Before he was in college in western New York, Jason Pisaneschi of East Quogue rode dirtbikes and quads in Spinney Hills, like many local kids wanting to blow off steam.

But, the activity is forbidden by law and has a negative impact on the environment, said Dick Amper, the executive director of the Long Island Pine Barrens Society. The Pine Barrens Society works with the local police department, state park police, state Forest Rangers and the Department of Environmental Conservation police to prohibit quad riders and dirt bikers from accessing the wooded area.

“There is no natural disease or weather phenomenon that damages the Pine Barrens as much as ATVs,” he said. ATVs and quads tear up the forest floor, create erosion and kill plants, he said. They are also a danger to hikers, Amper said.

Because the Pine Barrens Society and law enforcement cannot scour all 60,000 acres of preserved land, it is working on awareness by printing brochures and encouraging the public to report ATVs riders.

“We set up barricades to prevent access,” Amper said, adding that enforcement has gotten better, with more violations and citations in recent years.

Pisaneschi, who has been riding off-road vehicles since he was 10 years old, said that he has heard of his peers having had their bikes confiscated by police. There are sometimes trees pulled down across paths to prevent dirtbikers from entering the woods, he said.

“I go there because I have nowhere else to ride,” Pisaneschi said. “We’re not hurting anybody. We’re just having fun. I don’t see what the big deal is.”

Pisaneschi dirtbikes in western New York on his friend’s property and even though it’s been a lifelong hobby — and has a connection to his heavy truck, diesel and equipment repair major — Pisaneschi does not think he’ll ride much when he returns to Long Island. He’ll be busy working to repay student loans, he said.

Spinney Hills is part of the spine of Long Island created by a glacier 10,000 years ago, Amper said. The purest water in Long Island’s aquifer is under that spine, making activities like ATVs and quads so destructive, he said.

Spinney Hills isn’t the only popular place for ATV riders and quads, said Southampton Town Police Department Sgt. Todd Bennett. Riders frequent the greenbelt in Sag Harbor and Bridgehampton, he said. There is also a swath of open space in Tuckahoe that sometimes attracts ATV and quad owners.

Unless the noise is unreasonable at a late hour of night, there is nothing police can do if riders are on their own property, Bennett said. The department has gotten complaints from neighbors of a homeowner who made a small track in his backyard.

The town department’s Community Response Unit handles ATV riders, and has its own set of quads used for patrol. The CRU ups the ante during the summer and on long three-day weekends, Bennett said.

Most of the riders police catch are charged with violations, and can get their off-road vehicles back after paying towing and impounding fees, Bennett said.

“But, it depends on if they’re riding erratically, they could be charged with reckless driving, a misdemeanor,” he said.