Post Fire Travel Management Tools - Trail Delineators

Mill Fire's Landscape Alteration

 

Post-fire rehabilitation of destination OHV areas on Forest Service lands requires a lot dedication, determination, and dollars/labor.  Sometimes, the landscape is altered for several generations.

Key trail entrance landmarks such as trees and boulders are often destroyed by the wildfire or impacted by heavy equipment used to blaze dozer lines around the fire.

Dozer Lines Can Also Remove Trail Entrance Features

 

On a recent work detail, QWR’s Sound Trails Initiative had the opportunity to help restore trail entrance features and vehicle-type control devices on the Mendocino National Forest.

Trail Delineators Ready for Installation on MC/ATV Trail

 

As many of you know, the 2012 Mill Fire destroyed about 82,000 acres within the boundaries of the Stonyford OHV Area on the Grindstone Ranger District in Northern California.  Much of the landscape is now unrecognizable and important trail entrance features are no longer there.

Delineators Installed on Designated MC/ATV Trail

 

To help identify trail entrances and vehicle-type restrictions, the Forest has been installing new trail delineators on important route entrances.  Over the last year, hundreds of trail delineators have been installed with the help of agency staff and volunteers to help prepare the unit for the fall riding season.

Trail Delineators Installed on Trail for Full-Size Vehicles

 

This summer’s fire season has devastated a lot of federal timber lands in the West including portions of the Stanislaus National Forest burned by Rim Fire.  Installing managed OHV recreation trail control structures will be important to reopen those routes in an expeditious manner.

QWR believes that volunteers will continue to play an important role in those trail projects.   It is a team effort to repair post-fire damage and will require continued partnerships with users, agency staff, grant funds where available, and other stakeholders.

Agency/Volunteer Work Party

 

Lastly, QWR wants to thank our partners and sponsors for the support over the last year which has enabled us to help with the ongoing post-fire trail rehabilitation efforts on the Mendocino National Forest.

Tools of the Trade

 

 

Trails are Important Part of Life's Journey - Kyburz Interpretive Center

Kiosk at Kyburz Flat Interpretive Center

 

At QWR we believe “The Trails You Take on Life’s Journey are Important.”   Trails and forest roads can offer adventure riders a link to our past via interpretive centers often found along both well-traveled and less-traveled routes.

Station One: Kyburz Petroglyph

While participating in the 2013 Reno 200 Dual Sport Ride this past weekend,  I stopped at the Kyburz Interpretive Center to learn about what took place in this remote valley over the last 2,000 years.  This center is located on the Tahoe National Forest’s Sierraville Ranger District.

 

According to information at the kiosk, the valley was inhabited as early as 2,000 years ago by ancestors of the Washoe Indians who lived and hunted in the area.  At one of the three interpretive sites, there are rocks that contain cupules which are a form of petroglyphs.  Cupules are round pits that were etched into the rocks and are believed to be associated with various Native American rituals.  This site remains important to the Washoe Tribe.

Link to GPS Coordinates for Kyburz Flat Interpretive Center

http://goo.gl/maps/ykJv6

In the 1850s, emigrants began to travel through this area.  Henness Pass Road had a stagecoach stop in the 1860s at this site and the route also provided access to this valley for grazing and timber. Basques also ran sheep in this area starting in the early 1900s. 

                                                             View of Kyburz Valley

 

Next time you are in this part of the Sierra Nevada Mountains just north of Truckee, California, take time to enjoy this information center and reflect on the many treasures that are part of our collective history.

# # #

 

 

"Sound" Advice DS Trail Tip - Two Mirror Law in Nevada

As QWR prepares to attend the 2013 Ride Reno 200 Dual Sport and Adventure Ride to operate our OHV sound education booth, we want to remind riders that two mirrors are required when you are operating a motorcycle on roads in the State of Nevada.

 

Link to 2013 Ride Reno 200

http://www.dustdevilsmc.com/Participant/ParticipantFlyer.aspx
 

According to NRS 486.311  (Mirrors) -  Every motorcycle or moped shall be equipped with two mirrors, each containing a reflection surface not less than 3 inches in diameter, with one mirror mounted on each handlebar, in positions enabling the driver to view clearly the highway for a distance of 200 feet to the rear.

 

QWR is providing this reminder so that riders coming from “one-mirror” states such as California can comply with the law and reduce the risk of being pulled over by a law enforcement officer.

 

Our good friends at the AMA have a handy website that contains current motorcycle-related laws for all 50 states.

 

AMA Motorcycle Laws

http://www.americanmotorcyclist.com/Rights/State-Laws
 

If you are coming up to the ride, be sure and stop by the sound station and say hi.

 

 

 

OHV Amateur Events are Foundational Aspect of Motorized Recreation

EDITORIAL

By Don Amador
August 21, 2013

*Permission to reprint or publish is hereby granted

 

I believe that OHV club events are culturally significant and are a foundational component of motorized recreation.  Amateur events such enduros, poker-runs, and dual-sport rides have become an important part of the recreational opportunity spectrum on state and federal lands.  They strengthen the family, create a sense of stewardship, and provide an economic benefit to the local community.

 

Amateur events are where the entire family usually attends to participate and/or support that relative who has signed up to ride.  Vacations are often planned to coincide with the event.  Vehicle and equipment preparation is where many valuable lessons are handed down from parent to child.

