MUIRNet News Briefs - Sept 27, 2004

Moderator's Note:

November 2, 2004 is Election Day and there are many pivotal issues
and candidates on the ballot. Please take the time to review your
local ballot and be prepared to vote on Election Day. For your
convenience, Absentee Ballots can be requested. For California
voters, October 26, 2004 is the last day to request an Absentee
Ballot.

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California - Desert Managers Group

A partnership of state and federal land mangers and wildlife agencies
has been receiving reports of increased encounters by humans and
wildlife with uncontrolled/unrestrained dogs in southern California
deserts. There is mounting concern that these encounters could pose
public and wildlife safety issues.

The Desert Mangers Groups is requesting public assistance to report
encounters with feral/free-roaming dogs in the southern California
deserts. Information about past encounters is also requested, The
data collection will continue through August 2005.

For additional information, contact Glenn Black, California Dept of
Fish and Game, [email protected].

(Moderator's Note: I have a hard copy of the Incident Report Form.
I have requested an electronic copy which will be made available for
download.)


**************************
Sidekick's 2005 Off Road Event Calendar

We'd like to include your 4x4 event(s) for next year (if the event is
open to the public). If this event has been scheduled, please let us
know the following details for each event. There is NO CHARGE to have
your event listed in our calendar. We're looking for trail rides,
expos, jamborees, fairground events, races, etc (no meetings).

1. name of the event
2. dates (we know dates are subject to change)
3. nearest city and state
4. a phone number for people to call to get more information (required)
5. a website address, if available

Example of an event in April last year:
Red Rock 4 Wheelers: Easter Safari,
Moab, UT (801)259-ROCK (12th-20th)

Our company, Sidekick Off Road, has been publishing off road event
calendars since 1990. Each year 10,000 calendars are printed and sold
through off road stores, by mail order and on the internet. (We also
produce Rick Russell's Off Highway Adventure Videos, southern
California Off Road Maps, Bandana Maps and off road computer screen
savers.)

The calendar is a hanging wall calendar (12"x17"). The top half has a
full color off road photo (we have already chosen twelve awesome four
wheel drive action photos for next year's calendar). The bottom half
has a calendar grid. In the grid squares we list off road events that
are happening for that day or weekend. Last year we had over 200
events listed on the calendar.

We are hoping to get information about 2005 events as soon as
possible. If you have details for next year's events posted on a
website, please email the website address.

Thank you so much,

Marilyn, Customer Service
Sidekick Off Road

Toll Free Phone: (877) 628-7227
Fax: (909) 628-5392
Website: www.sidekickoffroad.com
Email: [email protected]


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Air Quality Campaign Could Affect Car Prices
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20040923/news_1n23carsmog.html

09-23-04
Riding Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's endorsement, state air-quality
regulators are expected to launch a campaign against global warming
that could increase new-car prices over the next 10 years. The
California Air Resources Board today plans to put the finishing
touches on the nation's first web of regulations that would force
automakers to redesign their fleets to reduce carbon-dioxide
discharges. Initially, price increases would top out at $36 per
vehicle when the program is scheduled to begin in 2009, according to
state estimates. But by 2016, when standards are set to be fully
phased in, consumers may have to spend up to $1,064 more per vehicle.


**************************
California - Cleveland NF

The Cleveland National Forest will be starting the closures
associated with the EXTREME fire danger levels this coming Monday
9.27.2004. All access to National Forest land south of I-8 will be
closed.

This closure will likely remain in effect until we receive sufficient
rainfall to reduce the fire danger level. The area south of I-8 is
being closed because of the extremely dry condition of the old
chaparral which makes up this entire area.

This EXTREME fire danger will impact all users of the area south of
I-8 including OHV users, hunters, hikers, mountain bikers, wilderness
users etc.

During EXTREME all Forest Service gates north of I-8 will also be
closed on Forest Service roads. No motorized vehicles will be
permitted on these roads. There will be no impacts on non motorized
users north of I-8. So all users can hike, hunt, ride bikes or
horses North of I-8. All county, state and federal roads will
remain open.

Within the area impacted by the Cedar Burn, all mountain bikes and
equestrians must stay on designated trails regardless of the Fire
Danger Level.

This chart is explains the restriction by fire danger levels The
fire danger level is posted on our web site
http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/cleveland/ or a recorded message can be found
at 619-593-2183.

