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Important Info.
We feel that some articles and information are so important that they should always be accessible. We've listed them below and hope that everyone will read them.

Tellico ORV Area Under Attack

MOAB Under Attack!

US Forest Service Abusing programs and we're losing land use!

Editorial Article about the misuse of Recreation Site Facility Master Planning (RSFMP) program

National Forests Could See Large Closures - enough said!

California OHV Funding At Risk!

Informative Article About The US Government and the Recreation Site Facility Master Plan (RSFMP) program. - a must read!

Articles of Interest To The Off Road Community

June 19, 2007
Odessa, WA Has A Push On To Become An "ORV Destination"
The plan, still in the early stages, would open former ranch roads – now horse and hiking trails – and a power line right-of-way on 13,000 acres of Bureau of Land Management property to ORVs. The City Council has already moved to permit ORVs on two Odessa streets, with the goal of getting riders to rumble into town and open their wallets at local businesses, such as Ed Hayden’s motel. Hayden is the driving force behind an effort to expand the off-roading trails on federal land northwest of the city of Odessa. Some residents see the ORV proposal as a way to harness a growing recreational industry to reinvigorate the economy, but the BLM land that proponents want to use is part of a shrub-steppe ecosystem that hosts a variety of threatened species, such as sharp-tailed grouse.

The potential impact of ORVs on the areas has environmental advocates concerned. Some Odessa citizens are concerned that the town, which only has two police officers, will be overrun. Hayden would like to see Odessa become a center of off-roading activity in Eastern Washington. His proposal includes plans for a new trail that would link existing BLM backroads directly to city streets. Hayden’s final goal is a network of ORV trails stretching southeast to Ritzville, northwest to Coulee City and northeast to Davenport and Lincoln. This possibility of an expanded ORV network doesn’t sit well with environmental advocates. Gosh - what a surprise! Stay tuned as we watch the developments of this hoped-for trail system.

Polaris T.R.A.I.L.S. Program - Giving Back To Their Customers
Polaris Industries has announced the third round of ‘T.R.A.I.L.S.’ grant recipients, with grants totaling $105,320 for a grand total of $500,458 granted to national, state and local ATV clubs since the program was launched in 2006. Polaris issued grants to 12 organizations in 12 states. Polaris has assisted 59 ATV organizations in 35 states across the U.S. The grant program has two main objectives: promoting safety and preserving trail access. Funds can be used by organizations for trail development and maintenance projects, safety and education initiatives, lobbying and other projects to increase and maintain land access. AS a Polaris spokes man put it, “Trail access is undoubtedly our number one challenge in the industry.” The grants range from $3,000 to a maximum $10,000 and can be applied toward: land acquisition, trail mapping, marking and maintenance; trail development, stabilization and reforestation; bridge building; Bureau of Land Management (BLM), National Forest Service and State Forest ride area enhancements and trail mapping projects. We laud Polaris for this program and want to thank them for the support! Great job Polaris.

If your ATV club or group is interested in applying for a Polaris grant go to Polaris T.R.A.I.L. Program

Laramie Peak (WY) Travel Plan In - We Lose Miles and Miles of Trails
Misty Hays, deputy district ranger for the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest’s Douglas Ranger District, issued her decision on the Laramie Peak travel management plan last week. The decision affects 180,454 acres of Forest Service land in Converse, Albany, Platte and Natrona counties. Folks will find major changes in the roads they can and can’t use. The Forest Service staff won’t begin implementing the changes in signs and barriers until after a 45-day appeal period expires, and they say they will be fairly lenient on violators until a new map is published in the spring of 2008. Hays presented her decisions at a public meeting and said that they designate a new road system while better protecting resources and providing safe areas for family ATV riding away from full-size vehicle traffic. Her decisions call for

Adding one mile of new road to complete a planned loop trail for ATVs
Converting about 35 miles of existing roads to motorized trails. Only vehicles 50 inches wide or smaller would be allowed.
Closing more than 100 miles of unofficial roads illegally created by users (We are sick and tired of this tired and worn out attempt by all of those on the greenies side of this definition! When a park was left open to riding, it was fair game to put in a trail! End of statement and discussion! Get over it wackos.)
Changing nearly nine miles of motorized trails into non-motorized trails.
Closing about five miles of roads to motorized traffic due to resource damage. These routes would remain open for administrative uses and non-motorized public use.
Decommissioning around six miles of roads where traffic is damaging the land. Non-motorized use would be allowed.
In most cases, people will no longer be able to drive 300 feet off the road/trail to camp or park. The 300-foot allowance will continue at Deer Creek, in the Esterbrook area, and on Cow Creek Road, Arapaho Trail, Cow Camp Road and Lower Horseshoe Road.

