BREAKING NEWS - County Votes to Petition Congress to Designate Clear Creek as NRA

                                                   

The Recreation HQ is proud to announce the San Benito County Board of Supervisors voted today 5-0 in favor of a Resolution to petition Congress to designate the Clear Creek Management Area as a National Recreation Area.


HQ’s Don Amador gave a presentation regarding the need for Congress to step in and bypass the local land manager when he/she is not acting in the best interest of the public. Besides Amador, a number of OHV recreationists and a local newspaper owner stepped up to the podium and supported the County’s effort to champion access on behalf of their constituents.

Chairman Margie Barrios also cited the many campgrounds the Hollister Field Office had ripped out over the last several years and the recently constructed multi-million dollar taxpayer-funded “decontamination center” as prime examples of government waste.

Link to blog (with photo) of 1.7 million dollar boondoggle
http://thegeneralsrecreationden.blogspot.com/2010/01/jan-14-clear-creek-meeting-blm-and-epa.html

HQ believes access champions have taken one giant step in this long journey. Certainly the trail will be rough over the next few years while efforts are made to have Clear Creek designated as a National Recreation Area. However, it is a journey that all of us should be prepared to take.

PS - I plan to post the Resolution once the county publishes it and provides a link. Based on the comments by the county supervisors, I expect it to reflect the appropriate NRA related land management tenets in my July 22 Congressional testimony.



Recreation Hot Topic at June 22 Congressional Hearing in Wash. DC

The Recreation HQ is very grateful for the opportunity to testify before the House Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands on June 22, 2011. HQ will be joining a number of distinguished recreation representatives and experts.


Amador will be giving testimony in regards to the ongoing closure of the Clear Creek Management Area. He will be there on behalf of QWR and also be representing the BlueRibbon Coalition as its Western Representative.

There will be a live video feed at the hearing. You can link to it at the video icon on the left portion of the committee website.

House Natural Resources Committee with info on hearing and witness list
http://naturalresources.house.gov/Calendar/EventSingle.aspx?EventID=246553

BRC Media Advisory
http://www.sharetrails.org/releases/?story=738&filter=media

For those who want to read the written testimony with a list of exhibits, please check out the BRC website on Wednesday June 22, 2011 for a News Release with links to testimony and exhibits.

BRC Website
http://www.sharetrails.org/

Also, feel free to check out the QWR blog where there is a copy of the invite letter to testify at the hearing.

QWR Blog with Invite Letter
http://quietwarriorracing.blogspot.com/2011/06/qwr-president-to-testify-at-house.html

Also, thanks to our good friends at SEMA for sending HQ a copy of a news article today about the hearing. It was written before Amador had been officially confirmed as a witness.

Energy and Environment Article with Quotes from Amador and FS


E&E: (06/20/2011)

PUBLIC LANDS: Lawmakers to explore recreational opportunities, controversies

Phil Taylor, E&E reporter

The House National Parks, Forests and Public Lands Subcommittee on Wednesday will explore opportunities and controversies surrounding outdoor recreation on public lands, which include hundreds of millions of acres managed by the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service and Forest Service.


The hearing will consider recreational access to public lands and the economic benefits of activities such as hiking, fishing, hunting and off-highway vehicles including snowmobiles.



Visits to recreation sites on BLM-managed lands and waters have increased significantly in recent years, numbering well over 50 million in 2008, the agency said. But despite the increased popularity, controversies over management of the recreational opportunities persist.


Don Amador, Western representative for the Idaho-based BlueRibbon Coalition, which advocates for motorized trail access, said he is concerned a 2008 BLM decision to close access to the Clear Creek management area in California is based on flawed science.


"I'd like to question the decisionmaking behind that closure, I'd like to challenge the science that was used," said Amador, who was invited to testify but was not yet confirmed as a witness by publication time. "It's my hope that Congress will take a look at this."


He said he is also concerned with the Forest Service's 2005 travel management rule and argued it has been used to justify landscape-level closures to motorized recreation, particularly for dirt roads that have been in use for decades.

"Literally thousands of miles of those roads have been closed due to misapplication of the 2005 rule," he said.


The Forest Service manages approximately 280,000 miles of forested roads open to motor vehicle use, Joel Holtrop, deputy chief of the National Forest System, told a Senate panel in 2008. A third of the roads that are managed by the agency, or 47,000 miles, are open to motor vehicle use including over-snow vehicles and motorized watercraft operating on water trails, he said.



Conservation groups have warned that an unregulated rise in off-highway vehicles on public lands can imperil wildlife, destroy sensitive vegetation and cause erosion.

"The first motor vehicle driving across a particular meadow may not harm the land, but by the time 50 motor vehicles have crossed the same path a user-created trail will likely be left behind that causes lasting environmental impacts on soil, water quality and wildlife habitat," Holtrop told the Senate panel.


National forests and grasslands annually receive 192 million visits each year by motorized vehicle users as well as those who camp, hunt, fish, horseback ride, bike and ski, among other things.


About 11.5 million visits on national forests involve motorized vehicle activities, the agency said.