(See attached file: Fire Danger Levels Descanso extreme 9.27.04.doc)

Thanks for your cooperation.

Anne G. Carey
Recreation & Lands Officer
Descanso Ranger District
619-445-6235 x 3418
619-445-1753 FAX

(Moderator's Note: Similar access restrictions have been issued for
Angles NF. For updated information about fires danger restrictions
in California forest, check: http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/conditions/)


**************************
House Resources Committee - Recreation Fee Demonstration Bill Passes
House Committee

For Immediate Release
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
Contact Brian Kennedy or Matt Streit at (202) 226-9019
Recreation Fee Demonstration Bill Passes House Committee

Washington, DC - Today Chairman Richard W. Pombo (R-CA) and the House
Resources Committee passed H.R. 3283, the Federal Lands Recreation
Enhancement Act, introduced by Rep. Ralph Regula. The bill would
improve recreational facilities and visitor opportunities on federal
recreational lands by reinvesting receipts from fair and consistent
recreational fees and passes.
"I commend Rep. Regula for working with this committee on improving
the public's recreational opportunities on federal lands," Chairman
Pombo said. "This legislation protects the public's pocketbook, while
enabling federal land managers to assess reasonable fees for specific
activities and uses. This will put an end to fears that federal land
managers cannot be trusted with recreational fee authority because we
lay out very specific circumstances under which these fees can be
collected and spent."

The Recreational Fee Demonstration Program (Rec Fee Demo) was
originally proposed in 1996 as a tool to generate needed revenue to
manage the growing occurrence of recreation on public land. The
program has been both praised and assailed by federal land users.
Since its inception, federal land managers have been able to actively
reinvest fees assessed into the site or activities used.
"Like many, my family enjoys the vast outdoor recreational
opportunities our public lands have to offer," said Rep. Greg Walden
(R-OR). "For those sites that are developed with facilities such as
information centers, picnic tables, security and restrooms, it is
understandable that we who use them pay nominal fees to help maintain
them. However, fees should not be collected when there are no funds
being invested in a given recreational site. When a hiker parks on
the side of the road and ventures onto an unmanaged trail with no
amenities along the way, they should certainly not have to pay."

Due to the numerous concerns and reauthorizations, the Resources
Committee, the committee with authorizing jurisdiction, undertook
reauthorizing the Rec Fee Program. Rep. Regula's bill will extend the
program for 10 years and specifically states where and what a fee may
and may not be charged for, while also establishing types of fees.

"More importantly, fees collected for recreating on public lands
should be used directly for those sites," continued Walden.
"Collecting fees from individuals and families only to use the money
elsewhere is wholly irresponsible, not to mention unfair. This
legislation addresses that very issue, and instructs the Secretary to
reinvest fees in ways that will allow those who pay to reap the
benefits."

The bill incorporates public participation by establishing Recreation
Advisory Committees that will consist of members of the local
government and recreation community. This group will provide
recommendations to the Secretary of the Interior regarding the
establishment, elimination, or adjustment of a fee. Additionally, a
Federal Lands Pass will be established for all entrance and amenity
fees for federal lands.


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California - California League of Off Road Voters 2004 Election News

Off Highway newsletter editors, Interested off road groups-

The California League of Off Road Voters PAC is comprised of
politically active members of the California Off Road Vehicle
Association (CORVA), the San Diego Off-Road Coalition (SDORC),
American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) District 37 Off Road
Division, Off-Road Business Association (ORBA), as well as other off
road associations and individual Off Roaders.

The list of endorsements are broken down by region-- Northern,
Central, and Southern. Districts in Bold are considered to be hot
races. These endorsements were chosen based on the candidates
responses to a questionnaire of OHV Issues only or on their voting
record. This information will help you make an educated vote. If
you need a custom list for an area or county, please let us know. We
will be happy to accomodate you.

The State Senate has 40 Senators. Each Senator serves a four year
term. Elections are held every two years for 20 of the 40 districts
odd or even numbered. The candidates in 2004 election are running
for districts with odd numbers.

The State Assembly has 80 members. Each member serves a two year
term. All seats are voted on in each election every two years.

For more information, please visit the California League of Off Road
Voters website at <http://www.clorv.org>, or contact CLORV via e-mail
at [email protected], or contact Justin Smith at (916) 447-1761, or fax
at (916) 447-1757.


