MUST WATCH OHV TV - Video from Congressional Hearing on Clear Creek - H.R. 1838

Don Amador (L) and Ed Tobin (R) Riding

at Clear Creek before the 2008 Closure

The Recreation HQ has fired up its alert system in regards to yesterday’s House Subcommittee on Federal Lands hearing on two very important OHV-related legislative initiatives.  Those two bills are H.R. 1838, the Clear Creek National Recreation Area and Conservation Act and H.R. 3668, the California Minerals, Off-Road Recreation, and Conservation Act.

For this update, HQ will focus on highlights and key testimony/discussion related to H.R. 1838.  Understanding that folks have limited time, the HQ has noted key times and discussion themes.

This is a must watch video for all of us who have been engaged in efforts to reopen Clear Creek to OHV use.

00 – Chairman Tom McClintock and Ranking Member Debbie Dingall

06:49 – Cong. Sam Farr (history of issue, assumption of risk, OHV commission, economic hit to local business, thanks CA’s odd couple, Tobin, and Ron the Townhall King, etc.

023:50 – Cong.  Sam Farr (wild and scenic rivers)

025:15 – Cong. Sam Farr (assumption of risk, closure is unacceptable)

035:29 – Cong. Jeff Denham (public land should be open for public use, user fees to support mang)

036:21 – Cong. Sam Farr (discusses user fee program to support mang)

037:12 – Cong. Jeff Denham (values local support, etc.)

RECESS

1:25 – Cong.  Tom McClintock (assumption of risk, use of public lands)

1:27 – Kristin Bail/BLM (BLM’s position on the bill and reasons for closure)

1:38 – San Benito County Supervisor, Jerry Muenzer (risk models, economic import, support for bill)

1:43 –  Chairman McClintock (questions Muenzer on closure)

1:44 – Chairman McClintock (questions BLM on closure, hx of serpentine in CA, etc.)

1:48 – Cong. Sam Farr (expresses concerns about BLM’s decision to close and need to find a way to manage the unit for OHV and access)

1:48:46 –Cong. Doug LaMalfa (questions BLM on risk assessment)

1:51 – Cong. Doug LaMalfa (questions Muenzer on EPA and 40 years of no health cases at Clear Creek)

1:53 – Cong. Bruce Westerman (talks about closures being a national issue, need to create access for youth and not create obstacles)

2:04 -  Cong. Tom McClintock (closing remarks about closures being an important issue)

LINK to VIDEO

http://naturalresources.house.gov/videos/?VideoID=ZpUG0f-KhT0

The HQ wants to thank all those involved in supporting this 8 year effort to reopen Clear Creek to managed OHV recreation.  BIG THANKS for not giving up. 

EPA Champions Closure Agenda at Clear Creek in Letter to Congress

HQ was amazed to read EPA’s September 29, 2011 bizarre response to the OHMVR Commission’s June 21, 2011 letter to Congress which challenged the agency’s stance that Clear Creek should be closed to OHV recreation.

Instead of functionally acknowledging the recent IERF study that shows OHV recreationists at Clear Creek only face a slight health risk (much lower than other activities), EPA stubbornly and with a certain amount of bravado insists that its original study and closure-oriented conclusions are correct.

Blog with Link to OHMVR June 21, 2011 Letter to Congress
http://thegeneralsrecreationden.blogspot.com/2011/06/ca-ohv-commission-sends-letter-to.html


September 29,2011 EPA Letter to U.S. Senate (with additional letters from CA regulators)
http://www.sharetrails.org/uploads/CCMA_EPA_Letter_CCMA_US_Senate_Comm_Nat_Res_9-29-2011.pdf

September 29, 2011 EPA Letter to House of Representatives
http://www.sharetrails.org/uploads/CCMA_EPA_Letter_CCMA_US_Congress_Comm_on_Nat_Resources.pdf

Blog with Link to IERF Study and recent ABC News Story on Clear Creek
http://thegeneralsrecreationden.blogspot.com/2011/09/abc-news-story-on-clear-creek-epahfo.html

HQ believes the EPA is making the best argument for Congress to step in and designate Clear Creek as a National Recreation Area where users can decide for themselves what health and safety risks they take. Be assured this recent EPA missive will only strengthen the resolve of the user community and San Benito County to reopen the Creek.

County Resolution in Support of a NRA Designation
http://thegeneralsrecreationden.blogspot.com/2011/10/breaking-news-county-votes-to-petition.html

The Clear Creek saga continues…

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.



