If you're planning to take the ATV into the woods for a warm-weather workout, don't bother heading onto private property in Lacey, Ocean or Barnegat Townships in Ocean County. The police will be waiting for you.

ATV'S, By Sam Panthaky Getty Images
ATV'S, By Sam Panthaky Getty Images
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Police in the three adjacent towns are pooling efforts with New Jersey State Police and State Park Police to "...quell the influx of persons in off-road vehicles trespassing on private property and protected conservation lands," according to information released by Lacey PD.

Details continue thorugh Memorial Day weekend to try, police say, to reduce an escalating number of serious injuries and offenses. They're on the lookout for ATVs, dirt bikes, and vehicles on privately-owned tracts.

The cite, as two recent examples, a 20-year-old man whose neck was broken while riding in a truck that went airborne through trees and flipped on private property; and shots fired by an elderly property owner who feared the approach of a vehicle near his forest-laden house.

Lacey police add that some of the most serious criminal offenses have been recorded in the woods west of the Garden State Parkway, claiming that groups from North Jersey, other counties and nearby states arrive with trailers full of bikes and ATVs to run along the path of power lines. They say they have found riders from as far away as Connecticut, Maryland and Ohio.

Much of the 60 square miles in this area are privately owned. ATV riders would need either written permission from specific property owners or an incredible excuse for being there.

Concern also mounts at the New Jersey Forest Fire Service about the elevated risk for fires to spread through dense growth, even after rains move through.

Anyone attempting to access the off-road spots will be turned away and advised of restrictions. Violators will face charges.

Police plan regular rounds in common trailer-parking spots in the 100-square-mile section between Waretown and Forked River, in the woods west of the Parkway and along Route 532 in Waretown. They have pinpointed spots in Lacey they say have been "...long used for camping and riding."

And, they're looking beyond the roads and woods. Police are plugged into web sites, forums, and chat rooms that frequently extol Lacey Township's desirability as a riding spot.

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