More bad news on the OHV front: during the evaluation period of forest roads, the Forest Service says that it discovered that it has no legal right of way on 376 miles of roads currently in the system! These roads will be closed immediately while the Forest Service district office attempts to negotiate legal access. If legal access is obtained, the trails/roads will be added back into the official system. The roads will be prioritized based on whether access already exists into an area, the landowner's willingness to cooperate and opportunities for reciprocal easements. The Forest Service indicated that they know some landowners will not cooperate and that they will focus on working with the people where they feel they will be able to get something accomplished.

This was a big hit as in this area we have calculated a loss of access to over 400 miles of roads/trails!

St. Anthony, ID Misses Out On ATV Parade Record
City officials in this eastern Idaho town (St. Anthony) were hoping to set a new ATV parade record by drawing over 2,000 participants to the St. Anthony ATV and Sand Rail Parade (June 16th). Unfortunately, they were unable to obtain that number and failed to achieve the record, which was set in Kentucky last year when 1,138 riders took part in a similar event. We say to them "Good try and better luck next year!" Positive exposure like this is always good for all of us OHVers.

July 10th Showdown in San Bernardino County
On July 10th the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisor's will meet and the major topic of discussion will be the revision of Ordinance 3973. This ordinance is a ridiculously written and overstated law targeted at any and all OHVs! It is complaint based and can be set off with one wacko's registered complaint even if you are on your own property. San Bernardino holds many popular OHV areas like Johnson Valley, Sunfair Dry Lakebed, Landers, Havasu Lake, Needles, and Wonder Valley. All OHV enthusiasts need to get involved with this battle and have their voices heard. The Anti-Access / Anti-OHV crowd has had their way for far to long and we need to make a large showing at this Board meeting in opposition to the the anti-OHV people.

Foresthill OHV Trails (CA) Face Budget Shortfall and Closure
The Foresthill OHV Trails recently reopened, but without more money they could close once again. "The trails opened a couple of weeks ago after being closed due to a lack of funding," said Leif Lowery, of Friends of Foresthill OHV Trails. "The forest service had their funding cut back to where they couldn't maintain the trails." Lowery said to make up for the lack of forest funding the Friends of Foresthill OHV Trails is holding a fundraiser June 16 in downtown Foresthill. "The trails are open, but we are paying for the bathrooms to be cleaned and to have the trash picked up," he said. "On the 100-miles of trail on that system there are about eight creek crossing where the trails cross over creeks and (the Forest Service) want bridges there, if not they could close the trails again."

Kentucky ATV Deaths On The Increase
Last year Kentucky passed stricter laws calling for safer riding, yet ATV related deaths are on the rise in Kentucky: now labeled the nation's leader in fatal ATV collisions!. Through May of 2007, Kentucky has had 17 fatal ATV collisions, which is nearly three times the number recorded by the end of May in 2006. Kentucky had a total of 21 ATV-related deaths in 2005 and 2006 according to Kentucky State Police. The federal Consumer Product Safety Commission has been reported saying "... we are very concerned about the recent upward trend in deaths...' The Consumer Product Safety Commission ranks Kentucky No. 1 in fatal ATV accidents. Other Appalachian states West Virginia and Pennsylvania round out the top three for the most ATV fatalities according to the agency's 2002-2005 estimates. Kentucky's newest ATV safety laws call for fines of $20-$50.00 when children are caught riding without helmets, but law enforcement officers say the law is more about safety than punishment. State police have said officers would only take action against violators on public roadways and trails, while some local agencies said they would issue warnings if they observe kids riding without helmets on private property. What will lawmakers attempt next if the rise in deaths continue?