Oct. 4 - County May Petition Congress to Designate Clear Creek as National Recreation Area

HQ fired up its electronic communications center today to issue a rare weekend update on an important issue. On October 4, the San Benito County Board of Supervisors will listen to BRC’s Don Amador’s request to have them consider a resolution asking Congress to designate the Clear Creek Management Area as a National Recreation Area.


County Agenda for Oct. 4 Meeting (Clear Creek is #16)
http://cosb.us/wp-content/uploads/BOS-1004111.pdf

As many of you know, Amador testified before a House Subcommittee on June 22, 1011 regarding the ongoing closure of Clear Creek. At the end of his testimony, he recommended that Congress bypass the Hollister Field Office and designate CCMA as a National Recreation Area declaring as open the routes and areas highlighted in the HFO’s 2005 Travel Management Plan.

June 22, 2011 link to Video of Oral Testimony and Written Testimony with Exhibits
http://thegeneralsrecreationden.blogspot.com/2011/06/hq-post-congressional-hearing-update.html

Over the last few months it has become abundantly clear the HFO intends to continue citing EPA’s junk science as the reason to permanently ban historic OHV use at the Creek.

ABC TV Story on Clear Creek Makes Case for NRA Designation

http://thegeneralsrecreationden.blogspot.com/2011/09/abc-news-story-on-clear-creek-epahfo.html


In April 2010, the County took bold action and declared their roads open for public use in Clear Creek based requests from the voters for local government to defend their access rights. Once again, the County will be asked to step into the breach and champion the rights of local citizens to use and enjoy public lands.

Link to County Reopening Roads
http://thegeneralsrecreationden.blogspot.com/2010/04/san-benito-county-votes-to-reopen-roads.html

I hope to see many of you there. If you cannot make it to the meeting, HQ asks that you give us moral support in our collective efforts to reopen Clear Creek.

ABC NEWS STORY on CLEAR CREEK - EPA/HFO Makes Case for NRA Designation

Many riders watched the ABC feature story last night regarding the ongoing closure of the Clear Creek Management Area to all users. A big HQ salute is given to local off-road advocate Ken Deeg for telling his story to the reporter. As far as mainstream media coverage goes for OHV recreation, HQ believes the story scored an 8 out of 10.


ABC Video and Article on the Closure of Clear Creek (must watch video)
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news%2Fassignment_7&id=8363558

What struck HQ the most out of the whole video were statements made by EPA and Hollister Field Office officials. Just as Don Amador stated in his June 22,2011 testimony before a Congressional Subcommittee hearing in DC, EPA/HFO continue to give their agencies a black eye by showing their collective intent to permanently close or severely restrict OHV recreation at Clear Creek.

Blog with Video of Amador’s June 22 Testimony, link to IERF study, etc.
http://thegeneralsrecreationden.blogspot.com/2011/06/hq-post-congressional-hearing-update.html

While CA state parks spokesman, Phil Jenkins, did a great job sharing the OHV Division’s perspective on the issue and risks associated with high risk sports such as OHV, swimming at public beaches, rivers, and lakes, rock climbing, and snow skiing, HQ believes that ABC should have also interviewed one of the scientists from IERF.

As you know, on March 22, 2011 a report was completed by scientists from the International Environmental Research Foundation (IERF), the Department of Physics at Harvard University, and the Center for Applied Studies of the Environment at the City University of New York.


According to that new and scientifically valid report, “…the [health]risk at Clear Creek is similar to the lifetime risk of death from smoking less than one cigarette over a one year period. They noted other recreational activities, such as swimming, hiking, and snow skiing are over a 100-fold more dangerous.

In summary, EPA/HFO’s statements in the ABC story only validated and strengthened Amador’s June 22 recommendation to Congress that they should consider bipartisan legislation that designates the 70,000-acre CCMA as a National Recreation Area with OHV recreation and other multiple-use recreational activities codified as “prescribed uses.” Congress could designate as “open” all 242 miles of routes and 400 acres of open areas identified for motorized use in the 2005 CCMA Travel Management Plan.

HQ believes HFO/EPA have lost their objectivity and credibility during the CCMA debate by inserting  junk science and their personal political agendas into the decision-making process. Every day that CCMA remains closed to public use means that Congress is one day closer to deciding the future of Clear Creek by designating it as a National Recreation Area.