Schedule: The hearing is Wednesday, June 22, at 10 a.m. in 1324 Longworth.

Witnesses: TBA.

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Thanks to all for your service and support!

New CA OHV Division Asbestos Study Shows Clear Creek Closure is Bogus

A Poster Users Made at Coalinga Meeting to Highlight Agency Bias Against OHV Use

The Recreation HQ is proud to announce that the OHV Division has released a long anticipated independent study on the impacts, or lack thereof, of naturally occurring asbestos on OHV users riding at Clear Creek.

March 23, 2011 - OHV Division News Release with Link to Asbestos Study
http://ohv.parks.ca.gov/

March 23, 2011 – BRC News Release on OHV Asbestos Study
http://www.sharetrails.org/releases/?story=728&filter=media

HQ believes this report validates the OHV community’s concerns that the closure at CCMA was politically motivated and was a gross abuse of federal power by a government agent.

HQ blogged back in Jan. 15, 2010 that the BLM and EPA should be ashamed of themselves for foisting an unwarranted 70K acre landscape level closure on the American People.

Jan. 15 Blog with Links and Stories
http://thegeneralsrecreationden.blogspot.com/2010/01/jan-14-clear-creek-meeting-blm-and-epa.html


HQ believes this closure has caused great harm to local users, businesses, and the community. OHV dealerships have closed. There is no excuse for this behavior and this abuse of power by government officials should be the object of a Congressional inquiry or hearing. Rick Cooper, the BLM Area Manager, told me on several occasions that he made the decision NOT to review options or management tools that would allow for CCMA to remain open. As the report states, there are many activities that occur on public lands that are far more dangerous. Yet, you have a government official that went out of his way to exclude any options to keep CCMA open.


HQ believes this issue has gone beyond the Hollister Field Office and will most likely be addressed by BLM Director Bob Abbey with input from county officials, OHV users, recreation organizations, gem collectors, Congress, and the OHV Division.

Stay tuned for more updates, as it appears the CA OHV Commission will have a hearing on this issue on April 5 in Hollister, at the Veterans' Hall on 649 San Benito Street just a few blocks from the San Benito County Board of Supervisors Office. The county officials have been real heroes in this fight as well.

April 7, 2010 Blog about County Voting to Reopen Roads in CCMA
http://thegeneralsrecreationden.blogspot.com/2010/04/san-benito-county-votes-to-reopen-roads.html

HQ thanks all who worked tirelessly on this issue since May 2008. It has been, and will continue to be, a tough fight. It is an effort worth the battle. There is only one Clear Creek and we want it reopened to OHV use - Period

CCMA Update - Closure Order Still in Effect after May 1

The Recreation HQ has heard that some riders believe that they can ride on BLM lands at Clear Creek after May 2 because emergency closures generally are for two years or less unless they are tied to a planning effort.

Regs on Emergency or Temporary Closures
http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/info/regulations/Instruction_Memos_and_Bulletins/national_instruction/2010/IM_2010-028.html

Unfortunately for riders who want back into BLM lands in CCMA before the planning process is over, the emergency closure order is tied to the ongoing planning effort and stays in effect until that planning process is concluded.

Federal Register Notice for CCMA Closure with Reference to Planning
http://www.sharetrails.org/uploads/Fed_Register_May_1_20080001.pdf

The General understands the frustration of the riding community and is himself disgusted with the behind the scenes dealings and apparent effort of the Hollister Field Office to permanently eliminate OHV recreation on lands within their jurisdiction.

See 2006 BRC HFO RMP Comment Letter Asking for more OHV Opportunity on Lands Outside of CCMA
http://www.sharetrails.org/uploads/Holllister_Field_Office_DEIS_Jan_5_2006_BRC_comments0001.pdf

The Recreation HQ believes that the OHV community by working with the county and elected officials in an honest and collaborative manner are making a big difference in the fight to reopen CCMA. Please continue to obey the closure order and ride only on the 25 miles of county roads that have been opened for street-legal vehicles.

The battle for CCMA continues.

March 2 - San Benito County To Help Keep CCMA Open?

The General has long believed that local users (i.e. voters) should try and get
their local County Board of Supervisors involved to help in the fight to keep public lands open for responsible recreation activities.

PHOTO: Sign of the CCMA Times

PHOTO CREDIT: Don Amador

EXAMPLE of how a county can take action regarding access
http://thegeneralsrecreationden.blogspot.com/2009/06/good-news-combined-use-as-access-tool.html

No place is a county’s help more sorely needed then in the CCMA Battle. The Recreation HQ was pleased to hear that several members of the San Benito County Board of Supervisors attended BLM’s socioeconomic meeting regarding the future of CCMA.

Thanks to a posting by my good friends at SBR, The Recreation HQ has learned that San Benito BOS has placed the topic of CCMA on their March 2 agenda.

This is a golden opportunity for local OHVers to show up and testify on how important it is for the county to take action regarding supporting a request for a 90 day extension of the public comment period and to eventually submit comments on the DEIS in support of continued OHV recreation at CCMA.

