Just curious to see what you guys think the DNR's next bonehead move will be when it comes to regulating the Dune traffic? No internal combustion vehicles? No exhaust noise over 12 dB? NO FUN ALLOWED??? What'll it be?

 

What the DNR wants is for all of us off roaders to go away and not bother the nice Chicago/Detroit people who bought houses by the pretty dunes.Well my opinion is that I am a taxpayer of the state of Michigan and I have the right to the dunes as does everyone else and if they choose not to drive in the dunes so be it but LEAVE ME THE H*$@ ALONE.
Man that felt good!

I feel your pain man, but keep the faith.

Mike

 

People have been going on the dunes in vehicles long before the people who own homes up there bought their places. They nknew there would be noise. If they don't like it, leave. They won't though, they have too much $$$. They guy who wanted the dunes closed to ORV traffic and a road put in to a beach house on the water still cracks me up.

 

I have not been there in a few years and didnt know there was a problem. People who buy homes in these areas should be told before hand. Butin most case they are not. Did you hear about the area in Yipsilanti that they are only going to give a family a 1hour time frame to ride there dirt bikes each sat and sun! All because they built houses backing upto there land! Not there fault and the new home owners dont like the noise! I feel if you own 6 aceres and want to ride your ATV or dirt bikes (probly why you got that much land in the first place) You should be allowed as long as it is not 2 am there shouldnt be any probs!!

Im sure this is the same thing happening at the dunes

$$$'s always win unfortunatley!

 

I was out there Labor day and the buzz was they are thinking about opening up more of the walking dunes for ORV traffic. In my opinion that would be the smartest thing to do. The walking dunes done see much use, and the general population of the dunes would be spread out more, decreasing the risk of accidents. plus the walking dunes are huge
Im sure this wont happen and its all hearsay, but it would be nice.

 

I don't understand why the DNR and local township want to make it such a pain to use the dunes because if it were not for the dunes 50 to 75% of the businesses would'nt even be there and think of all the dollars spent every year by people using the dunes.The locals should be glad for what they have and get off the backs of the people that make it possible to live in a place that otherwise would not have an economy.

 

It's not us locals that are the problem, it's the summer people. The locals know the score, and even if they aren't into four-wheeling they know what would happen without the dunes. For whatever reason, people from Chicago, Grand Rapids, etc. are deciding what happens to our area....

 

I didn't mean the local population I was referring to the local government making a big deal out of the lineup on the side of the road to get into the park and that from what I have been told is what prompted the voucher fiasco. Please correct me if I am wrong.
I know what you mean about people from Chicago we gots lotsa FIPS around here and they think we are nothing but a bunch of hay seeds that don't know our a@* from a hot rock and the way things are done in "The Big City" is the only way----if its so great then why do they come to Michigan.

 

Yea, it was mostly the DNR's doing on the vouchers, and a lot of the "flatlanders" whining that caused it. For some reason though, the local gov'ts were having meetings about it (the lines), when they should have been out thanking people for being there, and keeping their businesses alive...

 

Interesting-pretty much what is happening here in the Upper Peninsula. People from the cities come up here, buy a chunk of land for nothing, put a mansion on it, drive the land prices up for the locals, push the locals out, and then sit back and run the local politics and make decisions for the poor locals that are left. (Kind of what's has already happened in Eagle River, Wisconsin.) Don't get me wrong - tourism brings money into the area, but if any of you know what's happening up in Tawas you'd think again. I realize Tawas isn't in the Upper Peninsula but that same situation will happen here eventually.

What really cracks me up is the big city people that come here, buy a small chunk of land, then think they own the 100's of acres around it. They put up a mansion in the middle of the woods that has a 6 or 7 mile gravel road to it and then run to the township and bitch that they want the road paved because of the dust. Now the road is paved (which the LOCALS with no money basically paid for) and now they bitch about the traffic on the road.

Crabby this morning so I had to vent!

