On patrol for trespassers

Ron Knudsen hopes to someday build a log cabin on the land his grandparents homesteaded, not far from Liberty Lake.

He’s tilling a field to plant alfalfa and grass for the moose, elk and deer that frequent his 150 acres.

“So this is my little play area,” Knudsen said.

“And that,” Knudsen said, pointing to eroding gashes that run through his field and up a steep, forested hillside, “is their play area.”

The trails were carved by trespassers on motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles.

“It’s just about impossible to keep them out,” Knudsen said, walking his land Saturday.

Knudsen and neighbors own prime riding land near Spokane County’s off-road vehicle park. The area offers steep slopes that riders can race up and link to a maze of mountain roads and paths near the Washington-Idaho border. Although the Liberty Lake 327-acre ORV park is fenced, riders tear down sections to access out-of-bounds areas or come in from the Idaho side.

Trespassers ignore the signs, gates and fences marking the land as private. On Saturday, Knudsen found a crumpled “No Trespassing” sign on the ground. When he blocks one trail, another appears nearby.

When caught, riders claim ignorance, saying they didn’t realize they’d strayed from the ORV park.

“That is kind of a worn-out excuse,” said Knudsen, a retired Central Valley High School history teacher. “The county park is fenced, for crying out loud. When you leave the area, you’re someplace else.”

Law enforcement agrees that riders should know better.

Sheriff Mark Sterk has formed a modern-day version of the sheriff’s posse to increase education and enforcement, to try and stop trespassing in the area. Neighbors consistently complain about trespassers. Last year, more than 50 people attended a meeting in Liberty Lake on the issue.

This spring, the Sheriff’s Office created the Spokane County Sheriff’s Mounted Patrol. The volunteers are under the umbrella of the Sheriff’s Community Oriented Policing Effort, known by its acronym, SCOPE. The horse riders have sheriff’s radios and disposable cameras to take pictures of trespassers. They don’t write tickets, but they can call in patrol deputies.

Sterk and Sheriff’s Inspector Dave Wiyrick led a Mounted Patrol group into the ORV park Saturday morning, with nine horses and a mule named Elmer. Sterk rode a borrowed quarter horse named Saddle Maker. Wiyrick rode an easy-going mare named Cherry.

The ride was uneventful. The ORV park was largely deserted, perhaps because of Saturday’s heat or advanced publicity about the law-enforcement ride. Sterk said they plan to return in a few weeks, focusing on the surrounding private land. The Mounted Patrol will also go to areas like Riverside State Park and Mount Spokane.

Phoebe Duke joined the Mounted Patrol because she felt it was an opportunity to do community service. Her handsome appaloosa, Phantom, is mellow and will share the trail with anyone. Duke said she has nothing against motorized users in the backcountry, but she gets upset when they tear up trails and “wreck it for the rest of us.”

“You’ve got to be a responsible user of resources,” Duke said.

One of the ORV park’s largest neighbors is Liberty Lake County Park. Out-of-bounds riders are also a problem there, said Parks Director Doug Chase.

Chase was hiking with his 5-year-old son near Liberty Lake County Park”s cedar grove last fall. Three motorcyclists nearly mowed them over, Chase said. It was a familiar story: The cyclists claimed they didn’t realize they’d ridden outside the ORV park.

“In my mind, the boundaries are very well defined,” Chase said.

Chase said he gets complaints about trespassers each year, but more this year than normal.

The law enforcement patrols should help, he said.

“I certainly think the answer is a combination of education and enforcement,” Chase said.

Riding at the Liberty Lake ORV park might soon end for the year.

After seeing the “tinder dry” conditions Saturday, Sterk said he will recommend to Spokane County parks officials they close for the season.

Sterk asked him to lead a group of Mounted Patrol riders on his property in upcoming weeks. He welcomes the sheriff’s interest but said he’s not convinced the extra attention will stop motorized trespassers and the damage they cause.

“If they want in, they’ll cut the fence. If they want out, they’ll cut the fence,” Knudsen said. “They do whatever they want to do.”