QWR Features Ed Santin's "Quiet" 2001 YZ250F

The Recreation HQ will be posting the sound levels reported to QWR from other “Quiet Warriors” out there in riding land who also work hard to promote a responsible “exhaust note” ethic.

*

PHOTO: Specialed on on his quiet 2001 YZ250F

*

On such individual is AMA District 36’s own Ed “specialed” Santin who remains a major national force in the field of sound education. Ed, a member of the Dirt Diggers North MC, has carried his message to the AMA, elected officials, state parks, and most importantly the riding community.

QWR is proud to feature Ed’s 2001 Yamaha YZ250F. with a Big Gun exhaust system with two quiet cores installed. The bike tests at 91.5 dBA and will run with any other 250F.

Specialed notes the bike is 10 years old and has only required one piston change and some valve shims. One of his goals is to have “sound cards” produced so that they can be handed out to riders by groups such as AMA, BRC, D36, and QWR.

Thanks Ed for all you do and for being part of the Quiet Warrior Team. It is only fitting that your bike is the first “quiet bike” to be featured here at the HQ.

If you are a quiet warrior, please feel free to send in a short description and photo of your bike with its most current sound level reading as detected by a certified OHV sound tester.

Thanks for your service!

Email submissions to: damador@quietwarriorracing.com

Quiet Warrior Racing Announces Official Sound Bike for 2010

The General is proud to announce that Quiet Warrior Racing has selected (actually it was donated) its official sound education bike for 2010. As some of you know, The General has been on the forefront of advocating for the use of sound compliant exhaust systems on off-highway motorcycles. QWR is now supporting that same ethic for street bikes using SAE J -2825.

Over the years as a land use consultant to the BRC, he has promoted 96dBA on public lands using the SAE J-1287 20 inch sound test for OHVs. Since 1996, TG has also helped as a volunteer sound tester at various OHV events held on public and private lands.

Recently, he renamed his consulting business to Quiet Warrior Racing. QWR is a recreation and natural resource-based land use firm that specializes in a number of venues including; event support, field research, public land policy analysis, legal research, political consulting, product evaluation, government/media affairs, and public relations. It will also offer some gear with official QWR logo.

QWR will allow TG to continue his efforts to champion a responsible on and off-road land use ethic for BRC and other interests. To make that work fun, QWR will be campaigning for the rest of 2010 on a well-used (and in need of few upgrades) 1994 Suzuki RMX 250. With a repacked 90s era FMF ISDE Spark Arrester it tests at 92 dBA at 3750 rpm.

If you are interested in sponsoring the efforts of QWR or the RMX feel free to drop TG a note at:

Don Amador, Owner
Quiet Warrior Racing
555 Honey Lane
Oakley, CA 94561
Email: damador@quietwarriorracing.com

Office: 925.625.5309

If you want to support QWR by bidding on an official T-Shirt go to:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Official-Quiet-Warrior-Racing-T-Shirt-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQitemZ120608426468QQptZApparelQ5fMerchandise

Thanks to those who are already supporting QWR -- it means more than you really can ever know.

Congressman Herger Sends Letter to Sec. Harris Sherman Regarding TMR

The Recreation HQ wants to give riders an update regarding the fight for OHV access in Region 5. As you know, the Shasta Trinity National Forest and many other units under guidance from Region 5 (head office of the FS in CA) have closed thousands of miles of historic trails and logging roads to both street legal and green sticker vehicles.

*

PHOTO: Jeep road (marked as open on current Forest Map) to a cool lookout was closed to all vehicles in Shasta Trinity ROD.

*

A lot of OHV groups and county officials have protested these unfair closures and were joined by Congressman Wally Herger. Congressman Herger has again weighed into this battle with an August 11 letter to Harris Sherman, an Undersecretary of Agriculture.

Herger’s June 9 and11 Letters to Region 5
http://thegeneralsrecreationden.blogspot.com/2010/06/congress-weighs-into-shasta-county-v-fs.html

Aug. 11 Herger Letter to the Undersecretary
http://www.sharetrails.org/uploads/TMR_Herger_Sherman_Followup_Aug_11.pdf

The General has shared his frustration with Region 5 on many occasions about the unprecedented steps it took to misuse TMR to close roads, trails, and areas to legitimate OHV use.

With Subpart A waiting in the wings to be launched in September by Region 5, the question for them is if they will take a step back from hard deadlines and put some flexibility in Subpart A to allow for units to do important trail planning projects, etc.

See Blog on Recent Subpart A Focus Group Meeting
http://thegeneralsrecreationden.blogspot.com/2010/08/update-on-subpart-focus-group-meets-for.html

Stay tuned for more updates on the never ending TMR saga in Region 5.

