I noticed in Tn this year you have to have a "High Impact Habitat Conservation Permit" to ride around on the WMAs. Resident=$75 Nonresident=$233. or can you can have the required hunting license for what season is in. Just thought I'd throw that out there since we have our annual gripe session in the spring about Skyline becoming a motor cross track. It basically requires them to buy a hunting license like the rest of us. I'm not sure if its everybody or just the driver.

Sounds good. If we have to pay to use it, everyone should have to pay something. Birders, ATV, hikers, campers, whoever. Hunters have paid the way for too many years.

That's only fair. If you use it, you pay for it

One argument I've heard about the "non-consumptive" users -- hikers, campers, birders, horse riders, ATVers -- is they aren't taking anything. "Hunters kill animals and take them from the WMA (property). Birders only go look and leave."

Horse manure. If you use it, you're using it.

On Skyline it seems most of the resources are put toward the hiking and horse riding trails than anything else. I've always wondered what an area manager does when the place is locked up 6 mos out of the year.

I think they should buy a permit and only be allowed to ride about May 15 till Sept 15. Heck, they want ya to buy a license to use the shooting range , but the wheelers can rip and roar for free.

If you want something done email that info to Montgomery.

We ride on tennessee wma all the time bear mountain and they do 0 maintenance and the dang razors teat the hell out of the trails and i would gladly pay to buy a permit if there would be a return

Never understood just riding to ride. They do it on creeks around here. There has to be something I'm missing?

THIS ^^^^ is alot of the problem right their!!! Your tearing up the rodes in someone elses state BUT saying = O I would be glad to pay if their was a return????? You tear up the place = so why wouldnt you have to pay? Your getting to ride free now but you want more?? This is typical of the WMA riders attuide. IF the rest of us pay our money to hunt on WMAs why shouldnt the ATV rides pay?? They do FAR more damage and ride far more than the deer hunters, In my opion the ATV riders should be made to pay DOUBLE for all the damage they do!!!

Why is joy riding allowed on this piece of public land? How many allow riding without being used for hunting or fishing?

I understand that skyline is hard to access, but that is about the only place I'm aware of, that atvs can be used off of vehicle accessible roads. Why not make it like the rest of the state, and let the people that really want to work for it, reap the rewards?

I was just south of Little Coon yesterday and all day long there were droves of ATV's running up and down 54 up into the valley. I thought it was a Harley convention at first.

So, I pay $17 for the right to hunt in the management area while these people that are tearing up the trails and scaring all the wildlife get to use it for free? Doesn't seem right to me, just sayin ...

If thats the case they should only charge hunters when ya harvest something. Otherwise hunters are doing no more if they dont pull the trigger than walking and watching like the hikers and bird watchers.

They are supposed to stay on established roads and most do for the most part. We are talking of hundreds of four wheelers coming in at 9 ish and riding and partying .

Biggest problem is = No one wants to pay! They just want to ride for free! Plus IF you could get Jackson County LEOs to get off their lazy azzs and come down and right a few tickets the riding at Little Coon would STOP very quickly! 100s of 4wheelers are on the rode all day. Its would be VERY EASY for LEOs to write a 5 gallon bucket full of tickets. Just have LEOs come to where they park their trucks and wait. Soner or latter everyone will come back on their ATVs to load them up. The give them a ticket for riding on highway = Problem Solved!!!

Yep I dare say there is many that spend as much time up there as me and I can't remember the last time I saw the area manager. With the number of beer cans on the roads alot of different tickets could be written.

Same issue with horseback riders,hikers and tree huggers at Bankhead NF the only time they pay anything is if they park at a spot that requires it. They act like they own it and have no respect for hunters and theyre the ones doing all the impact damage including the current fire.

And their dangerous as hell! Last year I had to stop my old toyota to keep from hitting a ATV rider and his girlfriend head on! Luckly for them I was only going 25-30 mph. They were looking over their shoulder , back at another rider , On the highway behind them and almost hit me head on, but swerved at the last minute. IF I had not stopped In the rode, and IF I had not sean them coming they would have been badly hurt OR killed at the speed they were going. ATVs havd no place on the rode with cars and trucks , BUT they act like they could care less!

If they did buy a $17 license to ride their atvs, that would make y'all ok with it?