police has spread the word as officers encounter violators and trespassers that Coy Hill is off limits as a four-wheeling destination.
Lt. John Pajak of the Environmental Police said those who ignore the signs may be subject to arrest, stiff fines and forfeiture of their vehicles — whether they are driving Jeeps, dirt bikes or all-terrain vehicles.
William J. Davis, Central District manager for the state Division of Fisheries & Wildlife, said he has walked the site with Environmental Police officers and characterized the damage as extraordinary.
“The damage that Jeeps have done to the Coy Hill Wildlife Management Area is as bad as I’ve seen on any of the 35,000 acres of wildlife management land here in Worcester County,” Mr. Davis said.
He said there has been significant intrusion on wetlands, substantial soil erosion and an overall impact on wooded upland wildlife habitat, where new trails for Jeeps have been illegally cut.
Mr. Davis said all-terrain vehicle damage has been a recurring problem at many wildlife management areas in Central Massachusetts, and the damage at Coy Hill is primarily the work of full-sized off-road vehicles.
He said the Environmental Police told him that Coy Hill had been identified as a popular destination for off-road Jeep riding on several Internet forums and video Web sites.
“Those sites are now reporting that Coy Hill has been closed to riding. In fact it was never open. Motorized off-road vehicles of any size are banned from any wildlife management area in the state,” the district manager said.
Mr. Davis said wetland species in particular have borne the brunt of the Jeep intrusion.
“There was one wetland we looked at, a former beaver impoundment that was a quarter- to a half-acre in size, that had been literally turned to mud soup by Jeep activity,” he said, adding that at the edge of that wetland there was a great blue heron nest — “no doubt an active nest when the beaver were present.”
Mr. Davis said he was unsure whether any of the state’s endangered, threatened or “special concern” species live on the 550-acre parcel that abuts the 1,017-acre Palmer Wildlife Management Area to the west.
“Illegal riding of off-road motorized vehicles on WMAs statewide has been identified by the Fisheries & Wildlife Board as a priority issue, and a working group has been put together with representatives of our agency, the Department of Conservation and Recreation and the state environmental police. What we’ve found works best so far is a combination of education and enforcement at the local level, following trails to the source, knocking on doors, talking with abutting landowners. And then if our education efforts fall short, we follow up with enforcement,” he said.
Lt. Pajak said in light of the extensive environmental damage and the level of activity in the Coy Hill and Palmer wildlife management areas, the area would remain a priority for enforcement efforts.
“I have a written order from Maj. Bruce Bennett, inland enforcement bureau chief, that we’re to enforce all relevant laws, and if anyone is seen wantonly damaging wildlife habitat they are to be arrested, their vehicles seized, and the responsible parties pursued in court for restitution,” he said.
Lt. Pajak said that while working closely with area town police departments, he was also working closely with the state police, and the state police Air Wing helicopter would be one of the assets he would call upon if needed.
“If they are in the area, I can call them directly for spotting where vehicles are, and where they are headed,” he said.
Lt. Pajak said vehicle violators within a wildlife management area are subject to arrest, and the offenses carry penalties of a $100 fine or 30 days in jail.
“If there are wetlands violations, then Department of Environmental Protection regulations apply and the fines are considerably higher,” he added.
Mr. Davis said it doesn’t help when railroad tracks or power lines abut or bisect a wildlife management area.
“Both over time have proven to be major arteries for off-road vehicles of all sizes to get from point A to point B. Additionally, there seems to be a perception among many that it’s legal to ride on power company right-of-ways. In fact, 90 percent of those rights of way are over private property, and it’s up to the individual landowner,” he said.
While some private property owners do allow organized groups and clubs permission to ride on power company rights of way if they do it responsibly, Mr. Davis said it’s prominently noted in the wildlife management area regulations that all off-road vehicles are prohibited.
Lt. Pajak said the environmental police were made aware of the severity of the problem about a week or so before the Ware River News published an article headlined “The Battle for Coy Hill.”
“Among ourselves we talked about the extent of the problem, how many vehicles might be involved and how we would deal with it,” Lt. Pajak said.
At that point, he said, Environmental Police were unaware of the extent of the environmental damage.
An officer was assigned to that area on the weekend to assess the type and number of vehicles so that police could come up with an enforcement plan.
“After that first weekend, when I learned that groups of 30 or more — many from out of state — were riding in the area, I decided to assign several environmental police officers and worked as well with Ware (Police) Chief Dennis Healey,” he said.
“Chief Healey and I decided that Ware officers would patrol the parking areas along Route 9 and dissuade riders from any unlawful access or activity,” the lieutenant said.
“It wasn’t just Prendiville Road. Some were parking near Janine’s and crossing private property to get to the top of the hill. In fact there’s a brook there and some were going right up the brook to get to the road,” Lt. Pajak said.
The lieutenant said he had received a similar number of complaints about illegal riding in the abutting Palmer Wildlife Management Area and, as a result, officers were deployed there as well.
“We were essentially covering an area from Coy Hill Road west to Rondeau Road,” he said.
Lt. Pajak said enforcement efforts to date have included citing drivers, towing vehicles, and, in a couple of cases, arresting drivers.
He said there had been discussion of riding in the area with representatives of Underground Jeeps, a local riding club that has used the area in the past, but he’s not certain of the value of informing one club of the fact that the area is off limits and riders need the permission of private landowners for any four-wheeling — other than on Prendiville Road itself.
Joseph Kaminski of Oxford, president of Underground Jeeps, said he and the club members were fully aware of the restrictions.
He said his club had obtained the permission of several landowners in the area to ride on private property. He said the chairman of the club’s board of directors works for National Grid, another board member works for the state Department of Conservation and Recreation and one of the club members is a state trooper.
“As a club, we follow all of the pertinent regulations and if we see violations, we take down plate numbers and pass them along to the Environmental Police,” Mr. Kaminski said.
Lt. Pajak said as long as Prendiville remains a public road, it can be used by Jeep drivers, as well as by hunters going into the wildlife management area for game birds and deer.
“If at some point the road is legally abandoned by the town of Ware, the ownership of the road reverts to the property owners, and then it will be up to them as to whether or not they allow access,” he said.
It the road were to be improved with help from the utility company that uses the road to access the power lines, eventually it could be gated and keys given to those who require access, and opened from Nov. 1 to Jan. 1 for hunting season.
