Rogue riders pose threat to Washington County berry crops

It happens every winter.

Snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles tear through mostly snow-covered fields in rural Washington County, not realizing the machines could be damaging the land beneath the snow.

More than anything else, the coastal county of eastern Maine is known for its blueberry fields, which teem with life every harvest season. After the berries are picked, the earth underneath begins the process of healing itself, and any trauma can be long-lasting.

Local snowmobile clubs recently have made appeals to their members through Web sites and editorials in weekly Down East newspapers, asking vehicle operators to take care, but David Bell, executive director of the Wild Blueberry Commission of Maine, said the problem is not new.

“It’s an ongoing concern,” Bell said Friday by telephone. “Really, they should know better. You can’t ride on croplands legally without owner permission, but more than that, it’s just common courtesy.”

Deborah Turcotte, spokeswoman for the state Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, said her office has received complaints, although she wasn’t aware of specific locations.

“It’s nothing unusual. They come in every year,” she said. “Whenever a complaint comes in, we have a warden go out and take a look.”

The Narraguagus Snowmobile Club, based in Cherryfield, has posted a message on its Web site urging riders to do their part to protect blueberry lands.

“Maine wild blueberry growers allow hundreds of miles of trails to cross their fields and barrens,” the message states. “However, wild blueberry plants can be severely damaged, even when snow covered, by riders who leave the marked trail.”

Bill Cherry, a representative of the Ridge Riders Trailer Club of Machias, wrote a letter to a weekly Machias newspaper warning of the possibility of snowmobilers losing the privilege of riding on the trails if the rules are not respected.

He said the letter was a pre-emptive measure.

“Actually, we haven’t seen a lot of complaints just yet, but we know that there will be some,” Cherry said Sunday by telephone. “It just takes one person to sour our relationship with landowners.”

Snowmobile enthusiasts are a small family in Washington County, Cherry said, so it’s hard for someone to ride without being recognized.

“We know all the sleds or their snowmobile suits,” he said. “By and large, the people that ride down here, they probably raked those blueberries at one time in their lives, so they understand.”

With an abundance of snow earlier this season, snowmobilers have been out in great numbers, including in Washington County.

“If we don’t have snow, there are no snowsled problems,” Bell said. “But I think it may be a little less obvious to riders when fields are snow-covered, that they are causing damage.”

Bell said the Wild Blueberry Commission has worked with the Maine Snowmobile Association and local riders groups to put out information and to work on outreach.

“Unfortunately, there are always going to be a small percentage who don’t see the need to comply with society’s rules and norms,” he said.

erussell@bangordailynews.net

664-0524