OP ED
By Don Amador
Date: July 27, 2016
I want to commend the CA State Parks/Transformation Team
about its ongoing effort to solicit input from the OHV community and
related-stakeholders.
The announcement today about an August 11, 2016 “Open
House” meeting in Ontario, CA, is a good sign that agency leadership is making
a genuine attempt to ensure the long-term viability of the CA Off-Highway Motor
Vehicle Recreation Division (OHMVRD).
I believe those letters you have been sending in and
meetings you have been attending have given the Transformation Team some
food-for-thought about its initial proposal to move OHMVRD back into the
Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR).
I believe the commitment (see link below with FAQs and
meeting info) by State Parks that it will continue to separate special funds
from other funds utilized by the department is a very positive development in
that special funds from OHV would not be intermixed with non-special funds.
LINK TO DPR/TRANSFORMATION TEAM WEBSITE
Based on my 26 years of experience with CA State Parks
and the OHV program, I believe that move would devastate OHMVRD’s ability to
manage its highly acclaimed system of State Vehicular Recreation Areas (SVRAs). It would also impact the grant program that
supports managed OHV recreation on Forest Service and BLM lands, restoration
projects, law enforcement, and safety programs.
It is important to remember that the OHV program has a
distinct mission that is often lost in DPR where there has been a corporate or
institutional movement to end or severely restrict motorized recreation, MTBs,
and horses on DPR lands.
I want to encourage OHV enthusiasts and partners to
continue their efforts to engage with the Transformation Team so as to educate
them on the important role that OHMVRD has in providing environmentally-sound
OHV recreation on county, state, and federal lands in California.
The OHV community should continue to remind the
Transformation Team about the historic deep level of distrust that exists
between users and the DPR. Efforts
should be made to restore that trust.
Also, organizational safety mechanisms should be put in place to protect
the integrity of OHMVRD.
Users should argue against any changes that might
negatively impact SVRA operations or grant funding to federal and county partners.
I don’t believe we are out-of-the-woods yet in regards to
protecting the CA OHV program. Please
continue your efforts to make your voice heard as the transformation process
continues over the next few months.
You are making a difference!
# # #
Don Amador writes on land-use and recreation issues from
his office in Oakley, CA. Don was
Chairman of the CA OHMVR Commission in the 1990s. He may be reached via email at: damador@cwo.com
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