Hillside Restoration Project - Carnegie SVRA
Op-Ed
July
12, 2017
By
Don Amador
*Permission
is hereby granted to reprint article
Rebuttal to
CNPS Vol. 47 (July – Sept. 2017) Pro – SB 249 Political Campaign Article: Environmental Damage from OHV Activity is Outpacing
California’s Ability to Repair It
LINK TO CNPS
ARTICLE
This is a response
to a recent California Native Plant Society (CNPS) anti-OHV political campaign
(SB 249) article that was referenced (page 22) in the official California
Department of Parks and Recreation Weekly Digest published on July 7, 2017.
SB 249 was crafted
in the dark of night by the California Native Plant Society (CNPS) and a small
group of extreme environmental groups over the course of the last two years
without OHV involvement. At this time, not one OHV organization supports SB
249.
The bill fundamentally
redirects this environmentally sound, highly successful and nationally acclaimed
OHV program - with a recreation focus - to a non-OHV program with a
preservation focus that relies on lawsuits and trail closures as primary “management”
tools.
Engineered OHV Trail with OHV Bridge to Protect Stream Course
Eldorado NF - Supported by CA OHV Grant Program
Since the
creation of the California OHV program with the passage of the Chappie-Z’Berg
OHV Act in 1971, OHV leaders have played an important role as stakeholders each
time the program has come up for sunset review and reauthorization. OHV leadership has a wide variety of expertise
in all issues relating to OHV recreation, both technical and environmental,
with specific knowledge on the interaction between state and federal land
management processes.
Sediment Catch Basin - Rubicon Trail
Collaborative Project between CA OHV Grant Program, Eldorado County, Eldorado NF
and OHV Recreationists
Entire sections of
SB 249 significantly alter priorities in ways that are obviously unacceptable
to active California recreationists. There are also numerous examples of
incorrect definitions, calls for unnecessary reports and demands for
duplicative agency consultation that portray a lack of understanding of the
interplay already required to create best management practices for areas that
host OHV recreation.
OHV Travel Management Sign - Carnegie SVRA
It is clear that
CNPS and partners crafted this bill with a goal of unduly hampering and
purposely setting roadblocks to a program that is world renowned for its
existing high standards with regards to both recreation opportunities and
environmental conditions. They want the motorized parks to be held to an
environmental standard equal to the non-motorized parks – an absurdity at every
level.
CA OHV Grant Funded Restoration Project
Tahoe NF
Furthermore there
is no accountability for either reliably foreseen or unanticipated consequences
of the drastic measures called for in the bill. Based on estimates from DPR and
OHV experts, the magnitude of the costs to the state for land restoration and mitigation
for federal, city and county lands, as called for by SB 249, could range from
$11M to $20M per year. Expected legal liability
cost estimates could be in the tens of millions of dollars per year.
SB 249 focuses
solely on management of natural and cultural resources while ignoring important
recreation-related water quality and soil erosion mitigation measures and trail
facility maintenance activities.
Engineered Contour OHV Trail
Carnegie SVRA
SB 249 contains
errors in the description of adaptive management as it is used in conjunction
with a monitoring program. To those experienced in land policy, adaptive
management is an ongoing process of evaluation leading to changes in operations
to improve on-the-ground conditions. Many components are part of this process,
although the bill stresses solely natural and cultural resources.
Engineered OHV Trail with Rolling Dip and Sediment Catch Basin
Eldorado NF
OHV stakeholders believe that water quality,
erosion and sedimentation evaluations are equally critical, although none of
these important issues are mentioned. Furthermore, natural and cultural
resources are mentioned many times in the bill without adequate definition
which will only lead to confusion in future decisions.
CA OHV Grant Funded Meadow Restoration Project
Stanislaus NF
SB 249 seeks to prohibit
use of existing roads in state vehicular recreation areas that were created by
previous land owners. The bill would require the state to compile reports of
accidents, citations and other infractions from all areas of the state,
including federal lands, where off-road recreation occurs. This is a burden
placed on no other unit of state parks, the information is not currently
collected by state parks, nor is it required by any federal agency. Furthermore
there is no justification for the need for this report, leading OHV leadership
to conclude this is an unwarranted data collection effort that will be used by
SB 249 proponents to discredit public land agencies and off-road recreationists.
CA OHV Grant Funded Multi-Use Trail
Eldorado NF
SB 249 requires
the Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation (OHMVR) Division to change its purpose
from managing for sustainable off-road recreation to primarily managing for non-recreation
focused on the protection of natural and cultural resources.
Specialized Equipment to Maintain Trails
Supported by CA OHV Grant Program
SB 249 seeks to
portray and require restoration work to be done in an absolute fashion and be
fully mitigated no matter the cause of the damage. Wildfires, earthquakes, rain
and other weather phenomena can cause considerable damage, yet the effect of
this damage is not differentiated from ongoing maintenance due to OHV
activities. Other state parks are not responsible for acts of Mother Nature and
it is inappropriate to place that burden on this program and this division.
Minimizing impact to land from all forms of human interaction, whether through
motorized or non-motorized activities is a goal already undertaken by all park
units to the extent possible.
Sanitation Facilities to Protect Water Quality - Supported by CA OHV Grants
Rubicon Trail - Eldorado NF
SB 249 adds
numerous agencies for consultation and written reports as requirements to be
produced, which does nothing to improve environmental conditions on the ground.
The redirected time will make performing environmental activities and
restoration difficult, be extremely time consuming and add a considerable cost
consideration for all entities concerned when there is no indication that
anything is amiss in the current program.
CA OHV Grant Funded Restoration Project
Stanislaus NF
The OHMVR Division
does much more than manage State Vehicular Recreation Areas (SVRAs). Its efforts include everything from law
enforcement to supporting the economic viability of rural counties. The program also supports OHV recreation on
lands managed by the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and counties.
CA OHV Grant Program Supports County LE/Search and Rescue Programs
Again, I believe
the regulatory mandates and related compliance requirements place the entire
program (SVRAs and units managed by the USFS/BLM/counties) in both legal and
fiscal jeopardy. The legislation creates
a target rich environment for future litigation based on the alleged failure of
the OHVMR Division and other units to comply with a host of new and unwarranted
regulations and reporting schedules.
OHV organizations
are urging legislators and the Governor to support reauthorization of the
current program that was substantially improved upon 10 years ago in a
bipartisan manner under the leadership of Senator Darrell Steinberg (SB 742).
Don Amador was a member of the 2007
bipartisan legislative team that drafted SB742 upon which the current OHV
program is based. Don works as a
consultant to the BlueRibbon Coalition/Sharetrails.org. Don is president of Quiet Warrior Racing, a
recreation consulting business. Don is a
2016 inductee into the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame. Don was also an OHMVR Commissioner
(1994-2000) Don may be reached by email at: damador@cwo.com
Posts
