Keep ATVs out of Alberta streams, province warns riders ahead of weekend crackdown

The province says it will step up its enforcement of careless ATV users in high-use areas this summeron public lands and in provincial parks.

The goal is to keep riders from going off marked trails and tearing up and down streams, says Alberta Parks spokesman Tim Chamberlin.

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"We'll have fish and wildlife officers, our conservation officers in concert with some other law enforcement groups that will be making a concentrated effort to not only promote awareness but to enforce the rules and regulations," he said.

Gary Clark, president of the Quad Squad a recreational club in the Crowsnest Pass says while more officers are welcome, the way offences are prosecuted needs to change.

The province should first set specified penalties and then allow conservation officers to issue them like traffictickets, he said.

"Once that happened a few times it wouldn't take long for everybody to realize they shouldn't be going through the water," he said.

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