OHV KICK START - EMERGING TECH, OPPORTUNTIES, AND CHALLENGES KEY FOCUS AT INTERAGENCY TRAIL WORKSHOP
As part of our commitment to facilitating OHV educational
opportunities, QWR restarted its popular on-site OHV workshop program by
hosting the 2023 Interagency Ranger Ride at the BLM’s Chappie Shasta OHV Area
near Redding, CA on May 1-4.
Due to a series of mega wildfires and COVID, the OHV
Ranger Rides had been sidelined since 2017 so the group of dedicated OHV trail
leads, crews, instructors, and partners were glad to get back to an in-person
field workshop.
Top tier federal and state OHV specialists from the
Klamath, Shasta Trinity, Mendocino, Eldorado, and Tahoe National Forests and
the Ukiah, Eagle Lake, and Redding Field Offices were in attendance. CA State Park representatives were there from
grants, law enforcement, and the OHV Safety Week Program. Chris Real from DPS Technical was there to
give agency staff training on administering the SAEJ1287 Sound Test for OHVs and
performing the inspection for spark arrestors.
To kick off the workshop on Tuesday morning, Sky Zaffarano,
the OHV Program Manager for the BLM’s Chappie Shasta OHV Area talked about the
agency’s efforts to manage the route network for all sizes of OHVs with a
recent focus over the last few years to provide trails for SxS use while
increasing single-track companion routes that often parallel the wider trails
used by larger vehicles. This enhances the
OHV recreation experience for both vehicle types and also increases vehicle
safety.
Jon Brandt, a certified DirtBike School coach and State
Park Peace Officer, taught a one-day hands-on training session to agency
students that needed lessons on how to safely ride an off-road motorcycle and
to get their Dirt Bike certification.
Josh Liebscher, CA State Parks OHV Grants Administrator,
gave the participants on overview of the Grants Program and their commitment to
help support their federal agency partners provide environmentally responsible
OHV recreation on public lands.
Chris Real from DPS Technical, provided sound and spark
arrester training/certification. The new field staff had the opportunity to
perform vehicle measurements use of instruments and to understand inspection
methods for spark arresters with valuable participation from seasoned OHV
specialists.
Real also had a special presentation related to Emerging
Technologies of Off-Highway Vehicles. This presentation reviewed 50 years of
Off-Highway vehicle types and provided a perspective of the new vehicles that
are headed to the Off-Highway recreation areas. In addition, he highlighted both the
opportunities and challenges from large ROVs to Electric motorcycles that land
managers are contending with in multiple use areas.
Other topics discussed in various modules or around the
campfire include the import of land
agencies adding dirt bike strike teams to their suite of post wildfire and
storm recovery efforts, developing meaningful partnerships with trail clubs or
non-profit trail recovery organizations, looking for new management strategies to
enhance recreation opportunities for SxSs (since it remains a growing user
group),and allowing staff to actually get some on-the-trail seat time to help
build muscle memory and/or see how other units manage their trail systems, and
much more.
Don Amador, QWR President and founder of the 27 year-old Ranger
Ride Program, states, “We had an dynamic mix of new OHV trail personal, private sector professionals, and agency OHV
Master Performers that fostered a rich educational experience for new agency
hires and seasoned staff alike.”
“It was clear the group thought one of the most important
benefits of this and similar field-based events is they allow for participants to
build long-term relationships with other professionals for the benefit of
providing sustainable trail-based recreation for current and future
generations,” Amador concludes.
QWR appreciates the presenters from the FS, BLM, DPS
Technical, and the CA State Parks OHV Division who helped make this workshop a
success. We also thank the OHV Division and
the CA Outdoor Recreation Foundation’s BE THE OFF-ROAD HERO Safety Week Program
for sending educational materials and support staff.
QWR wants to thank the BLM’s Redding Field Office for
sharing their OHV management expertise with the Ranger Ride attendees and the
Redding Dirt Riders for helping with the BBQ.
And thanks also to the MIC’s Right Rider Access Fund and Kawasaki Motors
Corp., U.S.A. for their generous support of this workshop to help educate
agency staff about safe vehicle operation and review new recreation management strategies
to address emerging technologies and uses.
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