Latest News
CPR AND CHAINSAW CLASS CANCELED
6-23-08
THE FOREST SERVICE HAS HAD TO CANCEL THE CPR AND CHAINSAW CLASS THAT WAS TO BE HELD ON 6-24-27-08 DUE TO THE RECENT LIGHTING STRIKE FIRES IN THE SIERRA NATIONAL FOREST
PLEASE KEEP CHECKING BACK FOR A NEW CLASS DATE
MIKE
Miami Trails Cleanup Day
Stewards of the Sierra National Forest and Racers under the Son are newly formed off-highway vehicle clubs in Fresno that have organized to work with the Forest Service to help maintain roads and trails in our National Forest.
The two organizations recently partnered with the Sierra National Forest Bass Lake Ranger District to clean up the forest around the Bass Lake district. More than two dozen volunteers spent the morning and hot afternoon picking up trash and debris that had accumulated along the roads and trails.
Two truck loads of trash were collected and removed, including half of a car body, a 15'x 12' roll of carpet, old car engine parts and discarded tires. Although it was a hot weekend, everyone pushed through the heat and worked as a team. Volunteers enjoyed hot dogs and drinks provided by RUTS and SOTSNF. The combined cleanup efforts paid off and a noticeable improvement was made to our public lands.
Both organizations are looking forward to the next opportunity to help with keeping their beloved trails clean.
For more information visit our website, SOTSNF.org
Stewards of the Sierra National Forest (SOTSNF)
Racers Under The Son (RUTS)
Gates to Close More Forest Roads
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California Roadless Suit Means More Gates Installed on Forest Service OHV Routes
Click image to enlarge.
The State contends the Forest Plans fail both to comply with various federal laws and to properly "harmonize" the State's input on "roadless area" management with the long-range federal planning vision.
The Recreation Groups filed a motion to intervene on May 15th in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (Case No. C 08-1185-MHP). The groups petitioning the court include the California Association of Four Wheel Drive Clubs, American Motorcyclist Association District 36, California Enduro Riders Association, and the BlueRibbon Coalition,.
"Once again, the motorized recreation community have little choice but to respond to attempts to close treasured access to historical roads in these 'roadless' areas," said Don Spuhler, Cal4 President. "Apparently high levels of State leadership are dissatisfied by the prospect that these routes continue in use despite the Clinton Roadless Rule and unprecedented Forest Service travel management efforts. We believe it essential to defend this access and proper understanding of the forest planning process," Spuhler concluded.
The Motion to Intervene is presently scheduled to be heard on June 30, 2008.
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The California Association of 4 Wheel Drive Clubs is a California nonprofit organization actively promoting conservation and responsible vehicle-oriented recreation. The Association represents over 8,000 members and 160 member clubs. 1-800-4x4-FUNN. www.cal4wheel.com
The BlueRibbon Coalition is a national recreation group that champions responsible use of public and private lands, and encourages individual environmental stewardship. It represents over 10,000 individual members and 1,200 organization and business members, for a combined total of over 600,000 recreationists nationwide. 1-800-258-3742. www.sharetrails.org
Trail Appreciation Day
Trail Appreciation Day
Miami Creek
Kamook Staging Area
Sunday May 18, 2008
Please come join Stewards of the Sierra National Forest and the Bass Lake Ranger District for a fun day of riding and trail appreciation support at the Miami Creek Riding Area located off of Hiway 41 just above Oakhurst Ca. We will meet at the Kamook Staging area at 10:00 a.m. and will split into groups from there. Our mission for the day is to have some fun riding around the area and at the same time help remove some of the unsightly waste left lying around. There will be sodas and bottled water available, and the Forest Service will provide all of the needed supplies to accomplish this great task. So bring your lunch and your favorite OHV and come out and have some fun and make a difference in our forest. Lets show the Forest Service how much we care about our Sierra National Forest and how working together we can keep it open for everybody to enjoy.