 

If all they wanted was roads paved it would be a beautiful thing.
I live in an area where every Tom,Dick and Harry wants to be "out in the country"but they want sidewalks, city sewer and water and all the stuff they had "in town" --- well guess what we don't have that stuff out here(I don't even have acess to cable tv)
Sooo go back "to town" and kwitchyourbitchin and save all of us the hassle.

Your right that does feel refreshing!

 

Some of these people that moved from the cities to the country should try living like I did on the farm when I was younger! (And I just turned 27 last month, still a kid in some respects!)

1. Got electricity when I was in grade school, gas lights and lanterns until then.

2. Because of no electricity that meant no running water.

3. Road to Dad's was impassable in the spring of the year-had to park about 3/4 mile away.

4. Bus stop was about 1 mile away-walked that enough. Long walk for a kindergartner

5. Phone didn't show up until junior high.

Dad has all that stuff now but I'll never forget it. It sure was memorable! The situation has changed now though-the road is gravel, and there is now electricity and phone. Alas, it's still not good enough for the city people moving in-the road is scheduled to be paved in 2005 and they're fighting for municipal water (which will never happen!) I wish they could have seen it about 20 years ago. Those p#??$s would have never made it. We now have a society of lazy people and its a crying shame.

 

I don't think I'll ever go to the dunes again. Two years ago I went there to go riding with my sploder because that is all I had to drive at the time and I got up to the gates to go in after sitting for hours and they wanted to check my cooler. I said sure becuase I didn't realize you couldn't have alcohol out there. To make a long story short I was not going out there to drink I was going out there to ride. The only reason I had my cooler was because I was camping and didn't want it to get stolen when I left the camp site. The officers there were total a-holes and I don't think I will ever go back just because of the way I was treated. All those damn dnr guys just have a major power trip! I'm done ranting now.....

 

I was there 2 years ago, it was a blast with the Bronco.
I hope they keep it the way it was.
Id like to take the kids there one day.

 

From these posts it does not sound like you folks actually talked to the DNR concerning the issues. I've been going to the dunes for over 26 years, and never had problems with the DNR. The DNR is only responding to lawsuits using methods to actually protect your right to drive on the Silver Lake dunes. It has been quite a fight with the Bible camp and Fox Road neighbors having drunken partiers on the road at 3-4 am, screaming, play very loud music, and throwing beer cans all over their yards. That is the reason for the vouchers, the people waiting in line created that problem. Property owners run the local government folks. The DNR is caught in the middle.

As far as the lawsuits concerning noise, you are correct, some multi million dollar houses were built along the north edge of the dunes. The octagon shaped house's owner hired lawyers to force the DNR to rollback the driving area away from his place. The DNR worked with the Michigan Cycle Club to come up with a fair method to limit the noise, since that was the loophole these lawyers used to leverage the DNR. Off-Road Recreation Vehicles Act of Part 811 of 1994 PA 451 (MCL 324.811). This is not a real problem though, I make lots of horsepower and make it under the noise limits.

As far as seatbelts, flags, lack of alcohol, helmets, rollbars -- you can thank all the people that get injured or that die every single year. They or their families bring lawsuits against the State seeking damages because their injured or dead family member was drinking, the other party involved was drinking, etc. When I first started going to the dunes you could drive along the Lake Michigan shoreline, then some swimmers and sunbathing people almost got killed right in front of the DNR. They close the beach to driving.

Towing jet skis on trailers to launch them into the lake was stopped too. Because idiots who couldn't pull them up the onramp blocked access for everyone for hours while they got something big enough to drag them off the dunes.

The closing of the park for the winter is also thanks to a few idiots on snowmobiles and quads. The drove all over the walking dunes, tearing up fragile dune grass on hills. What else could the DNR do but close the park when no rangers are there.

You can thank the thoughless idiots (lawsuits and just plain selfish offroad people) for these rules. The DNR has been forced into them, to try for a balance.

Check out this info-
http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7...4760--,00.html