News

 
BLM's Bakersfield Office Plans Travel Management Workshops

The Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) Bakersfield Field Office will host two public workshops in February to discuss travel management for the BLM's Bakersfield Resource Management Plan. The workshops will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. at the following locations:

Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Lake Isabella Moose Lodge
6732 Lake Isabella Blvd.
Lake Isabella, CA

Thursday, February 26, 2009
Taft Union High School
701 7th St.
Taft, CA

In order to ensure an accurate representation of all routes on the ground within the planning area and get a complete inventory for the route designation process, the BLM is asking the public to comment on the route inventory. Comments should be on specific routes and include as much information as possible.

Route inventory maps will be available at the meetings for the public to review. A short presentation about the travel management process will be followed by the opportunity for the public to review the maps and provide written comments. BLM staff will be on hand to help interpret the maps. The BLM will also accept written comments by mail to allow interested parties more time to look over the inventory maps. All written comments on the route inventory will need to be received by March 13, 2009, to be incorporated into the comment database.
 
For further information on travel management within the Bakersfield Field Office and the public workshops, or the resource management planning process, contact Peter DeWitt at (661) 391-6120, by email to peter_dewitt@ca.blm.govor at the Bakersfield Field Office, Bureau of Land Management, 3801 Pegasus Drive, Bakersfield, Calif. 93308.

JUST REMEMBER, PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT IS CRUCIAL TO KEEP RECREATION AREAS OPEN, PLEASE GET INVOLVED!

Thanks in advance for your involvement,
Ric Foster
Public Lands Department Manager
BlueRibbon Coalition
208-237-1008 ext 107

BLUERIBBON COALITION ACTION ALERT!
Plumas National Forest Extends Travel Plan Comment Deadline

Just a quick update for those of you who have not yet sent in your comments, you still have time. Managers at the Plumas National Forest have extended the deadline for receipt of comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for Motorized Travel Management, they are now due by March 13, 2009.
The DEIS, along with Alternative Maps, can be viewed on the Plumas National Forest's website at: http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/plumas/projects_and_plans/ohv_route_designation/

Written comments must be submitted to:

Mail Comments To:
          Pete Hochrein, Interdisciplinary Team Leader
          Plumas National Forest
          PO Box 11500, Quincy, CA, 95971
Hand Deliver Comments To:
          Plumas National Forest
          159 Lawrence Street
          Quincy, CA

Office hours are 8:00 am to 4:30 pm, Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. Oral comments may be submitted to Pete Hochrein at (530) 283-2050 during business hours, in person at the address above, or at an official agency function (i.e. public meeting) that is designed to elicit public comments.
Email Comments To:
         plumas_ohv_mail_in_database@fs.fed.us  

Put "Travel Management DEIS" in the subject line of e-mail comments. Acceptable formats are email message, MS Word (.doc), plain text (.txt), or rich text format (.rtf). Comments should include your name and address.
In cases where no identifiable name is attached to a comment, a verification of identity will be required for appeal eligibility. If using an electronic message, a scanned signature is one way to provide verification.
COMMENT DEADLINE IS NOW MARCH 13, 2009

Please contact any of the following Plumas National Forest Recreation personnel with any questions.
ï¾» Deb Schoenberg, Feather River RD, Oroville, (530) 534-6500
ï¾» Peggy Gustafson, Mt. Hough RD, Quincy, (530) 283-0555
ï¾» Judy Schaber, Beckwourth RD, Blairsden, (530) 836-2575
ï¾» Pete Hochrein, Supervisor's Office, Quincy, (530) 283-2050
JUST REMEMBER, PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT IS CRUCIAL TO KEEP RECREATION AREAS OPEN, PLEASE GET INVOLVED!
Thanks in advance for your support,
Brian Hawthorne
Public Lands Policy Director
BlueRibbon Coalition
208-237-1008 ext 102

BLUERIBBON COALITION ACTION ALERT!

The Douglas Ranger District is seeking public comment on the Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) for Travel Management on the Thunder Basin National Grassland, located in northeastern Wyoming.
The draft EA and alternative maps are online at www.fs.fed.us/r2/mbr/projects/trans/index.shtml. The alternative maps are also on display for viewing and comment at the Douglas Ranger District Office. A hard copy of the EA is also available upon request.
Four open houses will be held to review the maps and EA and to provide comments. These open houses are scheduled from 4-7 pm on the following dates and locations. The open houses will be informal - come when you can and leave when you like. Forest Service personnel will be there to answer questions.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Town Hall
201 Wright Blvd.
Wright, WY
Friday, February 20, 2009
Converse County Courthouse
107 N. 5th St.
Douglas, WY
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
George Amos Building, Cottonwood Room
412 S. Gillette Ave., next to the courthouse
Gillette, WY
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
NRCS Bldg.
1225 Washington Blvd
Newcastle, WY
Mail and Hand Deliver Comments To:
          Robert Sprentall, District Ranger
          Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests & Thunder Basin National Grassland
          Douglas Ranger District
          2250 East Richards Street
          Douglas, WY 82633
Comments may be hand delivered to the Douglas Ranger District office between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays.
Email Comments To:
          comments-rocky-mountain-medicine-bow-routt-douglasthunder-basin@fs.fed.us  
Put "Thunder Basin National Grassland Travel Management" in the subject line of e-mail comments. Acceptable formats are email message, MS Word (.doc) or rich text format (.rtf). Comments should include your name and address.
If comments are electronically mailed, the sender should receive an automated electronic acknowledgement from the agency as confirmation of receipt. If the sender does not receive such confirmation, it is the sender's responsibility to ensure timely receipt by other means.
Fax Comments To:
          (307) 358-7107
For more information about Thunder Basin National Grassland Travel Management, contact Misty Hays, Deputy District Ranger at (307) 358-4690, or at the address above.
JUST REMEMBER, PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT IS CRUCIAL TO KEEP RECREATION AREAS OPEN, PLEASE GET INVOLVED!
Thanks in advance for your support,
Ric Foster
Public Lands Department Manager
BlueRibbon Coalition
208-237-1008 ext 107

