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!

CARB Continues Outreach to OHV Community on OHMC "Red Sticker" Planning Process

QWR attended the CARB Off-Highway Motorcycle (OHMC) Workshop: Assessment Update today in Sacramento, California.

QWR wants to commend all members of the OHV community (OEMs, dealers, organizations, users, and OHMVRD) who are actively engaged in the process. 

The willingness of CARB staff to substantively engage the various stakeholders in a collaborative planning effort is ground-breaking and is a refreshing change from what some users have felt is a bunker mentality at the agency.

The key bullet points from today are:

CARB’s commitment to have a trusted observer from the OHV community at the testing events

CARB stated its effort is focused on emissions from new motorcycles, not used vehicles

CARB stated that it is not their intent to penalize or punish owners of red-sticker vehicles purchase under current laws and regulations

CARB remains committed to working with its sister agency at OHMVRD

QWR appreciated the statement by James Lombardo, legislative advocate for the California Motorcycle Dealers Association, to ask his board to help secure new motorcycles – which would be leased by CARB from the dealers – for the testing procedures.

QWR wants to urge OHV stakeholders to review the survey and related documents and submit comments on how you feel they can be modified or improved.  

Link to CARB OHMC Documents/Survey

http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/offroad/orrec/orrec.htm

If you have questions, please feel free to contact the CARB representative below:

Cassie Lopina

Air Pollution Specialist | California Air Resources Board | Monitoring and Laboratory Division

Evaporative Control, Engineering, and Regulatory Development Section

1900 14th Street | Sacramento, California 95811

916) 322-2411 |916) 322-2444 |

clopina@arb.ca.gov

Thanks for your interest in the CARB OHMC planning process.

Trail Management Tools - Heated Rain Gauge

"Heated" Rain Station on Upper Lake RD

QWR has long been an advocate for the use of modern scientific methods to accurately measure rainfall on federal and state units that have wet weather-based trail management prescriptions.

On February 27, 2014, the California Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Commission toured various recreation and resource management programs on the Upper Lake Ranger District located on the west portion of the Mendocino National Forest.

One of the tour stops included a review of the new Campbell Scientific rain station with heated catch basin.  Unit staff explained how freezing temperatures had often rendered older “non-heated” rain stations inoperable due to the water freezing in the catch/measuring device.

FS Staff Explains Rain Station Operation

The Forest Service also stated that riders appreciate being able to access rain gauge data on the internet so they can evaluate – in real-time – if it looks like a rain-closure of system trails will be put into effect.

Link to Upper Lake Rain Gauge

http://raws.wrh.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/roman/meso_base.cgi?stn=TR164&unit=0&time=LOCAL

QWR believes these updated units could be useful to the agency and users as more federal riding areas evaluate if it is practical to transition from seasonal extended period wet-weather closures to rainfall-based closures.

Gabions as Sign Posts - Common Sense and Creativity

QWR is always looking for low-cost and effective travel management tools that can help protect resources while providing for a quality recreation experience.

On a recent field trip to the Upper Lake Ranger District on the Mendocino National Forest, QWR viewed a new use for gabions.  Forest Service recreation staff are using those structures as sign posts to help let riders know what areas are closed because of resource concerns.

Trail users have often seen gabion baskets (wire mesh baskets filled with rock) used along routes in popular riding areas. They can provide erosion control for road bank stabilization or OHV trail crossings.  They are easy to assemble and nearby rock is used to fill the basket.

The use of gabions as natural sign posts at the Middle Creek OHV Campground is a good example of

agency staff using common sense and creativity to help direct riders away from protected areas on the gravel bar. 

Fee Reductions in So Cal Forest OHV Areas

As some of you know, my last meeting as a member (representing summer motorized) of the California Recreation Resource Advisory Commitee (R-RAC) was held at the San Bernardino National Forest’s main office on January 15 – 16.

