Irving authorizes Star City ATV Club’s use of land
By Kathy McCarty
Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE — Members of the Star City ATV Club now have access to even more land, thanks to an agreement reached with Irving Woodlands allowing the organization access to the company’s property anywhere in the state.
“It all started when Irving Woodlands wouldn’t let ATVers on their land unless you were a member of a club and that club had trails on Irving land and was a member of ATV of Maine. The club also had to buy liability insurance to cover members riding on Irving land,” said Dick Howlett, president of the SCATV.
Since the SCATV didn’t have trails on Irving property, members had to join other clubs that did have access in order to cross Irving land.
“Our members had to join other clubs that had trails on Irving land just so they could ride on the company’s property,” said Howlett.
“Last year our club worked hard to get a new trail from the East Chapman Road to Westfield, with some of the trail on Irving land. That part of the trail was in Westfield which is run by Big 13 ATV Club (based in Mars Hill),” said the SCATV club president. “We met with their president and club members and they agreed to give us that portion of the trail.”
Having a trail on Irving property has allowed the Presque Isle club to move forward with the rest of the requirements to have full access to Irving land.
“This year we joined ATV of Maine and bought the extra liability insurance so that anyone joining our club can ride on Irving land anywhere in the state,” Howlett said, expressing appreciation to Underwood Electric, Time Warner, Big 13 Club and SCATV club members who worked hard on this trail.
Howlett said the agreement will provide many more miles of riding fun for outdoor enthusiasts. However, he wanted to remind everyone that the trails aren’t open yet for the season.
While the weather may be warmer, many areas are still too soft to ride on.
A few more weeks remain before the official opening date.
“Trails are still set to open May 15. Anyone caught on the trails before that date is in violation of the law,” said Howlett.
For more information on the club or for an application to become a member, visit www.starcityatv.com or look for the organization on Facebook.
