QWR PSA - DON’T HIT THAT DEER

Deer Whistle installed on Kawasaki KLR 650

QWR PSA - DON’T HIT THAT DEER

 Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, one learns at an early age to WATCH OUT for deer crossing the roads between dusk and dawn since they often decide to cross a road at the same time you are driving.  One also learns that it’s not the deer you see that gets you but the deer or two following them across your path.

Almost all of us have either hit or had a near miss with a deer or know a family member or friend who has hit or missed a deer.  It’s not just cars and trucks that deer fixate on … they also seem to take on motorcycle riders too.

Deer Whistle installed on Ford F-250

A few months after moving up to Cottonwood near Redding, one of our relatives who is a long time resident of the area strongly suggested that we purchase some deer whistles to help reduce – but not eliminate – the chance of a collision with a deer.

So I took her advice and ordered a large set of deer whistles that had good reviews.  I ordered them from Amazon Prime and after they arrived, I installed them on all of my street legal cars, trucks, and motorcycles.

After I received my set of CITKOU 8Pcs Deer Whistles, I installed them on my vehicles and have been using them for about 8 months.  While some drivers may scoff at their effectiveness, I did notice that the deer I saw along the road did, in fact, react to the sound being emitted from the whistle.

Regardless of what brand you get, they are pretty inexpensive so what is the harm if they only work part of the time?  The only down side to getting what I think is pretty cheap deer collision insurance is they only work above 35 mph or so.

Now that the time has changed and we have more dark hours to drive in, it may be worth your while to purchase a set of deer whistles and install them on your vehicles.  

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BEING "TRAIL PROUD" DURING THE COVID-19 CRISIS

BEING TRAIL PROUD DURING THE COVID-19 CRISIS

Over the last week, private citizens, businesses, organizations, and government agencies have been under a tremendous amount of pressure to address and/or take preventative measures to help “Flatten the Curve” by practicing “social distancing” such as avoiding crowded places, working at home, and traveling only when necessary to the grocery store, pharmacy, or essential meeting/appointment.

Having worked the field of OHV advocacy and recreation management for the last 30 years, I want to express my deep appreciation and pride in how the OHV community is responding to recent shelter-in-place orders and other guidance that is severely limiting our ability to work and/or enjoy our sport.

Here are some examples from what I have seen so far from OHV;

PROFESSIONAL - Consultants, contractors, agency leads, and legislative staff are tele-working from home on issues such as grants, policy, programs, cancelled events, resource management, law enforcement, safety, and legislation.

PERSONAL – Taking cancelled events in stride, getting out on trails with small numbers of your family or friends to enjoy the great outdoors, and urging others to remain calm and respectful.

BUSINESS – Instituting strong disinfectant mitigation measures in the store or shop, closing the doors if required by government orders although I believe dealerships should stay open since OHVs are used for farming/emergency services/rescue/utilities/law enforcement, etc., and offering mail order or delivery on products.

The greater OHV community should take pride in how this highly popular outdoor activity has matured over the last 30 years into a sport with the capacity needed to adapt to ever changing Covid-19 related circumstances so as to ensure our continued access to high-quality OHV recreation on public lands during the emergency and after it subsides. 

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BREAKING NEWS - Interior Orders BLM to Review Disposal Lands for Recreation Access

"Disposal Site" near BLM Moonrocks OHV Area

Carson City BLM Field Office

QWR strongly supports the decision made today by Acting Interior Secretary David Bernhardt to issue a  secretarial order requiring BLM to consider public access for outdoor recreational activities before deciding whether a federal parcel should be sold or exchanged.

INTERIOR ORDER 3373

https://www.doi.gov/sites/doi.gov/files/elips/documents/s0_3373.pdf

This order should help the agency strengthen its ongoing commitment to preserving OHV recreation opportunities when disposal areas – previously identified by the BLM or Congress – overlap, or are adjacent to, existing Special Recreation Management Areas or other recreation or general use designations.

In California and other Western States, checkerboard or matrix lands can impede the BLM’s effort to provide connectivity for federally maintained roads and trails.  Consolidation can improve both motorized and non-motorized recreational opportunities particularly where the public was prohibited from legal egress and ingress by non-federal land owners.

