CA RTP
According to the September 6, 2013 edition of Federal
Parks and Recreation, the States of California, Maine and Kansas - at one time
questionable participants in the fiscal year 2014 Recreational Trails Program
(RTP) - all enrolled this week. The 2014
program actually begins October 1. Only
Florida opted out.
Earlier this year, the State of California stated it
would opt out of the $85 million per year program. Those monies are generated by off-road federal
fuel taxes. HQ believes that a large
grassroots effort helped persuade state officials to change their minds and
stay in the program.
NEW FS VISITOR REPORT
The Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Forest
Service are released a report that highlights the growing number of visitors to
the national forests. The report (FY
2008-2012) stated that approximately 161 million users visited agency
lands. That number is up slightly from
the 159 million visitors in FY-2007-2011.
New U.S. Forest Service Visitor Report
http://www.fs.fed.us/recreation/programs/nvum/2012%20National_Summary_Report_061413.pdf
The report stated that visitors who live more than 50
miles from the forest account for the bulk of these contributions and they
spend about $5 billion annually. The
forest visitor spending contributes about $13 billion to U.S economy.
Motorized users were cast into three categories: OHV use,
motorized trail activity, and driving for pleasure. HQ believes this report shows that motorized
recreation or motorized access to non-motorized activities continues to be
important elements of the recreation opportunity spectrum on federal lands.
HQ believes that an increasing number of those 300
million visitors “driving for pleasure” in or near forest lands includes adventure
bike enthusiasts.
FLREA - Use Fees
Currently the Forest Service and BLM can charge fees under
the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (FLREA).
With FLREA scheduled to expire on Dec. 8, 2014, the House
subcommittee on Interior appropriations voted on July 23 to approve a one-year
extension. The extension would run
through Dec. 8, 2015.
This will be a very busy two months for OHV professionals
as Congress votes on trail-related appropriations, holds hearings on proposed
OHV bills, and hopefully approves several OHV-related bills that are before
them including H.R. 1776, the Clear Creek National Recreation Area Act and Congressman
Cook’s Johnson Valley National OHV Recreation Area Act.
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Posts
The FS Visitor report (Table 10) highlights activities that are deemed to be 'physically active'. Interesting that neither 'Motorized Trail Activity' nor 'OHV Use' are identified as such. This is an important distinction, as many initiatives that get people more physically active are encouraged and supported. There's research out there that supports that dirt bikes in particular are physically demanding, and it doesn't take long for a disbeliever to change their mind once they actually try it! Would encourage advocacy to alter this perception of dirt bikes being 'passive' recreation.
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