By JIMMY LAWTON

CANTON – St. Lawrence County legislators are again calling on the state to allow registration of all-terrain-vehicles weighing up to 1,800 pounds.

On Monday legislators approved a resolution expressing support for a Sen. Ritchie sponsored bill that would increase the allowable weight of an ATV from 1,000 to 1,800 pounds.

St. Lawrence County lawmakers and Ritchie have been working toward the goal for several years, but a similar bill has failed to clear the Assembly.

Legislators say the bill would provide for the collection of fees for deposit in the newly created State ATV Trail fund, which would be made available for the costs of administering said fund, for the maintenance, construction and development of the statewide trail system and for the enforcement and education of the public regarding the use of the trail system.

The bill would vest control and supervision of the trail fund in the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation upon consultation with the Department of Environmental Conservation.

In the past officials have said Assembly’s failure to expand ATVs to include side-by-sides, or UTVs, has cost the county substantial losses in tourism revenues.

St. Lawrence County Sheriff Kevin Wells has also openly spoke in favor of the bill in the past.

He said the lack of registration also puts operators at risk for fines and tickets. He said his deputies do not typically ticket riders for operating the unregistered devices, but other agencies such as the state police may penalize people who drive on roads.

He said unregistered UTVs can't be used on St. Lawrence County's ATV trails either.

Although the trails aren't policed, he said clubs that maintain the trails work to ensure that operators are using registered vehicle