Don Amador, President of Quiet Warrior Racing/Consulting, states, “I have long supported the concept of consolidation of BLM administered lands for public benefit and careful review of proposed disposal lands to ensure they are not currently being used for recreational activities or have the potential to provide access to new trails or other forms of recreation.”

“As a newly appointed ‘OHV Recreation’ representative to the Central CA BLM RAC, I look forward to discussions with other RAC members and the agency about looking for opportunities to purchase or exchange non-federal lands to enhance public access and recreational opportunity at existing BLM units or create new recreation sites in underserved areas,” Amador concludes.

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CA OHV Grant Workshops - Jan. 8-12 - Fiscal Support/Partnership is Force Multiplier

CA OHV Grant Supported Trail Management - Eldorado NF

QWR believes that maybe the single most important factor in modern OHV recreation is the use of diverse partnerships as a synergistic force multiplier when it comes to the management of motorized use on designated roads, trails, and riding areas.

Plumas County Sheriff - Supported with CA OHV LE Grant

Grant opportunities often act as an important fiscal support mechanism for local and federal agencies that are faced with increased demands for high quality OHV recreation while at the same time dealing with decreasing or stagnant recreation budgets.

A good example of key grant partnerships is the CA OHV Grants Program where it is hosting its annual OHV Grant Workshops next week in Northern and Southern California.

LINK TO CA OHMVR GRANT WORKSHOPS

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

SOUTH

Dates:   Monday, January 8, 2018

Tuesday, January 9, 2018

Where:

Bakersfield Marriott at the Convention Center

801 Truxtun Avenue

Bakersfield, CA 93301

Phone: (661) 323-1900

NORTH

Dates:   Thursday, January 11, 2018

Friday, January 12, 2018

Where:

Lions Gate Hotel

3410 Westover Street

North Highlands, CA 95652

Phone: (866) 258-5651

According to the CA OHMVR website, the Grants and Cooperative Agreements Program (Grants Program) provides for well managed off-highway vehicle recreation in the State of California by providing financial assistance to cities, counties, districts, federal agencies, state agencies, educational institutions, federally recognized Native American Tribes, and nonprofit entities.

Wetland Restoration Project - Mendocino NF

The Grants Program supports the planning, acquisition, development, maintenance, administration, operation, enforcement, restoration, and conservation of trails, trailheads, areas, and other facilities associated with the use of off-highway motor vehicles, and programs involving off-highway motor vehicle safety or education.

CA OHV Grant Funds at Work - BLM's Chappie Shasta OHV Area

QWR encourages current and potential new grant applicants to consider attending the aforementioned workshops.  There will be some important updates for grant applicants.  QWR looks forward to seeing many of the CA OHV grant participants at the workshop in Sacramento.

Sierra Trip Launches QWR Adventure Bike Module

QWR’s trip today to the Stanislaus National Forest marks the launch of its new “Adventure Bike” module that currently consists of a 2006 Triumph Tiger 955i.   Our discussions with agency staff centered on Subpart A of travel management and the impacts of the Rim Fire to the trail and road network.

Adventure bike and dual-sport based recreation is a growing segment of the OHV community.   Those interests deserve a seat at the table and we want to make sure that opportunities continue to exist for those forms of motorized recreation on public lands.

A March 29, 2012 letter from the Washington Office of the Forest Service to all Regional Foresters stated the agency expects to maintain an appropriately sized and environmentally sustainable road

system that is responsive to ecological, economic, and social concerns. The National Forest Road

System of the future must continue to provide needed access for recreation and resource

management, as well as support watershed restoration and resource protection to sustain healthy ecosystems.

QWR wants to encourage both street legal and non-street legal motorized trail and road users to be on the lookout for travel analysis reports which are to be published by the end of FY2015. Those reports are supposed to rank, identify, and/or map FS system roads (maintenance levels 1-5) according to their ability to meet a unit’s resource and recreation goals.

Catastrophic wildfires such as the Rim Fire can often cause the impacted area to be closed to all human activity (i.e. OHV, hunting, hiking, fishing, etc.) for periods of a year or more.  Also, those fire events can have a devastating impact on the developed OHV recreation infrastructure such as engineered trails and campgrounds.