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March 2 BOS Agenda
http://www.san-benito.ca.us/agendas/documents/10.03.02pdf.pdf

PLANNING DEPARTMENT – A. Henriques: 12) Review the staff report, powerpoint and draft comment letter to BLM at the Board meeting, and provide direction to staff.
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Getting your local county, state, and federal elected officials involved in protecting your access rights is critically important in any land-use fight. Having the county weigh in (and hopefully some federal legislators as well) could help tip the scales in our favor.

The General encourages all riders and business owners (local voters are most important) who care about CCMA to attend the March 2 BOS meeting and respectfully articulate your desire for the county to support continued OHV recreation at CCMA.

Thanks for your service!

The Creek Song - A Song Dedicated to the CCMA Battle

As the Clear Creek saga continues, there are a lot of ways to fight back and contribute to the battle. Many have and will make fiscal donations, write comments, attend meetings, and join and get friends to join OHV organizations.

Photo: A couple of riders enjoying a trail at CCMA when it was open for OHV use

A unique way that one person has contributed to the Clear Creek effort is to write and sing a song dedicated to all those who are fighting the good fight.

The General encourages dirt-bikers, ATV riders, club members, 4WDers, rockhounders, gem collectors, hunters, and others who want to see CCMA reopened to visit the Friends of CCMA website and listen to The Creek Song.

The Creek Song (just click the play button on the song)
http://www.foccma.org/html/articles/clearcreekvideo.html

A big salute from the Recreation HQ to all of you who are working to reopen CCMA!

Clear Creek Closure - Need for Peer Review

A packed house of between 500-600 recreationists, gem collectors, and other access interests attended the final BLM CCMA public DEIS meeting held in Santa Clara on January 20.

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Photo: Health Risk (you could die) Sign at CA State Park Beach
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The central theme running through public comments was that this is a politically motivated closure, does not pass the smell test, and is based on a flawed EPA risk assessment that does not even meet the basic methodology requirements of an 8th grade science project. The following was learned and/or restated for the record during the 1 hour open house where users could ask agency representatives questions and during the comment period.

1 – One of the testing roads had just been ripped by a bulldozer before the testing occurred

2 – The EPA OHV testers were not adequately monitored regarding if they stayed on the test route network

3 – The riding times were grossly overstated in the analysis and did not reflect real world riding times or conditions

4 – The EPA did not know that Jade Mill and other sites where they staged from and/or rode through were former commercial mill sites.

5 – The BLM has asked the EPA to revise their draft risk assessment to pull out the statement that the risk to public health could be zero.

One question The General asked the BLM is even if there is some health risk why they did not research how their own agency or sister agencies address public health and safety (i.e. falling in a mine shaft, fishing/eating mercury laden fish, snake bites, falling to your death while rock climbing, drowning while swimming in a river or lake, etc.) risks? Their only answer was that they selected not to do ANY research to see how they could keep the area open.

RECREATION CASE STUDY

See how Illinois State Parks addressed a similar recreation-oriented asbestos issue next to an EPA Superfund Site (there are a number of studies linked in the article)
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/sites/illinois_beach_state_park/

Would a different BLM area manager have kept CCMA open? The General believes that the former area manager. Bob Beehler, would have not told the EPA to amend the draft risk analysis and would have keep CCMA open until better science was produced.

During the public comment period, the chairman of the OHMVR commission said he felt there is a need for a peer review of the EPA risk assessment. The General agrees.

The ugly CCMA saga continues…

EPA - Violates Public Trust at Clear Creek

I know a lot of riders are still trying to figure out just what the heck is going on behind the scenes regarding the BLM’s closure of CCMA. The General continues to believe the closure is politically motivated and is where the agency used flawed science and a non-artful public flim-flam to effect their desired outcome.

PHOTO: BRC's Don Amador (left) and SRMC's Ed Tobin riding trails at CCMA when it was open.

As some of you already know, BRC and other public interest groups occasionally file Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests on federal agencies to obtain documents not otherwise available for public scrutiny. This information is then used to help BRC and its members and other stakeholders understand how federal agencies make decisions.

As The General gets ready to attend the BLM CCMA DEIS public meeting in Santa Clara on Wednesday (having already attended the Harris Ranch meeting), he asks the question, “How can the public have any confidence in this public process when the EPA denies a FOIA request – when in fact there has been correspondence between EPA and other parties for a number of years?”

EPA FOIA Case Study Regarding CCMA. – Sent to both EPA/Wash and EPA Region 9
http://www.sharetrails.org/uploads/FOIA_EPA_CCMA_Case_Study_20100001.pdf

Full archive of BRC BLM/CCMA FOIA documents
http://www.foccma.org/foia/index.php

General EPA FOIA Information
http://www.epa.gov/foia/

Fortunately in this case, the BLM fulfilled their legal requirement to daylight information via a similar FOIA request and BRC obtained some EPA related documents. The same cannot be said about the EPA which - in The General’s opinion - violated the public trust.

The EPA’s refusal to share information with the public regarding their decision-making process at CCMA does not reflect kindly on the agency. It also undermines their credibility as the primary science-arm of the federal government.