PLAISTOW -- Selectmen have adopted an emergency ordinance banning all wheeled vehicles, including all-terrain vehicles and bicycles, from the 240-acre town forest because the Conservation Commission is concerned that the ATVs are ruining wetlands.

Conservation Commission member Jill Senter said the ATVs are making huge holes in the forest and causing disturbances in the wetlands. She added the long term effects of ATVs and wheeled vehicles in the forest would be dangerous to plant and wildlife, "if you destroy the bankings of a stream because you are going through it, then you could be destroying nesting places and other animal (habitats)."

The temporary ban, which takes effect immediately, was adopted by selectmen Monday night. Board members said they would schedule a public hearing in the near future after they get more information from the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department.

Selectmen also prohibited the use of ATVs on the town landfill. Town Manger John F. Scruton said there has been no damage yet but he is worried that there could be some damage to the cap. Police have already been doing a directed patrol at the landfill, which the towns spent "an excess of a million dollars tearing up the cap," said Police Chief Stephen C. Savage. Jill Senter said there will be consequences if people violate the ordinance. Their vehicles can be impounded and if ruining wetlands, they can be fined up to $2,000, under state law. She said the Fish and Game Department or police department will be enforcing the ban. Savage said amount of the fines are state mandated and could possibly be paid of as a waiver, similar to a parking ticket.

Savage said officers do not plan on patrolling the forests on foot because the department doesn't have the capability. Police will keep an eye on access points, he said, adding that they "have a fairly good idea who uses (ATVs)" and it is "just a matter of running it down."

Selectman Merilyn P. Senter said the forest is for foot traffic only and wheeled vehicles are ruining the wetlands.

"It (the ordinance) has to be done to keep them out of there," Senter said. She added this is the first time that selectmen have noticed this and after seeing some pictures Jill Senter took of the damage she is more aware it. "When I saw those pictures there was nothing else I could do (but accept the ordinance). There are ruts in the soil 6 to 8-inches deep. It's going to hurt the ecosystem."

While a lot of surrounding towns have designated ATV trails, Savage said, Plaistow has none. When parents who live in a condo or only own a half-an-acre of land buy their children an ATV, he said, the recipients are forced to take illegal action in order to ride.

"(A kid who gets an ATV as a gift) is gonna run it on someone else's property or a road, which is illegal," said Savage, who suggested that anyone in town who buys an ATV should also buy a trailer so it can be driven to legal trails.

Merilyn Senter said she encourages neighbors of the forest to call police if they witness a wheeled vehicle at the forest.

"People have no regard for the environment," Senter said. "Its a disgrace. We were not put on the earth to destroy it but we were put on the earth to live with it."