News

BRC just received an urgent message from Sandra Mitchell with the Idaho Recreation Council (IRC)  regarding Senator Tester's Montana Wilderness Bill and Mt. Jefferson.

For those of you who missed it, BRC blasted an update on the issue last week:
More Shenanigans in Washington
http://www.sharetrails.org/alerts/2011/10/20/brc---idaho/montana-wilderness-update

OGDEN, UT (November 1, 2011) – In an effort to raise money for solutions to urgent outdoor recreation issues, more than 50 companies have donated at least 150 products to the nonprofit organization Tread Lightly! for its Fourth Annual Charity Auction on eBay, November 1-11. 

Big ticket items this year include a Grizzly 550 ATV from Yamaha and a Gator XUV 625i utility vehicle from John Deere.

The San Juan National Forest, located in the southwestern corner of Colorado, has announced that the Dolores Public Lands Office has released a revised Pre-decisional Environmental Assessment (EA) and Preferred Alternative for the Boggy-Glade Travel Management Plan.

Morgantown, W. Va. (October 27, 2011) - Racer Productions, producers of the Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series, and BRP Can-Am are excited to announce Sunshine "Sonny" Willis, of Indianapolis, Indiana, as the winner of a brand-new 2011 Can-Am Outlander 650 XT. Can-Am Race Manager, Jimmie O'Dell, drew Sunny's name during the ATV podium celebration at Saturday's Ironman GNCC.

Valcourt, Québec, October 26, 2011 – Warnert Racing / Can-Am DS 450 Pro racer Adam McGill stood tall on the all-pink GNCC cancer awareness podium after finishing third in the Pro XC1 class despite gruelling conditions at the Ironman GNCC course in Crawfordsville, Ind. Can-Am X-Team members Clifton Beasley, Forrest Whorton and Zac Zakowski each won their respective class in morning action.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Lake Havasu Field Office will hold a public meeting on Wednesday, November 9, 2011, to discuss the Havasu Travel Management Plan (TMP). The meeting will be held at the Lake Havasu City Parks and Recreation Department Aquatic Center located at 100 Park Avenue, Lake Havasu City, Arizona, from 6 to 8 p.m.

So the big news in the UTV world was the recent announcement of Kawasaki's new Teryx4 UTV (Kawasaki calls the Teryx a RUV). It is a 4-seat version of its Teryx UTV, and this only the second sport-type model available from a major manufacturer with 4 seats. Yes, there are other 4 seat UTV models available, but the Polaris RZR 4 and Kawasaki Teryx4 are the only "Sport" type UTVs by a major manufacturer.

Minneapolis, Minn., Oct. 25, 2011 – William Yokley and his National Guard Polaris DragonFire Yokley Racing RANGER RZR XP 900 took the GNCC “Open Modified” UTV Championship for third consecutive year. RANGER RZRs proved to be a dominant force in the class with Team Hendershot finishing second with their RANGER RZR XP 900 and Yokley’s teammate, Scott Kiger ending the year in third place.

Minneapolis, Oct. 20, 2011–For the second year in a row, Matt Parks took the checkered flag in his RANGER RZR 4 800, at the Best in the Desert’s Bluewater Grand Prix. Parks came into the two-day race seven points out of the BITD points lead and a win at Bluewater would help close the points gap.

MINNEAPOLIS (October 26, 2011) — Polaris Industries Inc. (NYSE:  PII) today announced a minority investment in Brammo, an Ashland, Ore.-based maker of electric vehicle technology and two-wheel electric vehicles.  By investing in Brammo, Polaris obtains access to their proprietary electric vehicle powertrain technology, as well as exposure to the rapidly growing electric motorcycle market.

BRC just received an email from Mike Swenson, Executive Director of the Utah Shared Access Alliance (USA-ALL), with a quick report on the Carbon County Commission meeting, we told you about in our October 19 Alert.

We've pasted USA-ALL's email below. Please take a minute to read the alert, take action and then pass it along to friends, family and riding buddies.

Crawfordsville, IN (October 22, 2011) -The Ironman GNCC is historically known for it's spectator-friendly obstacles and festive aura, usually serving as the final round of racing; but due to a previous rainout, the Ironman provided a penultimate round of exciting racing action in all classes, the finale taking place at Loretta Lynn's Ranch November 4-6. Aside from racing action, there were a variety of special events taking place at the festive Ironman event and there's no doubt the Crawfordsville locals witnessed a day of ATV racing they will never forget.

CYPRESS, Calif. – October 20, 2011 – Yamaha Motor Corp., U.S.A., has taken a leading role in supporting safe, responsible riding and open, sustainable riding areas by GRANTing nearly $2 million through its OHV Access Initiative since 2008.  This financial support has proven critical in areas such as building bridges over fish-baring streams, improving thousands of miles of trails, and renovating staging areas.

Crawfordsville, Ind. (October 19, 2011) - Athletes from the Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series are getting involved with the community, with a visit to New Market Elementary School in New Market, Ind., this Friday to promote Breast Cancer Awareness in conjunction with the October 22 and 23 pink themed Amsoil Ironman GNCC.

Last week we blasted a Wilderness update for Idaho and Montana and thought we'd whip up a quick national update on the latest legislative issues affecting recreational access.

As is often the case, our "quick" update quickly grew to 10 pages. So we made liberal use of the delete button and ended up with a very brief snapshot of the legislative issues of the day.