BLUERIBBON COALITION ACTION ALERT!

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Tonopah Field Office, will conduct an environmental review and hold two public meetings to gather public comments on a proposed off-highway race.
The race, planned for August 20-22, 2009, is called the "Best in the Desert Vegas to Reno Off-Highway Race" and covers 1,000 miles of Nevada's high desert. It begins north of Pahrump and runs through Beatty, Tonopah and Hawthorne before finishing southeast of Dayton.
The Best in the Desert Racing Association, which is seeking a special recreation permit from the BLM to conduct the race, bills it as the "greatest long-distance, off-road event in this decade on U.S. soil."
As many as 350 vehicles could be entered, including motorcycles, ATVs, dune buggies, high clearance SUVs and 4x4 trucks. The race route uses a combination of existing smooth and rough dirt roads on public lands in Nye, Esmeralda, Mineral, Lyon, and Douglas counties.
The proposed course includes routes that have been raced upon in the past. It would include 24 pit areas, several stop check locations and several highway and road crossings along the route. Time trials for the race will be conducted Aug. 18 on a five-mile course on the Upper Knight Ranch Road near Las Vegas.
The BLM will prepare an environmental assessment that analyzes the impacts of the proposed race and will accept written public comments until March 6, 2009.
The agency also plans to gather comment at two public scoping meetings to be held in Beatty and Goldfield (see schedule below). Both meetings are scheduled from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
• February 24, 2009, from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM at the Beatty Town Hall, Beatty, NV

• February 25, 2009, from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM at the Goldfield Community Center, Goldfield, NV
The meetings will be in an open house format and may include a brief presentation. At each meeting, there will be comment forms for your use.
Representatives from Best in the Desert and the BLM will be present to answer questions you might have. If you would like your name removed from this project's mailing list, please contact Eric M. Williams, Planning and Environmental Coordinator, at (775)482-7800.
The BLM prefers that written comments be mailed. Written comments on the scope of the EA must be post-marked or delivered by 4:30 p.m. on March 6, 2009.
Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment-including your personal identifying information-may be made publicly available at any time.
Written Scoping Comments Should Be Mailed To:
Bureau of Land Management
Attn: Eric M. Williams
Tonopah Field Office
1553 South Main St.
PO Box 911
Tonopah, NV 89049
COMMENT DEADLINE IS MARCH 6, 2009
For additional information regarding the Special Recreation Permit application or the EA, call Eric Williams at the Tonopah Field Office at (775) 482-7800.
JUST REMEMBER, PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT IS CRUCIAL TO KEEP RECREATION AREAS OPEN, PLEASE GET INVOLVED!
Thanks in advance for your support,
Ric Foster
Public Lands Department Manager
BlueRibbon Coalition
208-237-1008 ext 107

HUMMER and Tread Lightly! Fund Important Dust Abatement Project

The Arizona Off-Highway Vehicle Coalition and The HUMMER Club provided several volunteers to help with various aspects of the project. Additional work included the development and installation of an educational kiosk at the trailhead and the rehabilitation of grounds near the staging area.
 
The study was funded by a grant initiative called HUMMER’s Restoration Rescue, which was created in 2008 under the umbrella of Tread Lightly!’s Restoration for Recreation program.
 

French Racer Hubert Deltrieu, winner of the DAKAR Series Central Europ, Lybia Desert Challenge, Pharaons Rallye and second at the DAKAR Series Portugal, had a very good showing taking fourth.  Eric Carlini took eighth and Betty Kraft took ninth and became the first woman to finish the DAKAR on an ATV. Italian Racer Pietro Fogliani had to leave the race due to a hand injury.

Morgantown, W.Va. (January 14, 2009) -- Racer Productions, producers of the Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series, has announced the supplemental rules and classes for the 2009 GNCC tour.

ANNOUNCING A TREAD TRAINER COURSE IN HOUSTON, TEXAS

The nonprofit organization Tread Lightly! would like to invite you to participate in an upcoming Tread Trainer Course in Houston, Texas on Wednesday March 25, 2009.

