The State of New Hampshire recently acquired 7,200 acres in Berlin, New Hampshire for development of a state owned and operated ATV park. Prior to this the White Mountain Nation Forest WMNF) and the Trust for Public Lands were in negotiations with the land owners to purchase this land for inclusion in the WMNF. Two million dollars of federal money had already been secured for the acquisition. The inclusion of this land in the WMNF would have included the largest lake in the Forest and provided the potential for development of a campground within the Forest. The State of New Hampshire Department of Resources and Economic Development (DRED) forfeited this opportunity and instead chose to develop a state owned and operated ATV park. It should be noted that DRED receives dedicated funding directly from ATV registration fees. Prior to the purchase DRED repeatedly assured the citizens, Governor and Executive Council that no general funds would be required for the park purchase, development or operation. DRED recently released a plan for the park which indicates that the full build out of ATV trails cannot be accomplished without changing the state environmental laws relative to ATV trail development (RSA 215-A:43). The plan went on to say that “specific items in the Statute need to be revised so as not to hinder the success of the Park.” Decreasing the number of miles of ATV trails – not revising the statutes would “negatively impact the financial viability of the park, particularly its ability to be self supporting.” Now DRED is taking the position that we may need to sacrifice the environment for the park to be “self supporting.” Put more simply, we now have a choice, relax the environmental laws or the money to support development and operation of a state owned and operated all terrain vehicle park may come from your tax dollars or from the operating budget of other parks. STATE DOCUMENTS Berlin Master Trails Plan |