Volunteers Needed for Post-Fire Recovery at Stonyford

QWR, a volunteer on the Mendocino, wants to give you an update on the Mill Fire.  As you know, the 2001 Trough Fire did not impact that much of the trail system, but it did destroy the various OHV camping and staging areas at Fouts Springs.  On the other hand, the Mill Fire spared the Fouts Springs campgrounds but fried about 80% of the popular trails between Fouts to Lett’s Lake and back down to Little Stony.

 

Link to Current Mill Fire Closure Order and Closure Map

http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5382658.pdf

QWR believes that trail volunteer efforts will play a key role in getting this area back online.  QWR is planning to play an important role in helping the agency facilitate and work on volunteer trail efforts.  If you love Stonyford we are asking you to fill out and send in a volunteer agreement to Paige to help with future volunteer projects. (see  volunteer agreement below)

 

Here is an announcement from Paige

Thank you for eagerly extending a helping hand for the process of cleaning up the devastation of the Mill Fire.

We are currently awaiting the full report from the BAER (Burned Area Emergency Response) Team.

As soon as we get permission to enter the area and start closure & rehabilitation work, I will email you with some dates.

The first project in order will be to secure the perimeters of the fire.  Access to the trail system will need to be closed with signs and straw bales along the intersections of M-10, 17N02 & Goat Mountain.  Theses main roads hopefully will be opening soon.  Not until the fire is called out, which most likely will be after we get rain, will we be able to start trail rehabbing.

I have attached a volunteer agreement which will need to be completed prior to any volunteer work that you do for the Forest Service.

Thanks again and I will be in touch soon!

~Paige

  

Paige Makowski

Mendocino National Forest
Grindstone Ranger District
O.H.V Recreation Technician
(530) 963-1328

Here is the link to the volunteer form

http://www.sharetrails.org/uploads/Volunteer_FS_agreement.pdf


Send form to:

Paige Makowski
Mendocino National Forest
825 N. Humboldt Ave.
Willows, CA 95988

If you would like to sponsor or support QWR’s post-fire recovery work (e.g. travel, supplies, seed money for matching grants, etc.) you can donate at:  *ID it for "Stonyford Fire Recovery"

http://www.quietwarriorracing.com/Sponsorships.html

Thanks in advance for your support in helping get Stonyford reopened for public use.

Buyer Beware of Purchasing Exhaust from Private Parties

QUIET WARRIOR RACING

NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Don Amador

Phone: 925.625.5309

Date: May 21, 2012

Email: damador@quietwarriorracing.com

BUYER BEWARE WHEN PURCHASING MUFFLERS/SPARK ARRESTORS FROM ONLINE PRIVATE PARTIES

OAKLEY, CA - Quiet Warrior Racing (QWR) urges riders to beware of buying sound and spark arrestor compliant exhaust from private parties. Several riders at Oakland Motorcycle Club’s 2012 SheetIron 300 Dual Sport Ride were turned away from the event after failing to pass tech inspection.

The QWR tech team was not able to pass those exhaust systems because they did not have an officially approved spark arrestor or the spark arrestor had been compromised.

Don Amador, president of Quiet Warrior Racing, states, “Be careful when purchasing exhaust systems from online private parties. Several riders new to the sport had to be turned away from a recent dual sport event because they had unwittingly purchased a non-sound/spark arrestor compliant muffler from a private source.”

“With the price of travel, entry fees, and other costs associated with riding a dual sport or off-road motorcycle being so high, riders must take time to make sure their exhaust meets sound and spark arrestor land-use laws. QWR urges riders to include a review of their exhaust system on their bike prep check list before riding on public lands,” Amador concludes.

For further review, please go to the Forest Service spark arrestor link below:

http://www.fs.fed.us/eng/pubs/html/03511307/03511307.htm

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Quiet Warrior Racing, a recreation consulting business, promotes a responsible trail and road ethic for both non-street legal and street legal motorized vehicles

QWR Urges FS to Address "WildlandsCPR/FS OHV Guide" Issue

QWR submitted the above letter on March 13, 2012 expressing our concerns about a new

318-page FS OHV Guidebook that adopted the Wildlands Center for the Prevention of Roads closure-oriented management prescriptions.

It appears the document was created in a vacuum without oversight from agency OHV experts at the Regional and Washington Office levels.  QWR has asked the agency to address our concerns. 

QWR believes the agency should quickly acknowledge this mistake and take steps to assure the public it will not happen again.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Wishes from QWR

As many of us in the OHV community get ready to spend a few days with family and friends, I just wanted to take this opportunity to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New OHV Year.

2011 was certainly filled with a lot of challenges but we made some progress. I believe the ‘land-use” pendulum is swinging back to the middle and 2012 holds the promise of more trails being designated (after a lot of work) and that more of us will become effectively engaged (many of you already are) in trail advocacy.

I look forward to working with more of you next year including doing more on-the-ground trail planning projects.

Warm Holiday Wishes,

Don

Don Amador, President

Quiet Warrior Racing

www.quietwarriorracing.com

Signs Indicate Level of Agency Commitment to Trail Management

Signs give the trail user a lot of very useful information.  Signs often tell us what vehicle types are allowed on a certain route, the difficulty of the trail, or a route number that is keyed to a map.  Signs are one of the primary ways the agency communicates with the public.

When doing a site-review of a recreation facility or route network, signs also inform me as to the level of commitment that unit has to its OHV program and public safety.

In the attached photo, you will see on the left a newly installed “mixed-use” sign that identifies what portion of a forest road is open for non-street legal OHVs.  It is well placed and current.

On the right of that photo, you will notice that I had to hold a sign so a fellow rider could see it.  It appeared the post had rotted out many years ago and both it and the sign had been cast to the side of the road.

QWR believe signs are an important travel management tool.  However, they also convey to the public the level of commitment the unit has to managed OHV recreation.  Without exception, you can be assured that a well-signed unit has made a commitment to the trail community.

A management unit with few signs, missing signs, or poorly maintained signs is sending a signal to the user that the agency does not care about the area or you. 

What sort of “signal” have you been getting from the land management agency where you ride? 

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Marin County Motorcycle Association Joins QWR as Bronze Sponsor

Quiet Warrior Racing is honored to announce that the Marin County Motorcycle Association has joined as a Bronze sponsor for the 2012 riding season.

MCMA has shown its commitment to the sport over the years via it support for many land use organizations.   This MCMA sponsorship will help QWR continue its effort to promote and protect responsible OHV recreation on private and public lands.

QWR Salutes Mi-TRALE, Plum Creek Timber, and the Yamaha OHV Access Initiative

QWR wants to congratulate Mi-TRALE for being awarded a $10,000 dollar grant from

the Yamaha OHV Access Initiative Program. 

BRC Story on Mi-TRALE Yamaha Award and 10^th Anniversary Dinner Awards

http://www.sharetrails.org/story/2011/10/21/mi-trale-gets-grant-yamaha

QWR also wants to thank Plum Creek (see above letter), a timber management company, for working with Mi-TRALE and other stakeholders to provide responsible OHV recreation on their private timberlands throughout many regions of the country.

QWR believes Plum Creek has taken a pro-active approach to recreation management on their lands and should be looked to as a model by other landowners who are considering allowing OHV recreation on their in-holdings.

Plum Creek OHV Management Program

http://www.plumcreek.com/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=gDT49PaetUY%3D&tabid=142&mid=794

QWR believes in partnerships and this effort between Mi-TRALE, Yamaha OHV Access Initiative, and other organizations sets a high standard for others to follow.