COMMENT ON CA OHV GRANTS MADE EASY - DO IT TODAY

IMPORTANT TO COMMENT ON CA OHV GRANTS!!! -  Since there are many new OHVers who have joined various off-road forums, clubs, etc. , The Recreation HQ wanted to try and help you navigate the OHV grant review and comment process.  This is an important opportunity for you to comment on what you like at your favorite riding area (i.e. trails, agency staff, maps, volunteer programs, etc.) or to comment on a NEW project such as the Mendocino Coastal Parks Recreation Planning Grant request to potentially site a new OHV park near Fort Bragg.

The CA OHV Grant Program staff has done a great job of explaining how to participate at the main grant website:

CA OHV Grant Webpage

http://ohv.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=1164

However, there are several steps to review projects and make comments.   For starters, the HQ recommends that you click on the “2017/2018 Public Comments to Preliminary Grants” link in the upper right hand corner of the main webpage under “Related Pages.”  You can then go down the list of grant applications from FS, BLM, non-profits, law enforcement, local Districts, etc.  Only the grants that are in BOLD letters have received comments – so if a grant has light lettering … there are no comments yet.

Once you have looked at what grants have received comments, then click on the link below to go to where you can review specific grants and make comments.

Review and Comment Here

http://olga.ohv.parks.ca.gov/egrams_ohmvr/user/ReviewProjects.aspx

To find the list of grant applications you have to click on the BOLD “3 dot button just to the right of *agency.”  For example if you want to comment on the Fort Bragg OHV Park scroll down until you get to the Mendocino Coastal Parks Recreation Grant on page 2. 

Some sample talking points for the Mendocino Coastal Parks Grant could be

·         A new OHV park in the Fort Bragg area will provide legal and sustainable OHV recreation for local residents and visitors. 

·         Many OHV recreationists would visit the “coastal” park during the summer when it is hot inland. 

·         It would provide an economic boost to local businesses.

·         Local law enforcement would have a place to direct riders who want to recreate in a legal area.

There are 3 pages of grants so be sure and click through those 3 pages to see all the grants.

The public review and comment period for the 2017/18 Grants and Cooperative Agreements Program begins Tuesday, March 6, 2018, and ends Monday, April 2, 2018 5:00PM

Trust me when I tell you that grant applicants look forward to your comments AND they greatly appreciate it.  It is your chance to offer advice and/or support.  Take a few minutes and comment on some grants! 

OHV Meets "Challenge" of 21st Century at Torrance Commission Meeting

The recent CA OHV Commission meeting/tour in the LA area made me Trail Proud and highlighted why the OHV community (consultants, clubs, lobbyists, industry, partners, supporters, agency, advocates, et al) should take pride in how this highly popular outdoor activity has matured over the last 30 years into a sport that has effective professional and volunteer representation at the grassroots, administrative, legal, and political levels.

CA OHV Commission Meeting in Torrance, CA

I feel it is important to share with you my quick takeaways from the last two days.  So, I will break them down into a few of the most important topics.

Reauthorization of the CA OHV Program – OHV’s collective efforts over the last 7 months was acknowledged by legislative leads from State Parks and the Governor’s Office when they stated for the record that the administration could simply not support Senator Allen’s SB249 as written because it was too complex and had too many unachievable requirements.   Instead they are using the current SB742 language as the basis for reauthorization and meeting with Senator Allen to review potential language that might address his concerns without destroying the program.  We should see the results of this effort over the course of the next two weeks as the legislative sausage-making draws to a close for 2017.

State Park/Administration Leads Give Update on Reauthorization Process

State Parks Transformation Process - As many of you know, there has been an ongoing process over the last 2 years or more by State Parks to try and modernize the State Park System (both motorized and non-motorized units) to make it more streamlined, relevant, and responsive to the public.  27 years ago when I started my OHV career, the OHMVR program was considered more of a bother than an important member of the Parks’ family.  Based on that past history, many in OHV had concerns that the OHMVR Division/Program would lose its identity and specialized skills if it was integrated into the “Family.”

