TRAIL-GEAR CLEANS UP DESERT

MOON ROCKS, NV GETS A TRAIL-GEAR CLEANUP

On their Moon Rocks, NV Customer Appreciation Run this past weekend, the Trail-Gear folks loaded up the participants and did a huge cleanup as part of their event.  They picked up like 36 bags of trash, including an old couch dumped off by some thoughtless person, certainly NOT a four-wheeler/off-roader.    Trail-Gear is dedicated to helping keep public lands open to the public, while making some awesome off-road products.

During the run, they spotted a backcountry fire and helped guide in Nevada fire crews to make sure it didn't get to be a big conflagration.  GOOD WORK, Trail-Gear.  You all are heroes.

It's important that all of us respect our public lands and help folks like the BLM keep them clean and open. Thank you, Trail-Gear and all your customers.   And thanks to all the hard-working government folks who help us manage our public lands -- for us.

Del
(Photos courtesy of Trail-Gear)

PERMIT PROCESS ON PUBLIC LAND - YOU NEED ONE!

YES YOU NEED A PERMIT ON PUBLIC LAND!

By Del Albright, Ambassador, BlueRibbon Coalition

Commercial, competitive or organized group events or activities ALL require a permit to be held on public land, and depending on the level of environmental review, REQUIRE at least 6 (six)  and up to 12 (twelve) months to process.

Businesses and clubs/organizations need to pay particular attention to the permit process as it can sneak up on you quick!  We’re talking BOTH public land agencies -- BLM and USFS.  This blog will focus on the BLM permit process, but the USDA Forest Service (USFS) is about the same.

Depending on the scope of your activity or event, you might have to cover some healthy Cost Recovery to recover costs associated with monitoring, law enforcement, enviro-studies, inventories, travel, administration, etc.  Again, the minimum time frame for submitting a COMPLETE permit application is SIX MONTHS ahead of time.  Just figure on it and GET YOUR PERMIT started well ahead of time.

DO I NEED A PERMIT?

The Pre-application Interview Checklist for events on public land involving vehicular use typically includes the following questions:

·         Are you charging a fee?

·         Do you expect to make money on the event or is the fee to cover expenses?

·         Will there be a competition?

·         Will you advertise, have a public sign up page, take reservations?

·         Will you mark a course?

·         Will there be cash prizes?

If you answered yes to ANY of these, you NEED a permit.  So yes, if you advertise on a website, have a sign up page (even if you are NOT charging a fee), you ARE advertising and must have a permit.  I like to look at it in simple terms, you are using public land to your advantage or commercial gain, so get a permit. 

You should note that if there will be any vending (selling on site), your permit just got more complicated (and will cost more).

These permits are called Special Recreation Permits (SRP’s) and depending on permit availability, are usually not hard to get; they just take planning well ahead of time!

Get your permit well in advance of your event – perhaps  a YEAR before the activity would be a good target.

Here are some links for more research and information from my good land use buddy, John Stewart:

http://cfr.regstoday.com/43cfr2930.aspx

http://www.4x4voice.com/index.php/civics-101/52-permits-fees/149-what-is-a-special-recretion-permit

http://www.4x4voice.com/index.php/access-news/78-nrc-reports/349-nrc-report-october-2010

http://www.4x4wire.com/federal-page/blm-adjusts-special-recreation-permit-fees

http://www.4x4wire.com/thats-my-view/top-five-recreation-issues-2011

http://www.4x4voice.com/index.php/access-news/78-nrc-reports/353-nrc-report-december-2010

Del Albright

Ambassador, BlueRibbon Coalition www.sharetrails.org

Founding Trail Boss, Friends of the Rubicon www.rubiconfriends.com

Environmental Affairs, CA4WDC www.cal4wheel.com

Find us on Facebook here

Contact Del at del@delalbright.com

Website: www.delalbright.com

WYO, YELLOWSTONE, OR AND NEW MEXICO IN LANDUSE NEWS

OREGON, WYOMING and NEW MEXICO in the LANDUSE NEWS

New Mexico OHV Association has news about Carson National Forest.

Wyoming, Yellowstone Park opens to snowmobiles on a limited basis (but it is open)

Oregon, Baker area and BLM news.

Landuse is starting to hit the headlines again in 2012 with stuff popping up everyday.  Stay tuned; stay involved; and stay on the landuse team.

More on all these topics at http://www.sharetrails.org, the home page of BlueRibbon Coalition.

Public Lands to be all National Parks?

The BLM is attempting to turn into a pseudo-park system according to some watchers of government. In fact, Dave Skinner, a Montana based writer, in RANGE magazine (Winter 2011 issue) said the current plan for BLM from the Obama Administration called, Our Vision, Our Values, “ lays out a long-term strategy of empire building on a colossal scale, including a complete transformation of the BLM away from its historic multiple use mission in to the world’s largest zoo.”

BlueRibbon Coalition, Public Lands Department, headed by Brian Hawthorne, has reported and advised on the changes in public lands administration, as well as the dangers for motorized access, since the Babbitt/Clinton days. 

Bottom line: BLM is headed towards a landscape where historic uses like mining and grazing will be a thing of the past, and motorized recreation certainly discouraged, if not forbidden in many places.    Time for tolerance of government stealing our heritage has run out. Time for action is here!

Note that the Treasured Landscape and AGOI described below are moving targets;  not done deals.  BRC and other groups are engaged to protect multiple use/sustained yield.  The following pages/links will be updated when needed so you should stay tuned.

Here are my observations and summaries to help put this in perspective.

Dave Skinner called the beginning of this mess, the Babbitt/Clinton “Monument Orgy.”   Because they couldn’t turn all of BLM into one big National Park,  today we are facing initiatives and administrative things that just sound like closure.

Read the short story and get the right links here: http://www.delalbright.com/Access/nlcs.html

Del

CA - Please Support OHV Grants (letters needed now)

Support OHV Grants in CA (letters needed now)

Please support OHV Grants in CA right away. April 6th is an important deadline. Here's the short list of reasons why:

1. Without this OHV grant money, the USFS won't have any money to do many of the things we want done on our trails.

2. While not perfect and some not even all that good, the grants are a savior to many Forests and Districts. Trails could close without some grant money support in ill-funded Forests (and BLM Districts).

3. Grants are now front-loaded instead of the old way of theatrics at the last minute in Commission meetings. Front –loaded means OUR comments and support MAKE the difference in how a grant is perceived and/or granted. It’s in the analysis and review stage that we MUST tell the OHV Commission and State Parks staff that we support the grants (especially the ones we need and like including the Eldorado National Forest).

4. All the work that Don Amador and all the OHV user groups put into SB 742 (the new OHV Grant Program we fought so hard for), gave us the opportunity to take our OHV money away from non-OHV friendly Commissioners, and put it in the hands of State Parks OHV staff and us – you.

A short support letter is all you need to do. Let State Parks know we support grants on your Forest or BLM area. Here’s how you can read the grants in review right now:Go to this link, select Grants in the top box; then USFS in the Agency box, and then click in FIND. You’ll see the grants; then click on the paperclip to read the details:

http://134.186.25.134/user/ReviewProjects.aspx

Del