The purpose of the public meeting was for the R-RAC to review various proposals from the Angeles National Forest, Cleveland National Forest, Los Padres National Forest, and the San Bernardino National Forest to eliminate many standard amenity recreation fee areas, including OHV areas.  Some of those OHV areas include Ballinger OHV Area, Corral Canyon OHV Area, Rower Flats OHV Area, and Wildomar OHV Area.

Fee Area Reduced to Just the Main Staging Site

In the late 1990s, these 4 southern California Forests, under a fee demo project, created a new concept called the Adventure Pass where the public would be charged a fee if they stopped and used any part of the Forest.   Many stakeholders felt this program was difficult to administer and enforce.

These proposals seek to remove that fee requirement for area use and shrink the fees charged to specific campgrounds, sites, or specially zoned areas.

I believe these plans will help make the fee program on the 4 So Cal Forests more consistent with what other Forests are charging. 

As I look back over the last 5 years of serving on the R-RAC,  I believe the agency is doing a much better job today of communicating with stakeholder groups including local and federally elected officials.  It is that dynamic communication and related oversight that will be important to ensure that fees collected are used for on-the-ground public services that benefit both the user and the resource.

Recreation Fee Meeting in San Bernardino on Jan. 15-16

As the end of my term on the Region 5 Recreation Resource Advisory Committee (RRAC) approaches, I wanted to thank all of you who participated in the public process associated with the committee’s work to review fee programs and projects on Forest Service and BLM lands.

The RRAC has a public hearing scheduled for January 15 – 16, 2014 at the following location:

San Bernardino National Forest Supervisor’s Office

602 S. Tippecanoe Avenue

San Bernardino, CA

Teleconference number: 888-285-4585 Participant Code: 828106

Link to the Agenda and Proposed Fee Projects

http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/r5/recreation/racs/?cid=stelprdb5444303

It has been a privilege to represent summer motorized recreation on this committee.  I also want to express my thanks to the agency staff and other members of the committee for their dedication and friendship.

Even though I will be stepping down from this appointment due to term limits, rest assured that I will continue to champion responsible OHV use on public lands in other venues and support common sense user fee programs where the agency is accountable for the monies collected.  And, where those fees stay on the unit and are used for “on-the-ground” public services.

Post-Fire Travel Management Tools and Purchasing a Dual-Sport Top 2013 List

As QWR prepares for another busy year in advocacy for responsible OHV recreation, it wanted to look back at the two issues in 2013 that generated the most hits/interest by our readership.

It should come as no surprise that our Post Fire Travel Management Tools (Sept. 25) and Tips for Purchasing a Dual-Sport Motorcycle (July 9) articles were at the top of the list.

Post-fire rehabilitation of destination OHV areas on Forest Service lands requires a lot dedication, determination, and dollars/labor.  Both the 2012 Mill Fire and the 2013 Rim Fire highlighted just how catastrophic wildfires can impact recreational access to public lands.  The fires also illustrated the need for an invigorated forest management program that includes prescribed burning and timber thinning projects.

In the late 1990s, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) determined that it was illegal to register off-highway motorcycles for street use unless they were CARB or EPA certified for highway use.  Today, the dual-sport enthusiast has only two legal options in the State of California.  One, they can purchase a street-legal dual-sport that came from the factory as such.  Or, they can purchase a used “Green-Sticker” off-highway motorcycle that was purchased new by December 31, 2003 and where the owner had initiated its dual-sport conversion with the DMV no later than January 31, 2004.

Travel management and other land-use restrictions has increased the demand for street-legal dual-sport motorcycles so that riders can connect various trail networks that are separated by paved roads where non-street legal motorcycles are prohibited.

QWR believes that 2014 holds significant opportunities to champion responsible OHV use on public lands, but it will require a joint effort by recreation professionals, industry, grassroots leaders, elected officials, and agency staff to find solutions to the regulatory challenges that face our sport.

Post Fire Travel Management Tools

http://quietwarriorracing.blogspot.com/2013/09/post-fire-travel-management-tools-trail.html

Tips for Purchasing a Dual-Sport Motorcycle

http://quietwarriorracing.blogspot.com/2013/07/qwr-trail-tip-for-ca-purchasing-dual.html

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