 

Long standing events such as the Oakland Motorcycle Club’s Jackhammer Enduro have taken place on Forest Service lands for over 40 years.  I believe these club “legacy events” creates generational ownership, pride, and stewardship of affected public lands.

 

Amateur events can also stimulate the local economy as riders patronize area restaurants, grocery stores, hotels, and gas stations.

 

In California, amateur event participants contribute directly to the Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division’s grant program via their vehicle registration fees and fuel taxes.  Those trust funds are then used to support public land-related trail maintenance, law enforcement, environmental restoration, and safety.

 

I believe that public land agencies should be encouraging club events as a way to strengthen partnerships, support family togetherness, stimulate volunteerism at the club level, and to provide an economic benefit to the local community.   

# # #

 

Don Amador writes on environmental and land-use issues from his office in Oakley, CA. He may be reached via email at: damador@quietwarriorracing.com

 

 

 

 

Alpine OHV Trail Success Story in Lake Tahoe Area

Armored Water Crossing on Blackwood OHV Trail

 

Addressing water quality concerns on OHV trails is not a new concept.  In fact, federal and state agencies have been doing just that for over 30 years. 

Cresting a Rolling Dip on Blackwood OHV Trail

 

The Blackwood Canyon OHV trail on the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit is a good case study of a successful 20+ year-old joint project between the U.S. Forest Service and the California Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division’s grant program.

Video of Jeep on Rolling Dips Installed on Blackwood OHV Trail

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HYU6TMTEII&feature=em-upload_owner

 

While on a recent SUV tour of the trail, QWR was able to document many of the (circa mid 1980s – early 1990s) stream armoring efforts and rolling dips (historically called water-bars) that are now important environmental features of the route.

Rolling Dip and Water Runout

 

QWR believes the success story at Blackwood Canyon highlights the import of OHV being proactive in supporting soil erosion/water quality-related projects on motorized trails.  Installation of modern stream armoring structures and rolling dips can help secure the future of OHV recreation on public lands in even the most sensitive areas including those regions that contain our historic alpine routes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

California North Coast Adventure Ride Report

QWR's Don Amador at Intersection of Bald Mountain Road

and Snow Camp Road

 

The coastal mountain range in the Eureka, California area offers the dual-sport or adventure rider a lot of high-quality backcountry experiences.  While on a recent 190 mile dual-sport trip with local off-roaders to review travel management issues on the Six Rivers National Forest, l had the privilege to enjoy many of the historic non-paved and paved road segments that circle north from Eureka and out through the old logging towns of Blue Lake and Korbel, south through sections of the Forest, and back west to Eureka via Highway 36 and the Kneeland Road.

Bald Mountain Road and Snow Camp Road Intersection GPS

http://www.findmespot.com/mylocation/?id=D40jV/40.88027N/123.87090W

 

 

 

 

East Intersection of Chism Road and Hwy. 299

 

 

Leaving Korbel we took Bald Mountain Road east and turned left on Snow Camp Road to Lord Ellis Summit where we hit Highway 299.  After following Highway 299 east for a few miles, we turned left on Chism Road and stayed on that route until it joined up once again with Highway 299.  A short jaunt east on that highway took us to the top of Berry Summit where we turned right on Titlow Road. 

 

Forest Highway One

 

Route One GPS

http://www.findmespot.com/mylocation/?id=D447K/40.86590N/123.73390W

 

After lunch at the world famous Burger Bar (located in a circa 1960s-era travel trailer) in Mad River, we headed west on Highway 36 where we gassed up at Dinsmore.  After gas, our journey took us west to Bridgeville (I think the entire town is still for sale!) where a right turn placed us on the Kneeland Road which is the mostly non-paved back entrance to Eureka.

 

Bridge at Yager Creek

 

We stopped at Yager Creek for a break and saw some pretty large trout in the steam below the bridge.  Not too far north of the bridge was the Iagua Ranch where supposedly some scenes were shot in a recent sci-fi movie.

Road Through Iagua Ranch

 

Many of you have journeyed on these routes before, but I wanted to share this info with the growing number of new riders who have joined the dual-sport/adventure family.  There are plenty of great hotels or campgrounds to stage from in the Eureka area.  The town also has a lot of cool places to visit including the Carson Mansion, Fort Humboldt, and the Samoa Cookhouse.

 

Carson Mansion

 

Be sure and stop by the Six Rivers National Forest HQ in Eureka and get one of their Forest Maps as there are lots of  two-track dirt roads to explore off of Route One.

 

# # #

 

 

 

 

QWR Trail Tip for CA - Purchasing a Dual-Sport Motorcycle in 2013

QWR's Factory Plated 500 EXC Dual-Sport

 

QWR has been getting a number of questions from riders in California asking about the purchase of a dual-sport motorcycle or doing a dual-sport conversion on a “Green-Sticker” off-highway motorcycle.

 

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.   QWR believes that decision was based on an ever changing regulatory climate that has become a foundation block of this state.

 

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.

The 1st Land-Use Battle Bike - a 1995 Honda XR600 that was

Plated BEFORE the DMV Deadline

 

QWR believes that 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.

 

Based on that demand, the Industry has responded with a wide variety of factory plated dual-sport motorcycles.  QWR urges riders who are getting into the dual-sport market to do their research and find that new or used dual-sport motorcycle that both meets their need and complies with California law.

# # #