HQ Post Congressional Hearing Update with Video Links and Overview

Photos Shown During Amador's Oral Testimony on Big Screen in Hearing Chamber

The Recreation HQ knows that a lot of you have already viewed the video and reviewed testimony from the hearing on Recreational Opportunities held on June 22, 2011 by the House Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands. A number of noted OHV and recreation panelists gave testimony and/or were questioned by committee members on the following topics; economic impacts of recreation, cost recovery, permitted events, volunteer programs, budget issues, management priorities, travel management, and Clear Creek.

HQ believes that this hearing was extremely important for the recreating public, Congress, and the agencies. It is well worth your time to view the entire video and review the testimony of various witnesses. The CCMA/Amador testimony starts at 1:04:50 and the CCMA (including some TMR questions) Q&A starts at 1:19:58.

Link to June 22, 2011 Subcommittee Hearing and Testimony and Video
http://naturalresources.house.gov/Calendar/EventSingle.aspx?EventID=246553

Many of you know that my testimony was focused on Clear Creek and the efforts by the Hollister Field Office and EPA to continue to use junk science and personal agendas to create a defacto-Wilderness area and erase all evidence of OHV recreation that once existed on the unit.

HQ believes it was important that Congressman John Garamendi attended the hearing to represent the minority. As a former Deputy Secretary at the Department of Interior he is very aware of the Clear Creek issue. As you watch the Q and A you will hear him state that he supported the original emergency closure but was confident that the new science (IERF Report) and pressure from access interests would result in a formal hearing on Clear Creek.

Link to Amador’s Written Testimony

http://naturalresources.house.gov/UploadedFiles/AmadorTestimony06.22.11.pdf

As part of my oral comments, I requested that the following exhibits be placed in the record.

Link to Amador’s Exhibits (21 pages)
http://www.sharetrails.org/uploads/testimony-amador-exhibits-abcde-06-22-11.pdf

For those of you who want to have YouTube links to just the CCMA testimony and Q&A, I have provided the clips below:

Amador Testimony on CCMA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jb1egLBYJk

Q&A on CCMA (and some TMR)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7uZYR1JK_0

HQ believes that OHV recreation is coming of age and making history this year via efforts by pro-access legislators who are addressing trail specific issues such as TMR, permitted events, level 3 roads, and Clear Creek. Chairman Bishop and his committee members should be commended for their hard work on behalf of the recreating public.


HQ also wants to thank all those who have worked hard in the fight to reopen CCMA. Also, the OHV commission should be commended for having the foresight to ask OHMVRD to commission a study regarding potential health risks from NOA. HQ believes that determined riders combined with new science and interest from Congress will greatly increase the chance of CCMA being reopened (or designated open by Congress) for OHV recreation.

PS – I enjoyed the discourse with Chairman Bishop regarding how people from Utah and Humboldt County pronounce “creek.”

Your feedback, comments, AND support are welcome as always.

BRC Letter to OHMVR Commission for April 5 Hearing in Hollister

Because of the recent medical emergency at HQ, we will not be at the OHMVR Commission meeting in Hollister tomorrow. However, Don Amador, on behalf of BRC, did work on a letter last week that contains several unanswered overarching questions for the April 5 hearing.

April 4 BRC News Release (with copy of BRC letter – embargoed until 10 am on April 5)
http://www.sharetrails.org/releases/?story=729&filter=media

HQ believes this meeting is critically important with regards to having that appointed body review potential questions regarding the “science” used by the BLM/EPA to initially close

CCMA in May 2008 and in the subsequent NEPA planning process. HQ hopes the commission will ask the federal agencies and Congress to help resolve the obvious credibility issue that currently exists.

March 23 BRC News Release on the CA OHMVR Asbestos Study
http://www.sharetrails.org/releases/?story=728&filter=media

Be assured, HQ will be there in spirit and will be monitoring Tuesday’s events online from its rehabilitation center.

Will GOP Hold Land Agencies Accountable?

Will Congress Review the Closure of Clear Creek?

The Recreation HQ appreciated the candor of Doc Hastings’ opening comments today from his post as the new Chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources. HQ took special note of Chairman Hastings’ acknowledgement that Republicans between 2001-2006 basically failed to hold federal land agencies accountable during the Bush administration.

See Text of Hastings’ Speech Today
http://naturalresources.house.gov/UploadedFiles/HastingsOpeningStatementAM-01.26.11.pdf

HQ believes the OHV community will in short order be able to gauge the sincerity of Chairman Hastings’ commitment to hold oversight hearings by the issues placed on the committee and subcommittee hearing schedules.