**************************
Colorado - Hayman Fire EA

The Hayman EA decision is out. You are not going to like it.
Alternative C was chosen, but modified. The Wildcat Canyon roads are
CLOSED, unless . . . see the Wildcat decisions.

You can view it at:
http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/psicc/hayres/travel/roadsEA/DN/index.htm

Scroll down to the bottom of the page to the decisions.

If you want a hard copy, contact the South Platte Ranger District at
303-275-5610.

**************************
NOHVAD, SWFWDA and (hopefully) UFWDA

(Moderator's Note: For additional information about this, contact
Shawn Pagan <[email protected]> or John Stewart
<[email protected]>)


It has been a busy summer and as things are starting to slow down, I
have an opportunity to clean up some email I overlooked earlier.

I do believe this effort is worthwhile and will lead to rewards if we
can get it moved out of the obscurity and into the front.

National Public Lands Day has generated many projects that have been
supported by OHV groups. OHV participation is overshadowed by hiking
clubs and a variety of non-motorized recreation groups.

We can (and should) work to increase OHV participation in future
events. Framing that participation within the context of a "National
Off-highway Vehicle Appreciation Day" is a worth while effort to
promote responsible recreation and highlight the many good thing the
OHV community is involved with.

No, it is not a "hard-core, adrenalin rush" event. So what?

Yes, it is a way to give back to the land and show motorized
recreation really does want to keep trails open.

The concepts described below are efforts that each club and
association should have as part of their core values.

As recreationists, we expect to have access to trails on public
lands. Often, we overlook the fact that the only way to preserve the
access to trails is to work with the land managers to keep the trails
in good condition.

>At 6:40 AM -0500 5/17/04, Shawn & Christine Pagan wrote:
>I am hoping that this topic is appropriate for this list and I am
>asking for guidance, direction and ideas from the Delegates of UFWDA
>as we (SWFWDA and hopefully your associations and United as a whole)
>proceed with this concept.
>
>I believe this is something we can all get behind and that this is
>something that will help with our national presence which I believe
>is lacking today in consistency.
> ___________________________________
>
>SWFWDA has put together a committee to promote and drive National
>Off-Highway Appreciation Day (NOHVAD). The plan is to have it
>coincide with National Public Lands Day (NPLD - annually the 3rd
>Saturday of September) as a way to show appreciation from the OHV
>Community to those that manage and provide land and access for OHV
>Use.
>
>SWFWDA wants to extend the opportunity to all of the UFWDA Members
>and Clubs to drive this event into a national (maybe even
>international) project that all OHV User can get behind - something
>that will show solidarity across the country and a combined effort.
>Something we don't do or have today.
>
>Robin Fickbohm, current President of Trail Krawlers 4x4 based in
>Kansas is the person who has been working on this idea since its
>inception two years ago. Robin brought his thoughts and ideas to
>more focus by SWFWDA during the Quarterly Delegates meeting in
>April. Based on his desires and what SWFWDA felt were obvious
>benefits to its members and four-wheeling (as well as OHV use) as a
>whole SWFWDA wants to expand on what NOHVAD could be and to help
>brings other OHV communities and more people in order to actually
>drive this to the national level.
>
> What SWFWDA is asking from you is to get on board - what can you do
>in your areas and how can we use SWFWDA, our local Associations,
>UFWDA and other organizations like BRC and Tread Lightly! to drive
>this project to the level of national commitment and attention.
>
>Please feel free to contact me directly (Shawn Pagan,
>[email protected]) or Robin ([email protected]) if you have
>any additional questions that we can pass along to the committee.
>Or perhaps the committee should be at the National Level and driven
>at least in the background by UFWDA - would that give it more of a
>national flavor to begin with?
> ______________________________________
>
>A note from Robin Fickbohm - history, thoughts and ideas:
>
>I figured since SWFWDA has picked up the ball with NOHVAD, and since
>I'm one of the instigators LaughingI'd put up a little history and
>explanation of it here for discussion and figure out how to make it
>a national success.
>
>NOHVAD originated on a landuse forum about 2 years ago. The
>discussion came up about what we could do to help keep our land ours
>and NOHVAD was born. We felt we needed a day, holiday if you will,
>to give the OHV community something to rally around.
>
>The environmentalists have Earth Day. Not a bad holiday, but a
>little too green for our needs so on a suggestion from Shawn Pagan
>and Terry Rust I did some research and came up with NPLD, National
>Public Lands Day. It's the 3rd Saturday of each Sept. and all of the
>major players involved with our sport and that manage public lands
>are active in that holiday, the BLM, Bureau of Reclamation, Army
>Corp of Engineers, just to name a few.
>
>I figured there wasn't a better way to show them how much we care
>about our land than to share and support NPLD. The thought was that
>it would be difficult to rally the OHV community around a government
>holiday so create our own version of Earth Day, NOHVAD to share and
>support NPLD.
>
>We need unity and strength in numbers if we want to successfully
>combat the environmentalists. That means all motorized/mechanized
>OHV users, not just limited to 4x4's. We do not have this kind of
>unity at any level, there are organizations that support all users
>(BRC, etc.) but there isn't any major event that tries to bring all
>users together in a mass showing of unity, that's where NOHVAD comes
>in.
>
>One thing that makes the green side so effective is that they work
>together; you don't see as much public in-fighting between the green
>organizations as is seen between OHV users.
>
>Dirtbike and quads don't want to work with us and I know a lot of
>4x4 enthusiasts that feel the same about them. That attitude is
>going to kill our sport, the future of our sport is multi-use,
>multi-purpose, and until people begin to realize that, our sport
>doesn't stand much of a chance. For example, think of how much more
>effective the SWFWDA Robledo lawsuit might be if we also had the
>support and assistance from the AMA or other organized ATV groups.
>
>I firmly believe that NOHVAD can be the "vehicle" to get us there.
>There is support for this on a national level, early on there was an
>e-mail list set up for it and list members and backers of NOHVAD
>include, Del Albright, BRC, Carla Boucher, Brad Ullrich, John
>Stewart, Shawn Pagan, Terry Rust, TMTC, and the Texas chapter of the
>AMA just to name a few.
>
>The 1st year, '02, was pretty good, a lot of support and a major
>event at Tuttle Creek ORV in Kansas and one in Texas, I don't
>remember for sure where, but Dennis Mitchell spear-headed that one.
>Necy Wernli of Rock-It-Land.com also hosted a web-site for NOHVAD
>and 4x4wire did the mailing list and I believe John Stewart also
>brought it up at a NAMRC meeting and they were supportive as well.
>
> '03 wasn't as good, the web-site and mailing list disappeared for
>unknown reasons and it kind of fell along the wayside. I don't fault
>anyone for anything as I am just as guilty as anyone for letting it
>slide. I, along with many others believe in NOHVAD and the positive
>effect it will have on the future of our sport, but I don't have the
>experience or knowledge to make it the success that it can be,
>that's why I brought it up at the quarterly and asked SWFWDA for
>help in making it a reality. If you have any questions or comments,
>please feel free to e-mail me!


