ARNOLD, Calif. — Besides the mountain scenery, all Judith and Bob Spencer wanted from their dream retirement home was a little peace and quiet.
The Spencers, who had been living in San Jose, chose this small lakeside community for its seductive location, poised at the edge of Stanislaus National Forest in the western Sierra Nevada.
They imagined days of hiking the wooded trails and serene evenings sitting outside, listening to nothing more than the wind in the trees.
Off-roaders -- An article in Section A on Sept. 21 incorrectly stated that the U.S. Forest Service estimated that 36 million people annually use off-road vehicles in national forests. A spokesman said that 10.7 million annual visits to national forests are by people in off-road vehicles.
What the Spencers didn't count on was what sounded like a demolition derby roaring along a trail beyond their property line. Nor did they anticipate that off-road vehicles would tear up their driveway to get to the trailhead. Nor the incessant high-pitched whine of motorcycles racing through the neighborhood on their way to the forest trails. Nor the threats of violence that have followed their complaints.
"I don't really know what to do. We're at our wits' end," Judith Spencer said. "They are not going to force us out of our own home, but how can we live like this? Sometimes it feels like a battleground."
Spencer has organized a group of residents, including some off-roaders, who are seeking to reroute motorized trails away from their homes. Recently, the 62-year-old former nurse handed the sheriff a thick letter containing a crude rendering of Spencer with arms and legs outstretched and bound, the ropes held by motorcyclists.
Neighbors Kitty Dennis and Larry McFall are musicians who say they are unable to compose when the cacophony of motors starts up. Dennis said the racket is causing her to worry about declining property values.
The Spencers and their neighbors find themselves in a dispute that is boiling across rural communities, national forests and national parks. It pits urban refugees and others who search out the quiet beauty of the countryside against the passionate aficionados of all-terrain vehicles, off-road motorcycles and snowmobiles.
The clash has spawned guerrilla tactics on both sides. Property owners have barricaded gates and blocked roads. Off-roaders have responded by cutting fences, tearing down "No Trespassing" signs and blazing illegal trails through wildlife habitat.
Even those officials who are charged with policing motorized recreation and public lands don't agree on how best to manage off-road vehicles. California's Off Highway Vehicle Commission has withheld funds earmarked for motorized recreation in the Stanislaus National Forest and other areas where state officials believe federal agencies have failed to effectively control off-roaders.