Of special interest to the HQ is if this Congress will hold oversight hearings on issues of special interest to the OHV community such as the landscape-level closure (the largest of its kind in the USA) of the Clear Creek Management Area to all users in 2008, abuse of the 2005 Travel Management Rule, and the BLM’s Wild Lands program.

Be assured, HQ will be holding the 112th Congress accountable.



CCMA Update - The General is at San Benito County BOS Meeting Today

The Recreation HQ will be closed today as The General (on behalf of BRC) will be testifying at the April 6, 2010 San Benito County Board of Supervisors meeting in Hollister, CA at 1:30 p.m.

The Board will consider a vote to reassert their jurisdiction on 25 miles of county roads in the Clear Creek Management Area. Currently, the BLM is claiming management authority over these historic county roads. A vote in the affirmative will be a big victory in the ongoing battle to reopen CCMA for historic OHV and other uses.

The Board will also consider a vote regarding if they will send in a comment letter and what directions they will give staff about the content of that letter. BRC is asking them to support historic OHV and other uses in CCMA.

See April 6, 2010 BRC Comment Letter to the San Benito County BOS
http://www.sharetrails.org/uploads/San_Benito_County_BOS_Meeting_BRC_Letter_April-60001.pdf

Finally, BRC believes the county may find the BLM violated the public trust as well as over stepping their jurisdictional bounds regarding the county road issue and the agency’s trampling of private property rights. The county could request the BLM withdraw the DEIS because if it’s fatal flaws and direct the agency to reopen CCMA post haste.

The General is expecting a large turnout at the Hollister meeting today. He hopes to see many of you there.

Thanks for your service!

Riders Want Back In at Clear Creek

The Recreation HQ wanted to share this article that appeared on a NPR website regarding
BLM’s San Jose DEIS public hearing.

PHOTO: The General at a "Warning Sign" at the BLM's Samoa Dunes Recreation Area (OHV, fishing, surfing, equestrian) near Eureka, CA

NPR Story
http://www.scpr.org/news/2010/03/26/atv-sidebar/

The reporter did a pretty good job of capturing the OHV community’s frustration with the continued closure of CCMA. However by focusing on the personal attacks on Rick Cooper (the reporter does capture that BRC did not support hostility or threats) did not detail the fact that the closure is based on Cooper’s fear of a disease that is non-existent in the OHV community..

Rather the reporter could have shown, as BRC and others have requested, that the BLM failed to analyze how the agency or sister land agencies deal with public access and health/safety issues including naturally occurring asbestos. Cooper told me at the San Jose meeting that he did not do that analysis as requested by BRC et al..

If he had done some research he would have found that the Department of Interior does use signing and education as a tool to address NOA and other dangers such as fishermen being washed out to sea, children being drowned at the beach or river, etc.

For example, the US Forest Service addresses NOA through the use of signs, education/outreach, soil treatments, and speed limits vs. an unwarranted and massive land closure.

Forest Service NOA Program/Educational Outreach
http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/noa/pdfs/NOAVisitorInformationPaper.pdf

The article also misses the point about riders being “worried” about NOA. It’s not that riders are not worried about health issues (heck, we wear riding gear, keep our bikes in good condition, and avoid driving off cliffs, etc.) but rather we don’t worry about politically-driven faux issues that are used arbitrarily to make the Hollister Field Office an “OHV Free Zone.”

Thanks for your continued vigilance in the fight for CCMA.

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MORAL VICTORY AT CLEAR CREEK - Public Comment Period Extended for 45 Days

The General wants to salute all of you riders and particularly the OHVers (who vote) in the Congressional Districts of Congressman Jim Costa (D) and Congressman Sam Farr (D). The Recreation HQ is convinced the March 3 letters from those legislators asking the BLM to extend the public comment period were key in getting the BLM to back down and grant a 45 day extension. YOU won a moral victory! The new deadline for the public comment period is April 19, 2010.

March 5 BLM News Release on Extension
http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/info/newsroom/2010/march/cc1048_clearcreek_comments_extended.html

Now the question is if the OHV community, local elected officials, and other stakeholders can mount a strong enough campaign (yes, I said campaign because all land use decisions are POLITICAL DECISIONS) to help Rick Cooper change course from his current track that for all intents and purposes appears will close CCMA to OHV use. That permanent closure of CCMA to OHV would basically make all lands managed by the Hollister Field Office an “OHV FREE ZONE.”

