Md. Plan For New ATV Trails Hits Resistance

HANCOCK, Md. (AP) -- Some nearby landowners are opposing a state plan for two off-road vehicle trails on Sideling Hill in western Maryland.

The Herald-Mail of Hagerstown reports that residents have gathered nearly 400 signatures on a petition asking the Department of Natural Resources to drop the plan. The issue gets an airing Wednesday at a public meeting in nearby Hancock.

The agency is proposing two, eight-mile trails in the Sideling Hill Wildlife Management Area. Another trail, seven miles long, is planned in the Savage River State Forest near Frostburg.

Residents in the Sideling Hill area say they're worried about noise, erosion and fires. The DNR says it has considered those factors.

The new trails would replace 36 miles of off-road vehicle trails the DNR closed in 2011 to curb environmental damage.

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