Our Goverment Stealing from the Public Again
United States Department of the Interior
Bureau of Land Managment
Hollister Field Office
20 Hamilton Court
Hollister Ca. 95023
831-630-5000-Office
831-630-5055-Fax
EMERGENCY CLOSURE EFFECTIVE MAY 1, 2008 OF 31,000 ACRES WITHIN THE
CLEAR CREEK MANAGEMENT AREA
INFORMATION FACT SHEET
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began conducting a study in 2004 on asbestos exposures experienced by CCMA users during typical recreational activities. The study was conducted to provide BLM with information to manage and minimize human health risks at the CCMA and to update a similar study conducted by the BLM in 1992.
On May 1, 2008 the EPA released the report, "CCMA Asbestos Exposure and Human Health Risk Assessment." The report stated the exposures measured by EPA for many recreational activities at CCMA are "above the EPA acceptable risk range of lifetime cancers." It also notes that children "have greater risk than adults due to higher exposure measurements [and] are of special concern because their exposures occur earlier in their lives.
Based on the findings in the report, BLM simultaneously enacted an immediate temporary closure on May 1, 2008 of 31,000 acres of the area to all public access/entry upon release of the EPA report while a Resource Management Plan (RMP) to determine the long-term management of the area is underway. The BLM's number one priority is to protect the public's health and safety.
Over the next two years, BLM will be preparing a Resource Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement to guide the long-term management of public lands within the CCMA. EPA and BLM will host a public meeting to discuss the results of the EPA Human Health Risk Assessment and BLM will discuss the need for the temporary emergency closure on May 8, 2008.
The Fee Program has been suspended and partial refunds will be issued to all persons who purchased a Season Pass.
Public Meetings
May 8, Santa Clara Convention Center, 5001 Great America Parkway, Santa Clara, EPA and BLM, open house from 3:00 – 5:00 pm, meeting from 6:00 – 9:00 pm
May 19, Veteran's Memorial Hall, 649 San Benito St., Hollister, 6:00 – 8:00 pm
May 21, Martin Luther King Jr. Library Room 225, 150 E. San Fernando St., San Jose, 6:00 – 8:00 pm
For More Information
Contact the Hollister Field Office at (831) 630-5000 or visit our website at http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/hollister/clear_creek_management_area.
It’s Club Nite at Yamaha 99.
It’s Club Nite at Yamaha 99.
28615 Green Ct.
Madera Ca. 93637
559-645-4545
We have been asked to include all the local OHV clubs in our monthly party nite.
Sounds great to us at Yamaha 99!
We love off roading just as much as the next guy or gal!
So please come by and enjoy the festivities Saturday April 5th from 4:00 to 10:00 pm.
Bring out your rigs and show them off.
We will have several bands that night, a great BBQ, prizes, show and shine, Big Love Boxing and some other fun stuff. It’s a time for socializing and sharing experiences.
To all our OHV friends it can be a time to connect and talk about the proposed closures in our National Forests and elsewhere in the state, and develop stronger ways to network and work as a team to keep open the trails we love.
Please join us the evening of April 5th from 4:00 to 10:00 pm for lots of fun and fellowship.
Thanks,
Jim Riley
Owner- Yamaha 99
OHV Hard Work Starting to Pay Off
YOUR GOVERNMENT AT WORK
Ruling allows wilderness trails to stay open
'There are implications not only in California, but also nationwide'
Posted: January 16, 2008
1:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2008 WorldNetDaily.com
 Trail riders enjoying California's back-country |
A federal government decision that will allow back-country trails for Jeeps and other off-highway vehicles to remain open in a national forest in northern California is being seen as a precedent that could have implications for other such disputes now developing, a trail advocate says.
The recent decision came from Smith River National Recreation Area Road Management and Route Designation Project on the Six Rivers National Forest, according to Don Amador, the western representative for the Blue Ribbon Coalition.
The organization is a national recreation group that champions responsible use of public and private lands, and "encourages individual environmental stewardship." It represents more than 10,000 individual members and another 1,200 groups that act on behalf of a total of 600,000 people nationwide.