This additional time will allow the OHMVR Division and County to review the DEIS and its science and then prepare official comments. Those comments from a sister land agency and a local government could play an important role in the BLM’s decision-making process regarding the future of OHV at The Creek.

The General salutes all of you who have and are helping in the fight to reopen CCMA to OHV recreation and other historic public land uses.

Congressman Jim Costa Weighs into Clear Creek Fight

The unexplainable gritty determination of BLM to kick OHV and the public out of Clear Creek is bizarre and does not pass the smell test.

The size and scope of the CCMA closure is unparalleled in the history of the USA. I am not aware of any recreation/access-based federal land closure that even remotely comes close to matching CCMA.

As we approach the March 5 deadline for the public comment period, The General believes we will know what BLM’s intent is for the future of OHV at CCMA.

If BLM does not grant an extension as requested now by two Congressmen, it will signal their intention is to permanently close CCMA to OHV use. It’s just that simple.

See Link to Congressman Jim Costa’s Letter
http://www.sharetrails.org/uploads/CCMA_DEIS_Costa_Letter.pdf

A failure to grant an extension will mean the public process is tainted and that access interests will have to either seek a political or legal remedy to this unwarranted closure. The land-use ball is in BLM’s court.

Congressman Sam Farr Weighs Into Clear Creek Fight

The General wants to thank Congressman Sam Farr for weighing into the Clear Creek issue on behalf of the recreation public.

PHOTO: A check point at a Wildboar Enduro at Clear Creek

See March 4, 2010 Letter from Cong. Farr to the BLM
http://www.sharetrails.org/uploads/CCMR_Letter_March_10_scan.pdf

The Recreation HQ wants to thank the local voters who contacted Congressman Farr’s Office and advised him on this issue. Mr. Ed Tobin, for one, has worked hard to keep the Congressman informed and has had at least one meeting at Farr’s Office regarding CCMA.

Stay tuned as a lot of folks are working hard to secure a 90-day extension on the public comment period.

Thanks for your service!

NATIONAL CALL TO ACTION - Send Letter Today to Save Clear Creek

The Recreation HQ is issuing a national CALL TO ACTION and asking riders and other public land interests throughout the country to send a loud and important message to the BLM that OHVers want valid science to be used in the decision-making process and not the fatally flawed 2008 EPA Asbestos Risk Assessment.

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PHOTO - Help Give the CCMA DEIS The Boot!
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Also, The General is concerned the BLM risks creating a new and arbitrary “health risk paradigm” at CCMA that is unwarranted and in fact actually creates a liability for the agency at CCMA and other recreation sites (naturally occurring asbestos is in 43 counties in California) where none has historically existed. Via the Federal Tort Claims Act, Congress has indemnified the agency as long as the land manager informs the public (usually through signing prescriptions and educational outreach) of the health or safety risks. Why has the BLM’s Hollister Field Office selected this unwise pathway? It looks like the Hollister Field Office has opened a legal “can-of-worms.”

If there is one action item you do this week, The General believes it should be sending a letter (you can use the BRC’s letter generator linked below) to the BLM by the end of business on March 5, 2009. DON'T FORGET TO ASK THE BLM TO INCLUDE YOUR COMMENTS IN THE PUBLIC RECORD!

Please fwd the BRC alert with letter generator to your OHV rider email lists and/or business networks. The General remains committed to trying to reopen “The Creek” for historic OHV use. Be sure and add a paragraph detailing your history and interest in CCMA. Equestrians, mountain-bikers, and gem collectors who value public land access can use this letter generator as well.

BRC’s Action Alert with Letter Generator
http://www.sharetrails.org/letters/letter.php?id=50

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Link to OHMVR Commission Letter

http://www.sharetrails.org/uploads/CCMA_Com_Letter_3-2-10.pdf

Send this letter TODAY. This is one battle we must win in OHV Wars. I don’t want OHV to meet the same fate as my good friends in the forest products industry did during the Timber Wars in the 1990s.

--- The General

Carnegie and Executive Branch Authority and Discretion

One thing that surprised The General while attending the January 13 BLM CCMA DEIS public meeting in Coalinga was the number of ranchers and farmers who were monitoring the Carnegie SVRA crisis.

