BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 19, 2026
With ATV access at every corner of town, Houlton will soon see police patrolling the trails. A new $10,500 state enforcement grant will pay officers to monitor use, reduce resident complaints and educate riders about safety and respect for landowners. Landowners in the state open up more than 10 million acres of working farms and forests for outdoor recreation and “access is a privilege, not a right,” according to Maine’s Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. All it takes is one ATV rider going through a farmer’s newly planted field to close a trail. The ATV trail system completely surrounds this Aroostook County town of 6,000. Additionally, nearly every local street is a designated trail access road from trailhead to trailhead.