KINGSTON -- Riders of off-highway recreational vehicles who ride on public or private property without written permission could be facing some problems with the law.

"This is the time of year when we get a number of complaints about OHRVs," said Police Chief Donald W. Briggs, Jr. last night during the selectmen's meeting. So the time is ripe for off-roaders to hear his warning:

"To take an OHRV out, you first need written permission from the landowner where you want to ride," added Briggs. "You cannot ride it anywhere except on your own property without written permission from the landowner. If you don't get written permission, your OHRV can be towed at your expense and you can be summonsed to court."

Selectmen banned the use of OHRVs on town land last spring after complaints of some riders churning through wet soil, tearing up turf and sod resulting in gaps and gouges in the Kingston Plains in the center of town.

Briggs said most riders are saddled with a bad reputation because of the actions of a few -- perhaps as few as 10 percent. That proportion rides across private property, on roadways and on railroad beds where OHRVs are prohibited, causing damage and upsetting people who live nearby. He said they use other people's land for their own recreational pleasure without regard to the problems they are causing.

"They are out there speeding, doing doughnuts, biting into the surface and tearing up the soil. And it makes a mess," he said.

The town is in the second year of a three-year project to restore the grass on the plains where numerous town events and public gatherings take place every year -- including the annual three-day Kingston Days Celebration . Selectmen Chairman Mark Heitz said the town is paying about $15,000 to reseed the plains over three years.

Selectmen asked police last year to step up OHRV enforcement and as a result, the Police Department has acquired two OHRVs for use in enforcement and has applied for grant money from New Hampshire Fish and Game to provide police officers for that program