L to R - Randy Short, Commissioner CA Boating and Waterways - Paul Slavik, Commissioner CA OHV Program - Don Amador, Trail Guy

To Parks’ credit, their leadership listened to those concerns and made a substantive effort to learn about how OHV recreation (and our powersports sister agency – Boating and Waterways) has become a critical and important factor in the statewide recreation opportunity spectrum.  

Presentation at Urban State Park in LA

In fact, commission and executive staff from the CA Department of Boating and Waterways were at the OHV commission meeting/tour.  This represents Parks’ commitment to cross-pollenate (i.e. better appreciate and utilize) the skills, staff, and other resources that exist in the various motorized and non-motorized State Park programs.

LAPD Off-Road Patrol talks about their Partnership with the OHV Program

 The commission tour and meeting which largely featured how Parks (both motorized and non-motorized) is working to achieve those aforementioned transformation goals and objectives.

Preparing Youth for Service 

Youth Movement – The meeting/tour also highlighted how OHV recreation and Parks is playing an important role in serving the children and teens of South LA.  Attendees had the privilege to tour the Challenger Boys and Girls Club in South LA and see the many youth development programs they manage.  One of those programs is the National Youth Project Using Minibikes (NYPUM) that uses small dirt-bikes to teach self-esteem and life values.

Challengers Club Director Talks About NYPUM Training Site

MYPUM was founded in 1993 and is supported by the American Honda Motor Company.  It is managed by the Robert F. Kennedy Children’s Action Corps in Boston, MA.

We also learned about a recent field trip where youth from the NYPUM program got to ride dirt-bikes at Hungry Valley State Vehicular Recreation Area… they had a blast!

Closing Personal Observation – It was sort of an emotional time for me at the commission meeting that was being held at the Honda Museum since it was several of their Rider Education Program leads (Paul Slavik and Charlie Keller) in the early 1990s that helped mentor me in the early part of my OHV advocacy and trail stewardship career. 

Over the years, I put a lot miles on a non-factory version of this Honda XR600

 As a member and former chairman of the OHV commission (circa mid/late 1990s), I was proud of that oversight body’s growth and professionalism over the years that was noted by several folks I talked with at the meeting.  I also want to commend Commission Chair Cabral, other commissioners, agency staff, and partners for their ongoing efforts to champion environmentally sound OHV recreation for current and future generations.

OHV must remain ever vigilant.  But on occasion, it is important for us to celebrate the many positive steps that we have accomplished over the last 30-50 years.

OPINION - Transformation of the CA State Park Transformation Process

State Park Director and CA OHMVR Commission Listen

to Public Input on the Transformation Team Process

August 11, 2016, Ontario Double Tree Hotel

Opinion

By Don Amador

Date: 8/14/16

Words: 374

*Permission to reprint is hereby granted

Transformation of the Transformation Process

The terms “honest” and “genuine” have not been adjectives normally associated with leadership at the California State Parks Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR).  This is especially true when it comes to how DPR has treated the OHV community over the last 30 years.

It has been my experience that self-proclaimed experts (often with an anti-OHV bias) at DPR decided what was best for the OHV program and then crafted a public process that would support a preordained outcome.

A chief concern of mine with the Transformation Team (TT) over the last few months is that it was just another process where government appointees with little substantive knowledge of the OHV program were following the traditional decision-tree at DPR.

After attending the August 11, 2016, TT meeting with OHV stakeholders in Ontario, California, my concerns about the future of the OHV program have been somewhat allayed by the precedent setting substantive engagement efforts of State Park Director, Lisa Mangat, and her management team.

Most impressive has been their willingness to acknowledge and address the institutional bias at DPR against OHV and other forms of active recreation.   There is a reason why reference (photos, printed materials, etc.) to our nine State Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Areas (SVRAs) and riding opportunities on federal and non-state lands have been largely scrubbed or hidden from public view at the main agency website.

