Colorado OHV recreation threatened
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Wilderness bill puts Colorado OHV recreation in the crosshairs!
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Take Action!
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Contact your Representative to Oppose H.R. 4289!
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H.R. 4289, the Colorado Wilderness Act of 2009, introduced by Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO), will designate 34 areas totaling 850,000 acres as Wilderness, including 72,397 in Handies Peak, 20,025 in Browns Canyon and 38,594 at Redcloud Peak. This Wilderness designation will make the land off limits to off-highway vehicle (OHV) enthusiasts.
The Chairman of the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands of the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources has scheduled a hearing on March 11 to consider H.R. 4289.
With the Wilderness bill (Omnibus Public Land Management Act) signed into law last year, that prohibited OHV use on over 2 million acres, this Congress feels emboldened to continue pressing for passage of even more Wilderness bills that would take away additional OHV trails enjoyed responsibly by you, your friends and family.
We need your help to stop H.R. 4289 in its tracks. The fastest way to reach your Representative is to call them. You can find contact information for your elected officials at AmericanMotorcyclist.com > Rights > Issues & Legislation, then enter your zip code in the "Find your Officials" box. Additionally, a prewritten e-mail is available for you to send to your federal elected official immediately by following the "Take Action" option and entering your information.
If you plan to attend the March 11 hearing, the AMA is available to assist you with your congressional visit. Please advise our grassroots team, at grassroots@ama-cycle.org, of your visit so we can prepare a personalized information packet for you.
Please write or call your Representative today and ask them to oppose H.R. 4289.
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Granite Mountain update:
I had a tour meeting with Maria Baier ASLD Comm. and Jim Lane ,Mayor of Scottsdale back all most 2 months ago. At that meeting all agreed that what was going on at Granite Mountain was Wrong and was not working.
The so called closure was not being enforced and basically , no one knew it was closed but for those who were part of the original MOU group.
We all agreed to work on making this area work again.
To that end the Game and Fish Commissioner wrote a very good letter to the City of Scottsdale and the ASLD on why Granite Mountain should be reopened and that G and F would continue to support and help manage the area for multiuse /OHV use.
The City of Scottsdale was to vote on what would happen at Granite Mountain in November, nothing came up and it is now December. No signs have been posted to close area and ASLD web site shows that 2060 acres of this area are closed due to City of Scottsdale's Dust ordinance.........out of 16,000.
On or about the 3rd of December , ASLD requested that the Tonto Cave Creek ranger lock gate F between Forest service and ASLD Granite Mountain because of the Scottsdale dust ordinance.
NO other gate is locked or closed and there still are no signs telling you the area is closed.
What makes this so ridiculous is that Scottsdale allows the Jeep tours to continue legally to use Granite Mountain but ASLD closes the main route the Jeep tours use.........
So, I would like to ask you all again to email the following Cuplrits in this Fiasco.
Ask them to make up their mind and either open or close the area to all users.
WE AT AZOHVC and ATR will continue to offer to help manage this area and will work with both State Parks OHV program and Game and Fish OHV division to make this place meet County and States dust regulations , just as we have at the BLM Boulders OHV area.
Its no rocket science Folks!
So, as before , send these "Leaders" a note that you and your family enjoy the Granite Mountain area and would very much like to see it offically open again. That the current situation is not acceptable and doing more harm each day.
If other areas and cities in Maricopa County can figure out the dust problems and still have cars and OHV use unpaved surfaces..........so can Scottsdale.
Game and Fish as well as the rest of the OHV community are willing to help make Granite Mountain a great place to ride and play again.
Email these "Leaders"
Maria Baier State Land Commissioner
Email mbaier@land.az.gov
Make a decision on ,is it closed or not , close all gate if it is closed ! POST SIGNS NO motorized , that means no hiker access , no Jeep tours , no ATV tours, no horse trailers towed in and parked, no rock climber access by vehicle to climbing sites, no hunter access by motor vehicle , no hiking tours parking and heading to Balance Rock....ect.
Tonto National Forest District Ranger Cave Creek
Colleen Madrid
email cmadrid@fs.fed.us
Make ASLD pay for damaged gates from jeep tours trying to get on the TNF.
Mike Anable , Natural Resource advisor to the Governor
email manable@az.gov
Mike knows what OHV use is about and that it can cause Damage if un managed. We have talked to him on this issue before and let him know that the situation is ridiculous! Look at the groups willing to help ASLD manage the area and who is supporting the OHV use on the land............
