Relates to permitting certified handicapped individuals and senior citizens to use all-terrain vehicles on state land for hunting purposes
Summary
This bill amends the Vehicle and Traffic Law and the Environmental Conservation Law to create limited exceptions allowing certain people to use all-terrain vehicles on state lands for hunting-related purposes. It would permit certified handicapped individuals to use an ATV to enter and exit public lands for hunting, and it would allow people age 70 or older who hold a new senior game recovery permit to use an ATV on public lands during an open big game season solely to retrieve lawfully taken big game animals.
The bill also directs the Department of Environmental Conservation to establish a senior game recovery permit program. The department would set application requirements, permit duration and renewal rules, revocation standards, and land-specific restrictions, and could require documentation such as proof of age, residency, and possibly a physician’s statement. The bill includes safeguards limiting ATV use to retrieval purposes, requiring compliance with registration and licensing rules, prohibiting loaded or cocked firearms or crossbows during retrieval, and preserving the department’s authority to impose environmental and safety conditions.
Impact
The bill would modify existing restrictions on ATV use on public lands by carving out narrow hunting-related exceptions for certified handicapped individuals and senior hunters age 70 and older. It would add a new section to the Environmental Conservation Law establishing a permit system for senior game recovery and would require the Department of Environmental Conservation to promulgate implementing regulations. Affected parties include senior hunters, disabled hunters, ATV operators, forest rangers, and land managers, while state land management and enforcement rules would gain new permit-based exceptions and oversight responsibilities.
Sentiment
The available text and context suggest the bill is framed as an access-and-accommodation measure rather than a broad expansion of ATV use. Its structure emphasizes limited, regulated use, environmental safeguards, and department oversight, which indicates an attempt to balance hunter access with conservation and public safety concerns. No committee transcript or vote record is available, so there is no direct evidence of formal support or opposition in the provided materials.
Contention
The main point of potential contention is the tension between improved access for older and disabled hunters and concerns about ATV impacts on state lands, including environmental damage, trail use, and public safety. The bill tries to address those concerns by limiting use to open big game seasons, retrieval only, and by authorizing DEC to impose route, time, and site-specific restrictions. Another possible issue is whether the age-70 threshold and permit requirements are the right way to define eligibility, and whether the department should be allowed to require medical documentation for mobility impairment in some cases.