QWR is excited about the addition of our adventure bike module which joins our other vehicle programs that advocate for responsible SxS, SUV, trail-bike, and dual-sport use on public roads, trails, and areas.

Link to March 29, 2012 FS Chief’s Subpart A Letter

http://www.lbl.org/pdf/2012ChiefsLetterTravelManagement.pdf

*Thanks to all our sponsors and supporters who help keep us on the road or trail!

FS OHV Program Manager Becomes Dirt Bike Coach

*Training Photos Used by Permission from Paul Hart

Paul Hart is 2nd from Right

 

Quiet Warrior Racing wants to congratulate Paul Hart on his graduation from the Motorcycle Safety Foundation’s (MSF) Dirt Bike Coach School.  Hart is the OHV Trails Coordinator for the Shasta-Trinity National Forest.  The certification class was held at the Honda Rider Education Center in Southern California.

 

Paul Hart is 2nd from Right

 

Paul Hart stated he will be able to train agency employees, volunteer organizations, and non-profits on how to safely and responsibly ride off-road motorcycles. 

 

QWR believes it is important for agency line-officers, specialists, and recreation staff to learn how to ride OHVs so they can have 1^st hand knowledge of how travel management is being implemented on their unit.

Paul Hart on TMR Tour with QWR in April 2013

 

There are a lot of important resource protection efforts that deserve on-trail review by decision-makers and riding an OHV on those surveys is the best way to appreciate those projects.

 

QWR again wants to congratulate Hart and the other graduates from the MSF program.  QWR looks forward to helping support the training efforts of Hart and other instructors

 

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The New CA State Park Director - "Service Before Self"

Since millions of people from across this country use and enjoy the California State Park system every year, I wanted to share my thoughts on the recent appointment of retired Marine General Anthony Jackson as the new State Park Director.

Yesterday, I had the privilege to meet General Jackson in Sacramento and listen to his vision for restoring public trust and confidence to state parks.  I was impressed with his motto of “service before self” and that he was bringing his ethos to the program.  I believe a number of other OHV representatives who also got to meet General Jackson came away with that same impression.

As a former federal land manager at military bases, he successfully balanced the use-of-land to train Marines with many of the same environmental challenges that face the OHV community.   Although relatively new to his current assignment, General Jackson shows a deep understanding of what it takes in 2013 and beyond to manage both motorized and non-motorized forms of recreation.

To get a better understanding of the new CA State Park Director, I would encourage all of you to listen to his January 15, 2013 radio interview on KQED.  The 50 minute interview will give you a great insight into the man and his views on the future of state parks.  If you cannot listen to the entire broadcast, I would encourage you to listen to the “OHV-related” segment from 36:00 to 40:00.

KQED Radio Interview

http://www.kqed.org/a/forum/R201301150900

 

In closing, I believe he will use his vast experience to bring accountability to the office and work hard to improve communications between diverse stakeholder groups, federal and local partners, and others that have an interest in access to a viable park system.

Post-Fire Recon at Stonyford OHV Area

QWR’s Sound Trails Initiative spent a few days last week working with Forest Service staff doing a post-fire assessment.  As some of you know, about 3/4ths of the designated trail system at the Stonyford OHV Area on the Mendocino National Forest was decimated by a wildfire that was started by two lost hikers in July.  

 

The Stonyford OHV Area is the largest Forest Service destination area in Northern California.   While there is no direct access to the trail system for non-street legal OHVs out of the main camping areas at Davis Flat and Fouts Springs, dual-sport motorcyclists can access a large number of non-burned trails by simply riding a few miles up M10.  Non-street legal OHVs can be trailered up M10 for a few miles where they can use system roads/trails that are open.

 

In addition, dual-sport motorcyclists can access the extensive trail network at the Upper Lake OHV Area by using the OHV corridor that links up Stonyford with Upper Lake.

 

QWR will be working with the Forest Service and volunteers over the winter months to help restore and monitor the trail system for an anticipated reopening of the main route network in late spring of 2013.

 

QWR also wants to thank all of our sponsors who make it possible for us to protect and promote responsible OHV recreation on public lands.

 

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