Land Access News

GAO Report on OHV Recreation

At the end of July, a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on OHV recreation, prepared at the request of the House Natural Resources Committee, was released to the general public. GAO investigators interviewed agency personnel, OHV rider and industry representatives and environmental group representatives. GAO issued a number of findings in terms of OHV recreation on public lands, but frankly, none of the findings were a surprise to us.

GAO found that OHV recreation is growing in popularity and that more Americans are seeking access to federal public lands via their OHVs. Second, the report found that the federal land agencies could do a better job of providing signage and general outreach to the recreating public so that visitors to public lands have a better understanding of where they can and cannot ride their OHVs. The report also focused attention on the inadequacies of law enforcement and the inconsistent scale of fines and penalties for inappropriate behavior on public lands. GAO found that the land agencies were stretched, both in terms of financial resources and personnel, and that other pressing concerns, such as fighting wildfires, apprehending drug criminals and border control issues kept agency personnel from devoting the necessary time to make public lands more accessible to recreation visitors.

GAO looked into the issue of environmental damage caused by OHVs and found such damage is far less than some observers believed to be the case. Another finding was that agency personnel work well with OHV user groups on trail maintenance projects.

The report's conclusions confirm what we have known for a long time about OHV recreation on public lands and provide further reason to continue working on our priority issues. ARRA intends to carry on our efforts to support law enforcement reform legislation as well as seek additional funding for better signage, maps and trail maintenance. Working with the Congress and our land agencies, we can create an environment where OHV recreation can continue to grow in popularity as more American families look to explore and enjoy the great outdoors.

Forest Service and BLM Outreach

Federal land agencies seem to be taking to heart the recommendations of the GAO Report we just discussed. The Forest Service and BLM in Nevada have jointly launched a new advertising campaign. Utilizing highway billboards along with radio spots to be aired in September to coincide with the fall hunting season, the theme emphasizes appropriate behavior with the overall message, "Use your Power Responsibly - Stay on Trails."

Subject: AMA Expresses Concerns Over Health Care Debate

The AMA Expresses Concern with Health Care Debate	Take Action!
Contact your Senators and Representative today!

Millions of on-highway and off-highway motorcyclists -- as well as all-terrain vehicle (ATV) riders -- may be adversely impacted by the various heath care bills currently under consideration in Congress. The AMA opposes any legislation that may restrict the freedoms of millions of riders enjoying an active lifestyle. Motorcyclists and ATV riders cherish personal freedom and responsibility when it comes to enjoying their passion for riding. As Congress continues to deliberate on health care reform, the AMA needs your help in urging your elected officials not to abdicate the rights of the insured to an unelected commission or board, which will render final decisions regarding appropriate medical coverage for individuals who ride as a mode of transportation or for recreation (e.g., denial of a procedure). We must remain vigilant, thereby helping to ensure that motorcyclists and ATV riders will continue to be able to pursue their chosen recreational pursuit without the addition of unneeded prohibitions, limitations or mandates stemming from the health care legislation under consideration. There is precedent for us to be concerned with regarding any health care legislation coming from Washington. For example in 1996, Congress passed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) that was intended to ensure non-discrimination in health coverage in the group market. However, when it came to implementing the law, the Department of Labor, the Internal Revenue Service and the Health Care Financing Administration - now the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services - issued a rule allowing insurers to deny health benefits for an otherwise covered injury that results from certain types of recreational activities, such as skiing, horseback riding, snowmobiling or motorcycling. Even though the AMA has fought this discriminatory rule with legislation, this indicates what could happen if a new health care bill is implemented by bureaucrats in Washington using biased data. To voice your concern regarding the various health care bills, it is imperative that you contact your elected officials. The fastest way to reach your members of Congress is to call them. You can find contact information for your elected officials on AmericanMotorcyclist.com, click on "Rights," then "Issues & Legislation," and enter your zip code in the "Find your Officials" box. Additionally, a prewritten e-mail is available for you to send to your officials by following the "Take Action" option and entering your information. All AMA members and anyone else who enjoys an active lifestyle is urged to contact their elected officials and to tell them to protect the freedoms that riders cherish from being dictated by Washington bureaucrats.

The Obama administration today appealed a Wyoming federal judge's ruling that threw out the controversial 2001 roadless rule and its protections for the vast majority of the country's undeveloped forest areas. The administration is challenging a decision last August by U.S. District Judge Clarence Brimmer tossing the roadless rule. Environmental groups had already appealed Brimmer's ruling, but they pressured the Obama administration to join their efforts. During the presidential campaign last fall, then-Sen. Barack Obama expressed his support for the 2001 roadless rule.

