SHAPE THE FUTURE OF OHV IN CA - ATTEND COMMISSION MEETING ON DEC. 3

 

SHAPE YOUR FUTURE - ATTEND OHV COMMISSION MEETING

 

The Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Commission will hold a virtual meeting on Thursday December 3, 2020.  It is important for OHV club leaders, advocates, consultants, volunteers, and other stakeholders who support the CA OHV Program to attend this meeting to voice concerns and/or offer solutions to many of the items on the agenda.  Your input on critical topics such as the Park Transformation process (Path Forward 2026), access to lands at SVRAs that are currently closed to OHV use at Carnegie, Oceano, etc., management of SVRAs including event permitting, Park communications, outreach, collaboration, planning efforts such as the PWP, and other issues will help shape the future of the CA OHV Program.

 

The links below provide information on how to sign up for the meeting and various agenda items.

 

SIGN UP/REGISTER FOR MEETING

 http://ohv.parks.ca.gov/pages/1140/files/01-Notice_OHMVR-Commission-120320.pdf

MEETING AGENDA

http://ohv.parks.ca.gov/pages/1140/files/02-Agenda-OHMVR-Commission-120320.pdf

 

PATH FORWARD 2026 (Transformation Process)

http://ohv.parks.ca.gov/pages/1140/files/07-Staff%20Report-Path%20Forward%20120320.pdf

 

COVID restrictions, wildfires, and political unrest continues to make this a very challenging year for both OHV recreationists and land agency staff that access or manage sustainable OHV recreation on local, state, and federal lands.

 

However difficult things have been, life goes on and so does the need for the public and OHV commission to hold government officials responsible for their actions or inactions.  See just a few of the questions that need answers at this commission meeting.

 

Question 1 - Will there be an update from Parks or the San Luis Obispo County Air Pollution Control District to the August 2020 letter from the OHV Commission about the District forcing the OHV Trust Fund to spend over $16M dollars on dust mitigation measures and removing 48 acres from the riding and camping area at Oceano Dunes SVRA using a process that is out of step with tenets outlined in the May 18, 2018 Stipulated Order of Abatement?

 

LINK TO LETTER FROM OHV COMMISSION TO THE APCD

http://ohv.parks.ca.gov/pages/1140/files/Commission%20Letter%20APCD%20August%206,%202020.pdf

 

Question 2 - Will the PWP be able to show it how it benefits OHV recreation?  So far the PWP has not included plans to address much needed dune access, camping,  and staging for OHVs on the sound end of the project area?

 

Question 3 – Will Parks have a response to the 2019 Petition filed by the Oceano Dunes Access Alliance requesting that it withdraws from the Stipulated Order of Abatement?  So far, there has not even been an acknowledgement by Parks they received that petition?

 

Question 4 – What has Parks and Transformation done to streamline and improve the event permitting process at SVRAs?

 

Question 5 – What is Parks doing to address the SVRA’s need for on-site Park Superintendents to make management decisions in real-time instead of being supervised by off-site Park leaders who may not have the expertise or time to devote to SVRA specific needs since they are now tasked with managing “Districts” which may include 23 park units?

 

Thanks for taking time to review this alert and I hope to see you at the OHV commission meeting on December 3.

OPINION - OHV TURNOUT STEMS CLOSURE TIDE AT OCEANO DUNES

Packed Main Hearing Room

CA Coastal Commission Hearing, July 11, 2019

OPINION

By Don Amador

July 12, 2019  

  

Historic OHV Turnout Stems Closure Tide at Oceano Dunes  

A huge crowd of 850-1,000 OHV enthusiasts, related businesses, elected officials, and partners made access history yesterday at the Coastal Commission hearing held in San Luis Obispo, California where the long-term future of motorized recreation at Oceano Dunes SVRA was hanging in the balance.  They packed the main hearing room and a number of overflow rooms.

CA State Park Director, Lisa Mangat, Talks About Need

for Coastal Commission to Allow PWP Process to Move Forward

The 8-2 vote to defer the Coastal Commission’s staff recommendations - so as to allow the California State Park Public Works Plan (PWP) public process for Oceano Dunes SVRA to play out - was also the result of State Parks taking a strong position against the Coastal Commission report and a lot of hard work by various parties before the hearing as highlighted in the LA Times article below:

LINK TO LA TIMES ARTICLE

https://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-oceano-dunes-ohv-california-coastal-commission-20190711-story.html

It’s not often the Coastal Commission is forced to look affected citizens in the eye about how their closure proposals will devastate local businesses and communities where shop owners will be forced to close and lay-off staff and the newly unemployed will not be able to pay their mortgages or put food on the table.

San Luis Obispo County District 4 Supervisor, Lynn Compton

Speaks in Strong Support of Oceano Dunes SVRA 

The Coastal Commission was also confronted with the fact their staff did not consult with local government agencies that were also blindsided by the staff report.

Proud Duner Stands in Support of OHV Recreation

While the vote result was significant, the key element in the Coastal Commission decision was to direct staff to work with State Parks to create a collaborative stakeholder group that would include representatives from the Coastal Commission, CA OHV Commission, State Parks, local government, OHV groups, businesses, and conservation interests.  That venue would allow for more robust and meaningful discussions between the Coastal Commission and other members of the group.

Rugged Radio Shows Up to Defend Local Business

I don’t view the Coastal Commission decision as a major “OHV Victory” but rather an event that earned its place as a seminal moment on the land access timeline alongside other significant issues such as the S21/CA Desert Protection Act, Clinton/Gore Roadless Initiative, 2005 Forest Service Travel Management Rule, and the 2007-2017 fight to restructure and permanently reauthorize the CA OHV Program.

Coastal Commission Staff Continue to Front OHV "Dust Plume" Hoax

While OHV lives on to fight another day in the battle for Oceano Dunes SVRA, we have some immediate action items and those are:

Encourage OHV Stakeholders to Be Active in the PWP Process

Challenge False APCD/Coastal Commission OHV Generated “Dust Plume” Assertion

Challenge Stipulated Order of Abatement

Continue to Build OHV Political Force  

Be Prepared for Future Legal Challenge

The greater OHV community should be proud of what they accomplished at the hearing.  Your attendance and testimony made more of an impact than you can ever know.  Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to attend what will go down as a major milestone in OHV political history.

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Don Amador has almost 30 years in the field of land use management, policy, and politics.  Don writes on recreation and environmental issues from his office in Oakley, CA.  He may be reached via email at: Damador@cwo.com