N.J.'s first ATV park to open Sunday in Cape May County

Residents across New Jersey have rejected the proposed parks. They've worried about noise, traffic, fuel leaks, and threats to endangered species.

But four years after legislation calling for the state to establish three all-terrain vehicle parks, the Christie administration will open the first on a largely wooded Pinelands tract in Woodbine, in northern Cape May County.

The ATV park - to begin operation Sunday - is at the site of a former sand mine that became a private motocross track and paintball park.

"It's a perfect fit for us," said William Pikolycky, Woodbine mayor and chairman of the Pinelands Municipal Council. "This area already has a lot of industrial activity, with an asphalt plant and mining operation nearby.

"We'll have less noise than we did when there was motocross racing," Pikolycky said Thursday. "And we'll offer families - adults and young people - a legal place to safely enjoy their ATVs."

State and local officials will join ATV riders who will take test runs at 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Sunday at the Mount Pleasant State Off-Road Vehicle Park at Routes 610 and 550.

Participants must obtain free permits in person at nearby Belleplain State Forest, where they must show valid identification, current New Jersey state vehicle registration, and proof of insurance for their ATVs. Permits will be issued to 25 riders per session.

The state has hundreds of thousands of ATV users, many of whom have clamored for a legal place to ride. The New Jersey Off-Road Vehicle Park, a 260-acre commercial facility in Woodland Township, Burlington County, closed in 2008.

"The Christie administration is committed to developing managed parks . . . that will provide fans of all-terrain vehicles a safe environment," state Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bob Martin said. "Just as important, this park will take pressure off environmentally sensitive lands that are damaged by illegal use of ATVs."

The facility is the first regional ATV park designated by the DEP. ATV use is illegal on all other state-owned land. Riders may use private land with the owner's permission.

A request for proposals is being developed by the DEP, which seeks bidders interested in running the park under a 10-year operating agreement.

The park will be open daily from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. After Sunday, riders can use the site free until a contractor is hired to operate it. The state did not know how much the admission fee could be.

"This new park is going to mean a lot to our borough and surrounding areas," said Pikolycky, who added that the riding area could be enlarged in the near future.

The DEP bought the 63-acre former Mount Pleasant Sand & Gravel operation in November 2011 with $393,000 in state Green Acres Program money.

Ten acres, including an existing 3/4-mile ATV course, will initially be used for the park, officials said.

The park's sand pits, sand roads, and other sandy areas, left from the mining and motocross operations, provide tracks suitable for off-road drivers of various experience levels, officials said.

Providing a sanctioned facility "should reduce illegal ATV riding in our state parks and natural lands, which damages sensitive natural resources such as forests, streams, and wetlands, and harms plant and animal species and their habitats," said Richard Boornazian, state assistant commissioner for natural and historic resources.

State Park Service Police and other agency personnel will patrol the park. Permitted vehicles are limited to ATVs, dirt bikes, and snowmobiles, and all must be equipped with headlights, taillights, brakes, reflector material, and mufflers. Riders must be at least 14.

Legislation enacted in 2009 called for the DEP to provide three regional facilities for the use of ATVs, dirt bikes, and snowmobiles. The DEP is working to identify municipalities willing to host parks in central and North Jersey. By law, the DEP must buy land for the facilities and cannot use existing state parklands.

Some environmentalists oppose the DEP's move.

"With open-space funding running out in New Jersey, the New Jersey Sierra Club is concerned . . . that this is diversion of public land for private purposes," Jeff Tittel, director of the state chapter of the club, said in a statement Thursday.

The DEP "needs to put controls in place to deal with storm water runoff, erosion, and also any oil or gas spills from the ATVs" at the "environmentally sensitive" Woodbine site, said Tittel, who also called for increased enforcement of the ban on ATV use in state parks.

The state rejected the Sierra Club's criticism.

"There are hundreds of square miles of extremely remote woodlands in the Pinelands alone that need protection from illegal riding," DEP spokesman Larry Hajna said. "The law recognizes that hammering people with tickets is not going to work, that they need places to ride legally and enjoy their sport in a safe and controlled environment."

Contact Edward Colimore at 856-779-3833 or ecolimore@phillynews.com.