Riding down the wrong path
Mining co. urges ATV riders to keep out of dangerous quarry
BY JENNIFER KOHLHEPP
Staff Writer

PHOTOSBY SCOTT FRIEDMAN ATV riders illegally use the Buck Mining and Materials quarry off Pine Hill Road in Millstone and allegedly vandalize construction equipment. In its most recent effort to deter trespassers, the company has pledged to work with the state police and to sign any necessary complaint and/or summons.

Although it looks like a dirt paradise for off-road vehicles (ORV), Buck Mining & Materials Inc.'s quarry in Millstone is really private property where trespassers can be seriously injured and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

In its 40 years of operation in the Millstone community, Buck Mining & Materials, which has its offices on Route 33, has had problems with all-terrain vehicle (ATV) and dirt-bike riders using its approximately 24-acre site situated between Pine Hill, Millstone, Baird and Stillhouse roads. The Buck family has owned and operated the property since the 1960s, when materials were first excavated from the land there in an effort to build Route 33.

"Over the years we have prosecuted kids for [trespassing]," said Melissa Buck Ryba, the company's office manager. "We have had hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages done to our equipment and quite frankly, we are very tired of this."

Since the beginning of this year alone, Buck Ryba said the company has had to call the New Jersey State Police - which polices Millstone because the township does not have its own police force, more than 10 times - about riders illegally using the property. The family has also had to pay for repairs to excavators, loaders and other equipment that has had windows smashed out or has otherwise been damaged by trespassers.

"Most recently, we had to call the police on siblings of the ones who got caught last week," she said, "and the parents are not helping in the matter."

In its most recent efforts to keep riders off the property, Buck Mining & Materials authorized the state police to enter its excavation site upon evidence of trespass and has pledged to sign any necessary complaint and/or summons. This summer, the company also decided to try a different tactic to keep unauthorized persons off its property and sent certified letters to residences near the quarry about its willingness to prosecute trespassers to the fullest extent of the law. The letters were sent out June 21.

SCOTT FRIEDMAN Despite locked gates and clearly visible warning signs, trespassers continue to illegally ride their ATVs through the Buck Mining and Materials quarry in Millstone Township, causing damage to the facility.

The letter aims to notify locals of "all the legal stuff families will have to go through just for their kids to ride their ATVs and dirt bikes on someone else's property," Buck Ryba said. "Jail time is involved, and I don't think anyone in town knows this, except for the ones going to jail now."

The mailing serves as an additional deterrence to the quarry's locked gate and posted "No Trespassing" signs. The letter also comes in addition to berming that the company placed around its property to deter riders from entering the site.

"No ATVs in the pit," Lesley Buck, a company official, said. "People need to know."

With mounds of dirt, steep slopes and machinery-made paths, the area is quite attractive to ATV and dirt-bike riders but is quite dangerous, according to Buck. The company uses various strata of the earth for different projects, and the ongoing excavation makes the terrain in the facility extremely unstable.

Buck said, "The terrain is constantly changing. Where you have a flat road one day, you can have a 20-foot drop-off the next because 20 feet of dirt has been removed. It's an open excavation pit."

Buck said she doesn't have a problem with ATV riders or even the noise the sport generates, which has been an issue for other local residents, but that she just does not want to see people get hurt.

Trespassers are putting themselves at risk as well as company workers, according to Buck. She said that recently, damage to the company's equipment has gone from a few broken windows to trespassers tampering with or pulling out parts of machinery stored at the site.

"When they remove pegs from the equipment, they're making it unsafe for our workers," Buck said.

Noting that New Jersey offers very few facilities for ORV riders, Buck said her family might be interested in working with local officials to designate a portion of its property for use by such enthusiasts.

Mayor Nancy Grbelja had said at a Township Committee meeting in 2006 that Millstone may consider designating a piece of township property for ATV use. The township just completed a recreational study and released a comprehensive park and open space plan. Although the plan mentions trying to accommodate ATV use, it makes no further reference as to how the township might be able to do so in the near future.

The Monmouth County Open Space Plan, which was prepared in 2006, stated the possibility of the county designating 120 acres on Shafto Road in Tinton Falls for model airplane and ATV use. However, that plan has yet to come into fruition.

One of the only designated ORV facilities in the state is located in Chatsworth. The New Jersey Off Road Vehicle Park is a nonprofit that offers ORV terrain and is open daily, according to its Web site.

The state of New Jersey allows ATVs on publicly managed lands such as national forest trails, but the vehicles must be properly insured and registered within the state.

State law requires all riders to wear a helmet. In New Jersey, the minimum age for operating an ATV is 14. Anyone under the age of 16 in New Jersey is prohibited from operating an ATV with an engine capacity of greater than 90 cubic centimeters.

New Jersey state law also requires riders under the age of 18 to complete an ATV safety course and to keep their certificate of completion with them at all times. Fines for not presenting the certificate when an official asks for it can range between $200 and $500.

In New Jersey, ATV use on public roads and highways is prohibited except to cross these roads.

Fines for illegal ATV use can range from $250 to $500 for a first conviction, $750 to $1,500 for a second conviction and a $5,000 fine for a third.