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National Issues - Getting Involved

Please visit LEARN -- Local Environment and Resource Network
-- website and enjoy:

<http://www.learn-usa.org/FAQs.htm>http://www.learn-usa.org/FAQs.htm

Here is the twelfth question from the FAQ webpage:

Question: How do we get started?

Answer: The first step is for key citizen leaders in your community
to invite 25-35 potentially interested people from all walks of life,
including constructive environmentalists, to attend an organizational
meeting. From this group select 12-20 people who would be committed
to spending the time (a few hours a week to a few hours a
month--depending on how fast the process must move) to working with
the local officials and federal agencies and building a resource
plan. Keep the elected officials informed of what you are trying to
do so they are not surprised when you request a resolution at their
regularly scheduled meeting. The elected government then accepts the
resource committee by resolution and writes the appropriate federal
(or state) agency that the local government wants to be a cooperating
agency. There may be more than one agency to write. If it is a state
or county agency, the funding nexus must be included to show them
they must follow NEPA regulations. The resource committee can
simultaneously begin writing the resource plan or policy. Learn More:
<http://www.learn-usa.org/getting_started.htm>http://www.learn-usa.org/getting_started.htm

http://www.learn-usa.org/Documents/workbook_contents.htm has a link
for a document that provides an overview of the NEPA process.


--
John Stewart
Director, Environmental Affairs
United Four Wheel Drive Associations, http://www.ufwda.org
Natural Resource Consultant
California Association of 4 Wheel Drive Clubs, http://www.ca4wdc.com
Recreation Access and Conservation Editor, http://www.4x4wire.com
Moderator, MUIRNet - Multiple Use Information Resource Network

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