An NCA or Monument is Coming to a Riding Area Near You

The Recreation HQ has been very busy over the last few days dealing with a number of access issues and wants to share its thoughts with you regarding the ARRA news release on August 6 about the rest of DOI’s “secret documents” related to the creation of National Monuments by the Obama administration.

ARRA link to DOI Documents
http://www.arra-access.com/site/DocServer/Treasured_Landscapes.pdf?docID=281

News Article on Document Find
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=11872071

As you know, The General is a veteran of many battles in OHV Wars starting with Clinton’s War on the West in the mid 1990s. Those fights included the Clinton/Gore unholy triad of Forest “Rules.”

Planning Rule – This rule birthed the subsequent Bush-era planning rules that were successfully challenged by environmental groups and the new Obama planning effort that excludes the topic of recreation from the proposal.

Transportation/Roads Rule – This rule spawned the Bush-era TMR that has been perverted on many Forests to close thousands of miles of OHV routes.

Roadless Rule - This rule continues to be litigated. BRC and others are still in court on this issue.

The simple lesson learned from those battles is when the environmental/political industrial complex fronts such proposals that you as a rider will see some manifestation of those plans enacted into law or created by presidential fiat.

What is interesting - albeit very disturbing - about the newly acquired documents is that DOI is recommending to the White House that if local NCA or National Monument proposals are not worked out with the local users that the president should bypass the collaborative process and designate the project area as a National Monument.

While it is commendable and certainly appropriate to object in principle to a NCA designation in areas that are already “protected” by federal land use laws and regulations, The General believes that OHV should be involved in any local stakeholder process regarding proposed NCA or National Monument legislation.

BRC Support of the Collaborative Process in S. 2921
http://www.sharetrails.org/uploads/BRC_Written_Testimony_on_S.2921_05.25.10_FINAL.pdf

Should riders and clubs continue to object to the misuse of the Antiquities Act by the president to make restrictive land designations? The General believes the answer is a solid yes.

However, when OHV is given the opportunity to participate in a stakeholder group - regarding upcoming legislation - we should. That is the current political paradigm - like it or not.

A big salute to all of you who remain engaged during these very difficult times.

Access State of Emergency Declared in Northern California Forest?

Recently, the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors reviewed the possibility of declaring a state of emergency on lands managed by the Mendocino National Forest because of the threat to public safety by illegal dope growers.

Aug 5 Article on State of Emergency
http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/ci_15681577

On June 21, HQ blogged about the closure and signs posted in AZ warning the public of criminal activity on the border including drug smuggling and human trafficking.
In that post, The General suggested the Forest Service take a break from travel management to focus its resources on real issues such as illegal dope growing vs. the faux issue of a grave environmental crisis posed by OHV use.

Actually, it is well known that the best defense against illegal dope growers is to have a managed and well-used OHV trail system (criminals don’t like to be in areas where there are a lot of people). Dope growers mostly practice their trade in areas where motorized public access has been restricted or banned.

Blog on Illegal Activity and Request to Push the TMR Reset Button
http://thegeneralsrecreationden.blogspot.com/2010/06/criminal-invasion-closes-public-lands.html

For those of you who ride in the Mendocino NF, the threat to public safety because of increased marijuana growing is nothing new. Many of us remember that last year, the agency basically banned its law enforcement officers from patrolling federal land in the Covelo area.

Rather than starting Subpart A’s TAP process in September, HQ urges the agency to focus LE efforts on protecting the public. In addition, R5 should postpone TAP on Forests where there is a need to do post Subpart B project level trail plans in fulfillment of the agency’s promise that Subpart B was “just the beginning.”

Again, things are 180 degrees backwards in the country. Trail riders are being banned from historic routes while criminal activity is being ignored. HQ suggests the federal government spend more time addressing real crime vs. trying to make criminals out of law abiding citizens who like to ride a dirt-bike or drive a jeep.

Thanks for your service!

Update on Subpart A - Focus Group Meets for R5 Program

Yesterday, The General (on behalf of BRC) participated in a Region 5 focus group hosted by the Center for Collaborative Policy. The meeting was related to the September rollout of the Forest Service’s Subpart A Travel Analysis Process (TAP).

The following groups (a lot of heavy hitters) were invited to attend the meeting in Sacramento. Here is the list; American Hiking Society, Backcountry Horsemen Association, Blue Ribbon Coalition, California State Parks OHV Division, California State Water Resources Control Board, California Association of 4-Wheel Drive Clubs, California Equestrian Trails and Lands Coalition, California Off-Road Vehicle Association, California Outdoor Heritage Alliance, Center for Sierra Nevada Conservation, Great Old Broads for Wilderness, International Mountain Bike Association, National Forest Recreation Association, Pacific Crest Trail Association, Recreation Outdoors Coalition, Regional Council of Rural Counties, The Wilderness Society, Trout Unlimited, and the Wildlands CPR/ Natural Trails & Water Coalition.

