DANVILLE -- It's not that selectmen think all off-road riders are destructive and insensitive -- just those who don't live in town. Selectmen want to adopt a new policy that would ban out-of-towners from riding all-terrain vehicles on town land, saying that it's easier to educate residents about proper ATV use, but riders from away are another story. "We already know for a fact that people from Massachusetts use ATVs in the Town Forest, and I'm anticipating this problem will only get worse," said selectmen Chairman Michael Asselin.

With more and more Southern New Hampshire towns cracking down on off-road recreation, Asselin said it's just a matter of time before the riders who used to take to the trails in Plaistow or Atkinson zoom into Danville, which now doesn't restrict ATV use.

He suggested last night that Danville work with other area towns that have restrictions on ATV use to develop an ordinance that would prohibit non-Danville residents from riding on town-owned land. Plaistow, Atkinson and Hampstead have recently banned ATVs from all town-owned land.

Asselin said while selectmen may move forward and impose restrictions on ATV use in the near future, residents would have their say on the new law at the upcoming Town Meeting in March. To help enforce the proposed restrictions, Asselin said he would support increasing the Police Department's budget so they'd be able to crack down on scofflaws.

"Unless you enforce it, it's a waste of time," Asselin said. He said areas of the Town Forest as well as areas along other town-owned recreation trails, such as the trails on Hersey Road and the Rockrimmon Trail, have been damaged by ATVs that have veered off the trails. It's easier to inform locals, Asselin stressed, about good riding practices. He also noted that anytime he has encountered ATV riders along Tuckertown Road, which is in the Town Forest, the riders have addressed him "very courteously, very respectfully," and that they slowed down. However, he's also received reports from residents in town that ATVs are riding along private property to get to some of the town-owned trails.

Another reason why Asselin wants to limit the number of ATV riders in town is because the town of Newton has been ordered to pay $400,000 to a family there whose land was destroyed by ATV riders.

"Newton has the same liability insurance that we do" through the New Hampshire Municipal Association, Asselin said. "The insurance company has said that it will no longer cover ATV damage (lawsuits) for towns, so that any future lawsuit, or damage (to private property) is the sole responsibility of the town."