Over the last six weeks, I have seen a rather marked shift in the tone and direction of the TT’s narrative as it relates to potential recommendations for the OHV program.  Because of their engagement with OHV leadership, partners, and other stakeholders they are beginning to understand the complex size and scope of the program and how it has become woven into the economic fabric of California.

Director Mangat said that no TT policy recommendations have been written yet and that it is critically important for OHV stakeholders to remain engaged with the process.

At this juncture, I believe the at-large OHV community should give them the benefit-of-the-doubt and continue to readily embrace this genuine effort by the agency to craft a plan that secures the future of our world-class OHV program.

# # #

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.  Don is also a 2016 Inductee into the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame.  He may be reached via email at: damador@cwo.com

Op Ed - EVISCERATION OF THE CA OHV PROGRAM

It appears that hostile political forces in Sacramento are on the verge of functionally eliminating the CA Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division (OHMVRD) which includes OHV-related grant funding to the Forest Service, BLM, counties, local sheriffs’ departments, non-profit trail and conservation groups, and other partners.

The State Parks Transformation Team is recommending that OHMVRD, which is a separate and highly specialized department, is moved back into the offices of the CA Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR).

In the early 1990s when OHMVRD was located at/in DPR, the OHV program languished in obscurity and irrelevancy while trying to operate under the oppressive bureaucratic thumb of apathetic and/or anti-OHV Resource Agency and DPR leadership.

Even worse, prior to 1982 the entire OHV program was divided up among numerous Parks Department Divisions and had no cohesive element. Employees would work on OHV for a few hours and then move to other unrelated projects. There was no opportunity to develop the expertise and understanding of OHV that has evolved since the legislature saw fit to create a separate Division to oversee the program and an Independent Commission to concentrate on making sure resources are allocated where they are needed to provide a safe and enjoyable OHV experience while protecting California's environment."

It is important to remember that the OHV program has a distinct mission that is often lost in DPR where there has been (and apparently continues today) a corporate or institutional movement to end or severely restrict motorized recreation, MTBs, and horses on DPR lands.   

Based on what I know today, I believe the Transformation Team’s proposal has nothing to do with improving government efficiency.   Rather, it is a crass political maneuver to eviscerate the OHV program and lay the groundwork for permanently sunsetting the program on January 1, 2018.

The good news in the dark aforementioned potential future of OHV is that there are millions of motorized recreationists who can speak up as a strong political force against the Transformation Team’s plan.  

Your loud voice was heard 20 years ago to save the CA OHV program and now government officials in Sacramento need to hear from you once again!

# # #

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

Support YOUR Favorite CA OHV Grant Projects - Comment Period Ends April 6, 2015

OHV Grant Supported OHV Bridge

Tahoe NF

The Recreation HQ is back in 2015 with one of our first alerts and that is in regards to letting your voice be heard when it comes to support for the CA OHV Grant Program.

OHV Restoration Grant

Mendocino NF

The CA OHV Grant Program provides critical funding to help augment congressional appropriations for OHV recreation on federal lands.  Having served on the Region 5 Recreation Resource Advisory Committee and OHMVR Commission, I can attest to the important role the grant program plays to ensure that OHV recreation remains a viable activity on FS/BLM lands and county parks.  Managing sustainable OHV recreation in the 21^st Century requires an “all hands approach” which includes grants, appropriated funds, and volunteerism.

OHV Grant for Signs/Safety

BLM Samoa Dunes Recreation Area

The OHMVR Division has made it easy to comment by going to the link below.  The comment period ends on April 6, 2015. This period provides an opportunity for the public to review and provide comments to the preliminary applications submitted to the OHMVR Division for consideration during the 2014/15 grant cycle.

LINK to Comments

http://olga.ohv.parks.ca.gov/egrams_ohmvr/user/home.aspx

OHV Grant to Reopen Youngs Corral Bypass

Mendocino NF

Remember this is your program and your letter shows both support for the applicants and the OHMVR Division grant staff that works hard to administer the process.

Thanks!

Don