The BRC had joined with Del Norte County in an appeal of the decision that would have closed more than 14 miles of historic off-highway vehicle motorized trails in the Six Rivers National Forest.
The appeal deciding officer now has reversed the proposed closure, Amador said.
"This decision clearly supports BRC's continuing legal viewpoint that the 2001 Clinton Roadless Rule allows for motorized trails to be designated in roadless areas," he said. "As the route designation process continues on other forests it will be important for local user groups to highlight important OHV routes that already exist in roadless areas so they may be included as meaningful options in the travel management plan."
The forest opinion earlier had proposed a ban on the use of those motorized vehicle trails in the Six Rivers Forest.
Madera County Board Adopts Resolution
For Immediate Release
Contact: Maria Miranda
559.662.6050
October 30, 2007
Madera County Adopts Resolution Opposing Sierra National Forest Action
MADERA, Calif. — On October 9, 2007, the Madera County Board of Supervisors approved a resolution opposing the United States Forest Service Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement that would analyze off-highway vehicle use and suggest restrictions or closure of many OHV trails within the forest.
The Board strongly opposed this action as many of the trails are within Madera County. These OHV trails are major tourist draws and a prime source of revenue for both the County and businesses neighboring the Sierra Forest. The Board felt there was not adequate time to review the proposal and thereby protect the interests of the County and its residents.
Madera County Supervisor Tom Wheeler was instrumental in bringing the action to the attention of the Board and many of his District 5 constituents.
“Closing off-highway vehicle trails in the forest could have detrimental effects on the County and nearby dependent communities,” said Supervisor Wheeler, whose district includes the Sierra National Forest. “I want to make sure that everyone impacted by this action has a chance to comment and that their input is duly noted by the Forest Service.”
The Board of Supervisors also opted to write a letter to the Forest Service requesting that it seek to extend the project completion date to November 2009—the nationwide deadline for final implementation of the motorized travel management rule for OHV use in the National Forest System. Currently, the Forest Service is following a State of California deadline of September 2008, which was mandated under a 2003 agreement that helped finance the mapping and designation of OHV routes in California forests.
Madera County will continue to monitor the progress of the Forest Service and strive to protect tourism and the revenue it provides. As hundreds of miles of OHV forest trails within Madera County would be closed or restricted under the Forest Service’s proposal, the County has a significant stake in the outcome of this action.
OHV COMMENT PERIOD EXTENDED
Contact: Sue Exline
(559) 297-0706 ext. 4804
October 27, 2007
OHV Comment Period Extended Until December 3, 2007
Additional "Drop-in" Workshops Planned
The Sierra National Forest announced today that it will extend the public comment period for the Proposed Action to designate a system of roads and trails for OHV use through December 3, 2007. The Proposed Action, which was released September 14, is just the starting point of a year long process to designate a system of roads and trails for OHV use.
"We recognize this is a very important project to the public and additional time is needed to provide the Forest with comments", stated Ed Cole, Forest Supervisor. "I'm very pleased with the dialogue and comments we have received to date and I'm committed to working closely with those who would like to have additional time provide us input", added Cole.
The Forest has completed two all day public input workshops and we will host three additional "Drop-In" workshops were individuals can stop in at a Forest Service Office to review maps and provide input on roads, trails and dispersed camping or parking areas that they would like to see included in the environmental analysis. The Drop-In schedule is:
North Fork Ranger Station, North Fork – Tuesday, November 27, 5pm–8pm
High Sierra Ranger Station, Prather – Wednesday, November 28, 5pm-8pm
Sierra National Forest Headquarters – Thursday, November 29, 5pm-8pm
For more information about the effort the Sierra National Forest is taking to designate a system of Roads and Trails for OHV use, please visit our website at: http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/sierra/projects/ohv/index.shtml or contact Gayne Sears at (559) 877-2218 ext. 3182 for a CD of proposed maps and information.
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