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ATV abusers harm nature, private property

May 3, 2008 12:15 am

This is in reference to the recent letters regarding ATVs and the river ["Don't buy an ATV if you have no place to use it," March 16].

We live on family land that goes to the center of the Matta River in Spotsylvania. We really enjoy walking in the woods, fishing in the river, and riding our ATV on our own land.

One day, our grandson came and told us that someone had built a bridge to join the land on the other side of the river to ours.

We walked down there, and sure enough there was a bridge made out of trees and boards. Someone had cut down the trees on our family land to make the bridge.

These were two huge trees, so there is no way that children did this; it had to be an adult, and it had to be more than one adult to even get these trees moved.

Not only did they destroy two of our trees, but they also dug up part of our bank and used that dirt to pack around the bridge that they built. We could see from the tracks that they had used the bridge to ride on our land with their four-wheelers.

This was not a small bridge; it was at least 20 feet in length and 5 feet wide.

Each slat across the width of the bridge had two nails on each end nailing it to the tree, so just from the construction and weight of the trees it had to have been done by adults.

I just do not understand why people do these things. Do they really think that just because they have a four-wheeler that they can ride wherever they want? Do they really feel it is all right to go onto someone else's property and cut down trees that do not belong to them, to make a bridge so that they can ride their toys on someone else's land?

Stop and think. Be respectful. Treat other people as you would want them to treat you and your property.

Debbie Johnson

Spotsylvania





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