The main concern is that a victory by anti-OHV groups at Carnegie would open the legal floodgates for similar lawsuits - to be filed against property owners – that would seek to interfere with an agency's executive branch authority to exercise discretion regarding how they select to enforce state regulations.

An excellent response and overview on this topic by the CA Water Board on the Carnegie lawsuit is posted by my good friends at CarnegieForever.org:
http://carnegieforever.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/parks-v-superior-court-carnegie-svra-1-11-2010-signed.pdf

What the anti-OHV groups are doing at Carnegie could be likened to having some public interest group filing a lawsuit against the CHP for not properly enforcing the state’s driving or speed laws. As you know, the CHP is given a lot of discretion on how it deploys its officers to enforce said laws. Having a “citizen’s group” successfully insert itself into what is historically an administrative decision-making process at Carnegie could have grave impacts to private property owners, small businesses, and recreationists throughout the state.

As the Recreation HQ has stated before, 2010 will be a very challenging year for OHV access interests at Carnegie, CCMA, and elsewhere. The HQ thanks you for your service and support.

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.

CCMA Update - Harris Ranch Meeting - Join Our Quest to Reopen CCMA

Photo to left: Crowd at Harris
Ranch CCMA DEIS Meeting

Photo to right: The General giving
thumbs-down to closure

The General attended the BLM’s CCMA public meeting last night that was held at Harris Ranch near Coalinga. The ballroom was near packed to capacity with over 200 people in attendance. About ½ of the folks were OHVers and the other ½ were private property owners, gem collectors, small businesses, and ranchers. All spoke in favor of reopening CCMA to ALL users.

Friends of CCMA has an overview of the meeting and agenda
http://www.foccma.org/html/home/LatestNews.php

The next two meetings are as follows:

Jan. 14 – Veterans Memorial Hall, 649 San Benito St. – Hollister
Jan. 20 – Santa Clara Convention Center, 5001 Great America Parkway, Santa Clara

For those of you attending, I believe you should come prepared at 5:30 to each of the next two meeting with specific questions regarding your concerns on issues such as the validity of the EPA study, other scientific questions, flaws in agency analysis, or why the agency ignored much if not most of the science that was submitted during the scoping period, etc. Be sure and record the BLM and EPA’s answers to your questions.

Be sure and read BRC’s FOIA information that points out how there were even concerns by BLM staff regarding the science used in the EPA survey or how the draft report was massaged. Link below has BRC attorney letter with FOIA materials.
http://www.sharetrails.org/releases/?filter=media&story=652

Later on in the program, be prepared to articulate (3 minute speeches) your position on how this closure has and will impact your family, your business, and why you think the agency has made a mistake. Also, be prepared to offer a management solution like one person did at Harris Ranch.

One speaker pointed out that one of BLM’s sister agencies – the National Wildlife Refuge – uses signs (rather than a ban) warning fishermen about the danger of eating too much fish that may be contaminated with mercury and other toxins.

Survey on Signs and Fishermen
http://www.oehha.ca.gov/fish/pdf/anglrpt.pdf

Several other speakers also noted that other warning signs regarding health risks posed to pregnant women, elderly, etc. by using items such as cigarettes, alcohol, etc. are government approved ways to communicate health concerns to the public v. an outright ban.

The General agrees with the one or two speakers that stated to the group that at the end of the day, the CCMA is a political issue. On that note, I appreciated the fact that Senator Dianne Feinstein had a staffer there taking notes on this all too important issue. The Senator was helpful in protecting existing OHV routes in the 2006 North Coast Wilderness Bill and is also working to protect OHV recreation in the Johnson Valley area. Having your congressional representatives involved in the CCMA is very important.

As the FOCCMA website stated, BRC’s Don Amador spoke about how AMA, D36, TMC, CORVA, CAL4WD, BRC, FOCCMA, and SRMC are working in a cooperative manner to reopen the area to historic OHV uses. Amador also extended the hand of partnership to the gem collectors and ranchers to join our quest to reopen CCMA.

Stay tuned for updates. The General plans to be at the Jan. 20 CCMA meeting in Santa Clara and looks forward to visiting with you there.

Also, JOIN BRC and other groups to help us fight this closure
Join at:
https://www.sharetrails.org/secure/join_or_contribute/

The General’s Contact Info:
Don Amador
Recreation HQ
555 Honey Lane
Oakley, CA 94561
Email: damador@cwo.com

Forward this blog and info to your friends.

Thanks for your service and for attending these meetings.