(Read more)

The state legislature and the Governor have "borrowed" ANOTHER $ 22.0 million ($ 90 million was "borrowed" earlier this year) to help balance the state's budget this week.

See related post on July 1, 2009 on this site.

Below is from Don Amador - Blue Ribbon Coalition:

Based on feedback from a number of riders wanting to know the bottom line on the OHV Program and the State Park System, below is a “quick and dirty” overview of the status as it stands today.

OHMVR – The Good – The core OHV program (SVRAs and grants – approx. 60 million dollars) stays intact.

OHMVR - The Bad - $112 million dollars “borrowed” from several special accounts. Who knows when it will be repaid? The prospect of purchasing new lands for OHV at anytime in the near future looks grim.

STATE PARKS - More Bad - They take a $52 million dollar hit (or 21% reduction) for this year and next. Park administration will wait until after Labor Day to close up to 100 or more non-SVRA units.

5 MONTH BUDGET CYCLE – Even Worse - Sacramento will have to do this all over again (another round of budget cuts at best guess) in a few months.

Urge Your Representative to Support the RTP

“Dear Colleague” Letter is an Opportunity for Your Member to Support the Recreational Trails Program

The Recreational Trails Program (RTP), which funds the development and maintenance of thousands of miles of motorized trails, needs to be reauthorized. The RTP exists and is funded as part of legislation that authorizes Federal surface transportation programs for highways, highway safety, and transit. The most recent reauthorization, enacted in 2005, will expire this year, meaning that a new authorization bill must be approved.

Representatives Mike Michaud (D-ME) and Tom Petri (R-WI) are circulating a letter in support of continued and increased funding for the RTP in transportation reauthorization legislation and are asking other members of Congress to sign on to show their support as well. Please click the Take Action button below to send an email to your Representative encouraging him or her to sign the letter in support of the RTP.

Click here to view the letter.

Send a letter to the following decision maker(s):
U. S. House of Representatives

Below is the sample letter:

Subject: Please Sign Dear Colleague in Support the Recreational Trails Program

Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted here],

As a constituent and a member of Americans for Responsible Recreational Access I write to urge you to sign on to the dear colleague letter being circulated by Representatives Michaud and Petri in support of the Recreational Trails Program (RTP). To get a copy of the letter or to sign on please contact Shawn Legendre (Michaud) at shawn.legendre@mail.house.gov or (202) 225-6306. Sign on deadline is Friday, July 17th.

The RTP was established as a provision of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 and was subsequently reauthorized in 1998 and in 2005. The program uses a portion of funds generated by motorized off-highway trail users who pay the gas tax on any fuel they purchase for use in their off-highway vehicles to fund trail building, maintenance and other trail-related expenses. It should also be noted that the RTP requires that 30% of program funds must be dedicated to non-motorized uses with an additional 40% for mixed-use trails that may or may not include motorized uses.

Many various and diverse recreation interests strongly support the RTP as evidenced by a recent CRT letter to Congressional Leadership which included signatures from nearly 300 international, national, state and local recreation organizations. Motorized, hiking, horseback riding, bicycling and an array of other recreation interests were represented on the letter. The broad su pport for the program is a testament to its success.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

The Bureau of Land Management has identified funds to continue providing trash service at the Imperial Sand Dunes for the 2009-2010 season, assuming that no changes are made to the bureau’s budget, which has yet to be approved by the Senate.

Cathy Kennerson, chief executive officer of the El Centro Chamber of Commerce, said that while working on its budget for this year, the bureau said it recognized the need to continue providing trash service.

“You can’t expect the 1.4 million people who visit the dunes to all clean up every bit of trash,” Kennerson said.

The bureau was unable to provide trash service in February because of budget shortfalls. Imperial County signed an agreement with Allied Waste for $125,000, to provide trash service to finish out last season, which ended in May.

David Briery, a public affairs officer with the bureau, said the money for the October 2009 to May 2010 season is projected come from a combination of state and federal funds.

“It was something the BLM felt they should do,” Briery said about continuing the trash service.

Also, the bureau’s federal funding bill, recently passed by the House of Representatives, includes language inserted by U.S. Rep. Bob Filner to provide for trash services.

The bill increases funding for the entire bureau and includes the statement: “The committee is concerned about the Bureau of Land Management decision to stop trash collection services in the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area … and expects BLM to restore trash pick-up services.”