Game and Fish "Mr Conservation"....if they think it is ok..........well its pretty safe to say they think leaving it go as managed now is a disaster! These guys are willing to help Scottsdale rewrite the dust ordinance to include motorized use and fix the mess Scottsdale made of the laws.
Mayor Jim Lane Scottsdale
email jlane@scottsdaleaz.gov
Let him know you supported his run as Mayor! This is not the way to treat Scottsdale residence who ride and tourist who have and would continue to come to Scottsdale to enjoy the trails and land of this Granite Mountain area! Its not working now , make a decision! WE would ask you keep it open!
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Check out this link to Channel 3 and a great story on positive OHV use at the Boulders and how the entire area could fall victim to budget cuts. This is great publicity for us folks, but we need each and everyone of you to be involved with your state and local governments to keep area's like this open.
http://www.azfamily.com/news/local/Boulders-OHV-Area-could-fall-victim-to-state-budget-battle-70664022.html
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Prescott National Forest is asking for OHV users to let them know if their new Motorized Trails and Roads map is accurate! Go to forest service www.fs.fed.us/r3/prescott/
Scroll down to the Travel Management and motor vehicle use maps picture and click on info on maps.
Look them over and if you have the App. .................draw in your routes.
If you cant draw on PDF maps from website , you can go to any Prescott FS office and get hard copy maps for your comments!
Dont figure someone else is going to do this for you! Make sure your favorite single track or ATV /Jeep road is on that map!
Tonto National Forest is going thru their Travel Management planning and has had several meetings on this subject.
Comment period ends Dec 4 2009 so dont wait to let them know where you ride and make sure you favorite trails are still on the maps!
Go to www.fs.fed.us/r3/tonto/home.shtml
Scroll down to TNF to hold series travel management open house.......
Or click on the Travel management Icon right hand side!
Dont let someone else pick the trails that will stay open.................make sure your trails are shown on the map!
Dont know what to do?? Send your track logs of the trails and areas on these two Forests to AZOHVC attn Jeff Gursh and I will add to our comments! BUT DONT WAIT!
Garmin gdb and mps files are good to go!
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Based on the work that our Lobbyist Nick and Jeff Gursh have done starting July 1st, 2009 State Trust Recreation Permits will be reverting back to their pre-2008 levels.
- Single Permit will be $15
- Family Permit will be $20
These are your donation dollars going to work for real on the ground OHV issues.
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BLM Cautions Public of Illegal Activities Occurring in Southern Arizona
Phoenix, Ariz. – Bureau of Land Management (BLM) public lands in southern Arizona continue to experience illegal activities, including drug and human smuggling. Visitors to public lands are encouraged to be aware of their surroundings while in southern Arizona. In the past, encounters with drug smugglers have typically been non-violent in nature; however, recent BLM law enforcement reports indicate smugglers may be armed and have displayedaggressive behavior toward people working or recreating on public lands in southern Arizona.
Visitors to BLM public lands in southern Arizona, including the Sonoran Desert and Ironwood Forest national monuments, need to be aware of these activities. Remember the following safety tips: Cell phone service is out of range in many remote areas. Know where you are at all times, follow good safety procedures and use common sense when making decisions.· Do not pick-up hitch hikers.· Keep valuables, including spare change, out of sight and lock your vehicle.· Avoid traveling outside of well-marked roads and routes.
People in distress may ask for food, water or other assistance. Do not make contact. Report the location of the distressed people to the nearest BLM or other law enforcement authority.· Report ANY suspicious behavior to the nearest BLM office or contact Law Enforcement Dispatch.
The BLM is alerting the public to be aware of their surroundings when visiting public lands in southern Arizona, and to follow the safety tips above. Your safety is important. If you see anything that looks illegal, suspicious or out of place, do not intervene. Note your location and call 911, or report it to the BLM Law Enforcement Dispatch at
(623) 580-5515, as quickly as possible.
The BLM manages more land – 256 million acres – than any other Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western States, including Alaska. The Bureau, with a budget of about $1 billion, also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM’s multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on publiclands.
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To see the work and reports from Jeff Gursh check out the reports section. This is the hardest working man in the OHV community.
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Checkout the new file in Documents by Don Hood AZOHVC How, What, When. This is a great introduction to the organization.