These are not all of the issues BRC is tracking and the update on each is very brief. Remember that BRC Action Alert subscribers will also receive any state-specific updates in addition to these national legislative updates.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has released the Draft Resource Management Plan (DRMP) and Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Kremmling Field Office for a 90-day public comment period. The Kremmling Draft RMP/EIS planning area encompasses 377,900 acres of BLM-managed lands and underlying federal mineral estate in all or parts of six Colorado counties: Jackson, Grand, Summit, Larimer, Eagle and Routt.

Montana Senator Jon Tester failed to secure enough support to pass his massive Wilderness bill via normal legislative process and, for the second time, is attempting to "back door" the bill into law.

Tester slipped the newly titled "Montana Forest Jobs and Restoration Initiative" into the Senate's Interior Department appropriations bill. The bill was formally called the "Forest Jobs and Recreation Act of 2011."

Crawfordsville, Ind. (October 20, 2011) - Racer Productions, producers of the Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series, and BRP Can-Am are excited to announce the Can-Am Outlander sweepstakes drawing will be held at this weekend's Amsoil Ironman GNCC in Crawfordsville, Ind. during the ATV afternoon podium on Saturday, October 22.

The Olympic National Forest has announced the next meeting regarding potential future Off Road Vehicle (ORV) recreational opportunities in the Calawah watershed. The purpose of the public meeting is to discuss a proposed route for ORV riding in the Calawah Watershed.

Morgantown, W. Va. (October 18, 2011) - Chris Borich doesn't want to wait. While the Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series historically concludes at the annual Amsoil Ironman in Crawfordsville, Ind., this weekend's Ironman will precede the finale at Loretta Lynn Ranch in Tennessee in two weeks, an event rescheduled from earlier in the season due to rain. But Borich could still wrap the title at the Ironman, which only adds to excitement of the event, where the local community joins the GNCC racing nation for a weekend of fall festivities alongside some of the best racing of the year.

Morgantown, W.Va. (October 17, 2011) - MX Sports Pro Racing and ATVPG announce today the 2012 schedule for America's most prestigious and longest standing ATV racing series - the AMA ATV Motocross National Championship Series presented by DWT. The 2012 ten race series kicks off March 24 and 25 at Millcreek Raceway in Pell City, Ala. and wraps up August 11 and 12 at Loretta Lynn Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tenn.

The Cibola National Forest and Grasslands has released the Draft Land and Resources Management Plan and Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Kiowa, Rita Blanca, Black Kettle, and McClellan Creek National Grasslands. The documents have been posted on the Cibola National Forest and Grasslands website: http://www.fs.fed.us/nepa/nepa_project_exp.php?project=31418. Hard copies or CDs are available by calling 505-346-3889.

We wanted to let our Action Alert Subscribers know that the Huron-Manistee National Forest has released the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (DSEIS) regarding the revised Forest Plan for public review and comment.

Many of you will remember that this supplemental planning effort was mandated after a lawsuit was filed seeking to ban hunting and snowmobiling in certain areas of the forest.

Valcourt, Québec, October 12, 2011 – Warnert Racing / Can-Am DS 450 racer Adam McGill finished third in the XC1 Pro class at the Powerline Park Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) race held over the weekend in St. Clairsville, Ohio. In the morning session, Can-Am X-team racers Zac Zakowski, Forrest Whorton and Kevin Trantham each won their respective classes aboard Can-Am Outlander ATVs.

Dallas, TX - Seat Time, in conjunction with Racer Productions, is happy to announce it will be holding its second Awesomeness Competition at the final round of the 2011 Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series at Loretta Lynn's Ranch, November 4-6. With a three day race format, GNCC Racing wanted some extra entertainment for the racers and families, and that's where the Seat Time Awesomeness Competition comes into play. With a Concept2 Rower and rear tire in hand, the Seat Time crew will create a fun and competitive atmosphere for all to enjoy.

Colorado State Parks has just announces the availability of their 2012-2013 Off-Highway Vehicle State Trail Grants applications.

We've pasted their new release below. Please take a minute to read it over and then pass it along to friends, family and riding buddies.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please contact BRC.

The Forest Service has announced the release of the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (DSEIS) for Motorized Vehicle Use on the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest for public review and comment. The DSEIS supplements the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) issued December 2009. The purpose of the DSEIS is to clarify issues, expand on analyses and provide additions, changes and corrections that are responsive to issues brought forth from administrative appeals of the FEIS.

Minneapolis, Oct. 12, 2011–Polaris RANGER RZRs came out in full force at the GNCC ITP Powerline Park race taking the top four spots in the “Open Modified” class and the top spot in the “Open Limited” class.

William Yokley and his Polaris National Guard RANGER RZR XP 900 took the checkered flag in the “Open Modified” class and first overall with Team Hendershot taking second and ATR Performance taking the third podium spot. In the “Open Limited class,” Team Two Brothers Racing took the win.

Idaho BLM's Shoshone Field Office is developing a Travel Management Plan (TMP) for the area near Hailey, Idaho, north of Highway 20, bounded on the west by Chimney Creek and on the east by Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve and Fish Creek.

BLM is moving to a "travel limited to designated roads and trails" travel plan. And pursuant to BLM's new "Comprehensive Travel Plan" policy, all motorized, mountain bike and even equestrian trails will be closed unless designated open!