That bill is now heading toward the Senate for final approval.

Courtesy of Imperial County Press - Online

A new threat has arisen to the funding of the California OHV program.

The latest twist in the "Let's take money from the OHV Program" saga is that the folks under the dome in Sacramento are considering gutting the basic operating budget of OHMVR that funds state OHV parks and provides grants to other land agencies.

As many of you already know, the State of California is in fiscal meltdown. One victim of the current budgetary crisis is the California OHV program. It is one of the very few self-funded "user-pay/user-benefit" government programs in the state. The California legislature has already "borrowed" and diverted $90 million dollars from the OHV Trust Fund to other non-OHV-related programs, earlier this year.

If there is one time you send a letter to Sacramento... it is TODAY. Send your letter and get as many of your friends to do the same. BRC has provided a sample letter that you can cut and paste and FAX/email to the following legislators including the chairperson of each committee.

SEND BOTH A FAX AND EMAIL

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger - Fax 916-558-3160 (phone 916-445-2841) governor@governor.ca.gov

2009 Budget Conference Committee Members - Assembly

Noreen Evans - Fax 916-319-2107 (phone 916-319-2007) (Chair) Assemblymember.evans@assembly.ca.gov
Roger Niello - Fax 916-319-2105 (phone 916-319-2005) Assemblymember.niello@assembly.ca.gov
Bob Blumenfield - fax 916-319-2140 (phone 916-319-2040) Assemblymember.blumenfield@assembly.ca.gov
Kevin de Leon - Fax 916-319-2145 (phone 916-319-2045) Assemblymember.deleon@assembly.ca.gov
Jim Nielsen - Fax916- 319-2102 (phone 916-319-2002) Assemblymember.nielsen@assembly.ca.gov

2009 Budget Conference Committee Members - Senate

Denise Ducheny - Fax 916-327-3522 (phone 916-651-4040) (Chair) senator.ducheny@senate.ca.gov Bob Dutton - Fax 916-327-2272 (phone 916-651-4031) Senator.dutton@senate.ca.gov Mark Leno - Fax 916-445-4722 (phone 916-651-4003) Senator.Leno@senate.ca.gov Alan Lowenthal - Fax 916-327-9113 (phone 916-651-4027) Senator.lowenthal@senate.ca.gov Mimi Walters - Fax 916-445-9754 (phone 916-651-4033) Senator.walters@senate.ca.gov

Cut and Paste Sample Letter:

Dear_________:

As a resident of California and a member of the off-highway vehicle (OHV) community, I am urging that as you search for funding for California Sate Parks, you do not attempt to redirect any funds from the Off Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division budget. The OHV Division of California State Parks is completely funded by fees generated by OHV recreation. These user-generated fees should not be directed to uses that have nothing whatsoever to do with how the funds were generated.

In 2005, the California Bureau of State Audits found that Parks misappropriated millions of dollars from the OHV Trust Fund for use at facilities with no OHV opportunity. Sadly, it appears that Parks is once again attempting to balance its books on the back of the OHV program.

The OHV Division is a nationally-recognized model of a "user-pay/user-benefit" program. This success is due to the State's ability to collect fees generated by OHV recreation on local, state and federal lands, and use these fees to support management of OHV recreation on these same lands. It is essential that both the operations of the State OHV Parks and the grants provided to local and federal agencies where OHV recreation occurs continue in order to maintain the success of this program.

I understand the serious nature of California's budget crisis; however, the state has already borrowed $90 million dollars from the OHV Trust Fund. I again urge you to avoid redirecting any OHV Trust Funds to non-OHV-related projects or programs.

Sincerely,

Name
Address

LAS VEGAS, Nevada – Under initiatives announced today by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and U.S. Senator Harry Reid (D-NV), federal agencies will work with western leaders to designate tracts of U.S. public lands in the West as prime zones for utility-scale solar energy development, fund environmental studies, open new solar energy permitting offices and speed reviews of industry proposals. Link to maps of Solar Energy Study Areas.

“President Obama’s comprehensive energy strategy calls for rapid development of renewable energy, especially on America’s public lands,” said Secretary Salazar. “This environmentally-sensitive plan will identify appropriate Interior-managed lands that have excellent solar energy potential and limited conflicts with wildlife, other natural resources or land users. The two dozen areas we are evaluating could generate nearly 100,000 megawatts of solar electricity. With coordinated environmental studies, good land-use planning and zoning and priority processing, we can accelerate responsible solar energy production that will help build a clean-energy economy for the 21st century.” (Read more)