Connecting an ATV route from Oconto to Gillett has been a five-year undertaking that hasn’t budged an inch, much less the 25 miles between the two cities.
According to Dave Dreshek, an officer with the Oconto ATV Club, the club has spent five years searching for a route out of the city and into Gillett, the self-proclaimed ATV Capital of the World and a noted launchpad for Nicolet State Trail ATV riders.
“It’s probably another five years away, but you have to go through these channels and keep climbing that ladder,” Dreshek said.
Dreshek was among about a dozen people at a July 23 informational meeting of the Forest, Parks and Recreation subcommittee of the Oconto County Board. They met to discuss a cross-county ATV route.
Dreshek said the club is looking for alternatives after being denied right-of-way through a box culvert under U.S. Highway 41, built as part of the Oconto bypass project in 2009. Snowmobilers, bikers and walkers are allowed access out of the city through the culvert, but the Federal Highway Administration does not allow ATV access.
Gary Hanson, Northeast Region trails coordinator for the Department of Natural Resources, said federal statutes do not recognize ATV use in the same way they recognize snowmobiles, which had already been strongly established when many federal rulings were made.
“ATVs were sort of an anomaly. There were a few three-wheelers around, but quite honestly, nobody saw what the future would look like for ATVs,” he said.
Dreshek spoke of developing a trail head outside the city and possibly using town roads through Stiles, Morgan, Oconto Falls and Abrams, along with forest trails, forest roads and county trails to piece together a route to Gillett.
“We’re shooting ideas out because we want to get along with everybody. We don’t want to be on nobody’s land who doesn’t want us there, we don’t want to be on a road that nobody wants us on,” he said.
Stiles Town Board Chairman Dick Scott quickly shot down the idea of ATV use on Stiles roads.
“We’re definitely against any trails in the town,” he said, referring to a discussion with the Town Board. He said residents want quiet country living, undisturbed by the sight and sound of ATVs.
Hanson also was hesitant to support ATVs on town roads, referring to the danger of ATV users and vehicles sharing the same routes.
As for ATV use on the county’s nonmotorized trails, previous proposals drew swift opposition from horseback riders and cross-country ski trail users, said Bob Skalitzky, head of the Oconto County Forestry and Parks Department.
Opening the Oconto River Trail to ATVs would require approval from the DNR and Oconto County, which may be a hard-sell, he said.
Dreshek requested a letter of support from the subcommittee to present to the Department of Transportation, but the committee took no action. Skalitzky said the DOT already referred the issue to the federal level, which ruled against right-of-way access for ATV use.
Though Dreshek left the meeting without the recommendation he requested, he did pick up ideas from committee members and ATV club reps who offered advice about grant funding and how to approach town officials for access to town roads.
“I certainly sympathize with the clubs and riders in the Oconto area. This has been an issue for a long time,” Hanson said.
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