Six Steps of TAP
http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/cibola/travel-management/tm_magdalena/tap/appendix_i/appendix_i_summary.pdf

The FS said the main focus of TAP in Region 5 is to analyze level 1 and 2 roads. Remember that level 2 roads are the roughly graded roads that are open to green sticker vehicles. TAP will also look at level 3-5 roads and some trails although the agency spokesman said that system trails are not part of this process.

HQ has several initial concerns with this process. First, TAP (a non-NEPA process) is replacing the Roads Analysis Process (a NEPA process). Although the agency said TAP is not a decision document, it will in fact be used to influence or drive subsequent site-specific (road ripping/decommissioning, road closures, trail closures) and programmatic (Forest Plans) NEPA processes.

Historically, anti-OHV groups advocate for NEPA to be used on all planning efforts (with a special focus for OHV) because it allows them to gum up any trail project with appeals, lawsuits, and objections. However, when The General and CAL4WD articulated our concerns about TAP not being a NEPA process… the hard-core green groups sat in stone cold silence with Cheshire cat grins on their faces. That silence spoke volumes.

Secondly, the past history of Region 5 creating special and unique access restrictions (i.e. 3 mile limit on mixed-use roads, little or no designation of unauthorized routes, etc.) because of threats of lawsuits or the actual filing a lawsuits could mean that the game is rigged where the greens bury the agency with an avalanche of “environmental concerns” thereby creating controversy… thus closures. Many of us witnessed that paradigm in Subpart B of TMR in Region 5 and it could rear its ugly head in TAP.

Third, R5 has set a hard deadline of January 2012 for completion by all Forests in CA. HQ has concerns about arbitrary deadlines that preclude a quality product such as was evidenced in Subpart B.

The “trust factor” was also brought up for discussion by the spokesperson for Rural Counties.

The representative from the California Outdoor Heritage Alliance made the point that the historic use of the Forest (hunter camps, fishing access, OHV use, equestrian trails, etc.) is already well known by the Forest since much of that use has been going on for decades. And, the fact that the public is using the Forest should be a key foundation in TAP.

HQ believes that historic and current use should be just as important if not more so than the soon to be released data dump by enviro groups citing pending environmental disasters if most of the roads used by OHVs are not closed.

Be assured, HQ will continue to give input into TAP and will review it when rolled out in September. Will TAP be simply a continuation of a process that disenfranchises the public and local governments or will it be a new start? That question will have to be answered by Region 5.

Thanks for your service and thanks to the pro-access groups for being there!

PS – It was disappointing and embarrassing to see IMBA carrying the water for the anti-OHV groups at this meeting.

New Anti-OHV Lawsuit to Stop Bridges and Toilets

By now, many riders that follow the Recreation HQ are aware of another anti-OHV lawsuit filed on July 30 by the Center for Biological Diversity and the Center for Sierra Nevada Conservation against OHMVR and the Eldorado National Forest.
*

Photo: The General on a trail in the Rock Creek Area

*

CBD News Release on New Lawsuit
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2010/eldorado-orv-07-30-2010.html

Text of Lawsuit
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/public_lands/off-road_vehicles/pdfs/Petition_Rock_Creek_07-28-2010.pdf

The filing of this new lawsuit in state court (yet another example in the long line of anti-OHV lawsuits filed by the aforementioned antagonists) seeks to establish a new regulatory “high bar” for grants awarded for trail projects on federal lands. The suit actually is complaining about many of the trail improvements that these plaintiffs have been demanding over the years to address dirt bikes crossing the steam and sanitation at the campgrounds.

The suit complains about new bridges being installed to keep OHVs out of the water crossings, new trail construction, and new toilets being installed where people camp. That’s right… complain about dirt bikes crossing the creek and sanitation and then when the FS/OHMVR works to address those concerns… sue them!

Again, the suit fails to acknowledge those details as well as the fact that OHV recreation has been an “authorized” and approved use of the area via the Forest Plan and the Rock Creek EIS.

The General knows OHMVR and the FS are reviewing this case and believes they too are troubled by the Center’s ongoing and unrelenting efforts to close the area for both casual riding and permitted AMA sanctioned events.

Make no mistake; this suit is a direct attack on users, the FS, and the OHV Division’s grant program. OHV legal interests should be watching this case and intervene at the appropriate time should the need arise.

HQ thanks the followers of this blog who are just as, if not more so, committed to defending our preferred form of recreation from unjust legal action by extreme environmental groups.

Thanks for your service!