Syracuse, KS To Open New Sand Dune Park!
More great news on the off-road park front: another new off road public riding area! This new park will be unveiled at it's July 4th Grand Opening. The park is 1,300 acres containing some awesome sand dunes and ATV trails. Many think that it will quickly become a favorite spot for OHV enthusiasts throughout the Midwest. Syracuse, Kansas is located on the western edge of Kansas and fortunately for us OHVers, it has some incredible sand dunes created by the Arkansas River. There is also a sand lake that will eventually be stocked with fish. The park slogan is "It may be dirty, but it sure is fun." They have special events planned for September and October including ATV races, ATV drags and a dune buggy show. After the July 4th Grand Opening, the park will be open every day with special events held on weekends. There will be special areas designated for beginner riders, young children and for experienced riders. The park will have an entrance fee of $5.00 per vehicle, and season passes will be available. To learn more go to www.syracusesandpark.com

Attempts At New ATV Safety Bill In Louisiana
A Rayne man was killed recently in an ATV accident and his death came on the same day a 19-year-old Rapides parish man died in another ATV incident. These deaths have prompted an Acadiana lawmaker to reintroduce a bill "regulating" ORVs. The article states that enough ATV riders are using helmets and other protective gear and that this results in about 1500 children visiting emergency rooms every year. State Rep Clara Baudoin feels that this calls for some regulation and safety requirements. The proposed bill would not allow children under six to ride and if they are fourteen years old or younger, they will have to wear helmets. As the State Rep puts it, "So many kids are not being supervised properly they're not riding properly, they have to have the proper training. They have to have the education to be able to know how to handle this equipment." This is Clara Baudoin's second attempt to push this bill through.

There will be more and more safety laws and restrictions in every state if we don't do something about all of the accidents and deaths. The following is one day's headlines from around the country:

Woman dies of injury suffered in ATV crash
Eastern Kentucky Man Dies After ATV Crash
ATV mishap claims Twin Falls man
Boy, 9, crashes ATV, is hurt
Man dies in ATV crash at Spring Hill golf course

The politicians are not going to ignore these types of headlines. They will put more and more restrictions on ATV use, and we will certainly lose some freedom in the process. Let's clean this up before they start to get carried away!

Garfield County, Utah - Home To OHV Enthusiasts!
If you're looking for a vacation destination might we suggest Garfield County Utah where, according to at least one angry and biased reporter, they favor ATVs. We say "congratulations Garfield County and Thank you!" There aren't many areas in the country that are showing us some love and we need to reward those that are. Now let's show our support by taking some visits there and rewarding them with our tourist dollars.

BFGoodrich Awards Grant and Award To Redbird State Riding Area (IN)
We're very glad that BFGoodrich has this type of program and are looking for more companies that make money off of the OHV sport to become involved in this manner. As part of their 2007 Outstanding Trails program, Michelin North America Inc. and BFGoodrich recently honored Redbird State Riding Area (SRA) with a grant to continue conservation efforts and preserve scenic trails for Indiana's state-run OHV trail. The Redbird State Riding Area, which is located between Greene and Sullivan counties in southern Indiana, is the first of six trail systems that will be recognized by BFGoodrich this year. According to a BFGoodrich spokesperson "... Redbird State Riding Area is truly a fantastic place to ride if you're an off-roader at heart, and definitely worthy of having the 2007 Outstanding Trails distinction..." We applaud BFGoodrich for this program!

Ranting From An "Environmentalist" Wacko
Now ORV use on a larger area of Big Cypress in Florida will lead to the extinction of the Florida Panther! Will these frigging lunatics ever stop? Where are the studies and the proof? No where, but that doesn't stop this wacko from making the claim to activate the fringe greenie base. There weren't any ORVs around when the Panthers were going on the major decline, but suddenly we will get t the blame if the Panther becomes extinct?! Its always a good idea to see how the enemy thinks and acts. Check it out.

Public Land Trail Battles In Utah's Garfield County
It's the horse riders and hikers seemingly against the OHV crowd The horse folks, cyclists and hikers feel that the OHV crowd has been favored and that is all seemingly about to change. There will b e a new chairperson of the committee which oversees the trails and she has a little different view on things than the previously one. "We have an obligation to resolve some of the conflicts in an evenhanded and levelheaded way that benefits all," says Melanie Boone-Reznick, an Escalante resident, back country outfitter and trails committee vice-chair. It appears that she is no friend to the OHV crowd and we should look for more battles over the trails with her in charge. As a county engineer put it, "Right now we want to work on non-motorized trails, hiking trails," he says, noting the trails committee leadership will shift into Boone-Reznick's hands next year. It will be a good opportunity to accommodate the wishes of communities like Boulder that want to focus on horse, bike and foot trails.

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More important offroad / OHV / Public Land articles!
Look over all of these important articles and happenings with public land battles.

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