The course is being held in conjunction with the 2009 National off Highway Vehicle Conservation Council (NOHVCC) Conference. However, you do not have to register for the conference to register for the Tread Trainer course.

CYPRESS, Calif. – January 16, 2009 – Yamaha Motor Corp., U.S.A., has reached a significant milestone supporting hunting and wetland conservation through a long-standing relationship with Ducks Unlimited (DU). As an official licensee of DU since 2004, Yamaha Outdoors has contributed more than $1 million in support of DU’s wetland conservation efforts.

Minneapolis, January 14, 2009 – Jagged X picked up the 2009 Best in the Desert Series where they left off in 2008, taking first at the Epic Products Parker 250 for their sixth consecutive win!

The No. 1919 started in eighth position with Brandon Schueler and new team member Chad Riccio in the navigator seat. They quickly worked to the front of the pack and diced for the lead spot for nearly 100 miles. With about 40 miles left, the Polaris team took the lead for their first 2009 win.

Yamaha Contributes More Than $700,000 to OHV Access in 2008
OHV Access Initiative Takes Lead in Promoting Safe, Responsible Riding and Sustainable, Open Access

CYPRESS, Calif. – January 7, 2009 – Yamaha Motor Corp., U.S.A., via the company’s new OHV Access Initiative, injected more than $700,000 in cash and equipment in 2008 directly into projects across the country supporting safe, responsible riding and sustainable, open riding areas.

ARRA recently joined with 25 other recreation groups to urge House and Senate leaders to support including $300 million in funding for local trail projects through the Recreational Trails Program (RTP) in the economic-stimulus package being considered for action in early 2009. The additional funding would be separate from and in addition to regular funding authorized for the program. Click here to view the letter

Picture this. You ride out of the woods from your favorite trail in the National Forest and meet a law enforcement officer by your truck who writes you a ticket for being on a closed trail. You’re puzzled. There was no sign saying the trail was closed. “What’s going on?” you ask yourself. You then discover that the Forest Service just published a new map that shows all the trails and roads you can ride. To your surprise, most of your favorite trails and roads are missing and most of the open routes are roads and trails that are boring and don’t go where you want to go. “There are all kinds of routes that we ride that aren’t on this map! Did I miss something?”

Three major off-highway vehicle organizations are dedicated to the advancement of the sport of ATV and dirt bike riding. Rather than having similar agendas, each one of the three organizations serves a different purpose for the recreational ATV rider.

TENNESSEE
  In fall of 2007, the OHV4TN citizen lobbyist organization asked the NOHVCC to assist with setting up a statewide OHV organization in Tennessee. On May 31, 2008, the NOHVCC hosted an Association Development workshop in Cookeville with OHV representatives from across the state in attendance. On November 8th, the Tennessee Off-Highway Vehicle Association (TOHVA) was incorporated and an election of officers was facilitated. In addition Bob Richards with the Tennessee Dept. of Environment and Conservation was on hand for both of the meetings.

Yamaha Announces National Hunting and Fishing Day Sweepstakes Winner
Christine Baldwin from Spokane, Wash., Receives All-New 2009 Yamaha Grizzly 550 FI

CYPRESS, Calif. – December 16, 2008 – Yamaha Motor Corp., U.S.A., the leading maker of ATV and Side-by-Side (SxS) vehicles for outdoorsmen, is pleased to announce the winner of the 2008 National Hunting and Fishing Day (NHFD) sweepstakes.  Yamaha congratulates Christine Baldwin from Spokane, Wash., for winning the all-new 2009 Yamaha Grizzly

CYPRESS, Calif. – December 15, 2008 – Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A., has launched a creative new Web site featuring its highly anticipated, recently announced YFZ450R.  The YFZ450R is a high-performance race-ready ATV and the new site, located at www.yamaha-motor.com/yfz450r features exciting videos, photos and detailed information based strictly on this machine.

BRC's Action Alert subscribers already know that the Tahoe National Forest released a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for Motorized Travel Management for public review and comment. Kudos to California's OHV community for vigorously participating in this important travel plan.

That vigorous involvement is a good thing because, unfortunately, the Tahoe's draft plan is significantly flawed and needs to be changed.

A recent study by the U. S. Forest Service shows that fewer Americans are using their National Forests as a venue for recreation. Forest Service officials seem to be surprised by this news and uncertain as to why this is the case. The statistics are startling. In 2004, total forest visits were 204.8 million. In 2007, that number dropped to 178.6 million visits, a 13% decline.

Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest Seeks Comments on Motorized Routes

The Bridgeport Ranger District of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest is formulating a new travel plan that will limit ALL vehicle use to designated roads, trails and areas. On November 26, 2008, the Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) was published in the Federal Register, beginning the formal

Helena National Forest Proposes Changes to Divide Travel Plan

The Helena Ranger District of the Helena National Forest (HNF), located in west central Montana, is proposing changes to the existing road and motorized trail systems on National Forest System lands in the Divide Area.  The Divide Area includes approximately 155,480 acres of public land located in Lewis & Clark and Powell counties.