Trail Highlights at Christmas - It's a Team Effort

Trail Santa at QWR with 2014 Trail Workshop Kawasaki Teryx

As 2013 comes to a close, I want to just express my heartfelt thanks to my colleagues in the OHV community.  Those extended family members include OHV clubs, land management agencies, user groups, industry, dealers, media, aftermarket, legislators, and conservation organizations.

This year certainly has had its challenges, but for today, I want to highlight some of our collective (team effort) positive accomplishments in 2013.

Old trails that have been overgrown and unused are being reopened for OHV use in some areas using modern trail reconstruction techniques to address soil erosion and protect water quality.

New Companion Trail at BLM's Chappie-Shasta OHV Area 

Some units are securing OHV corridors for more looped opportunities.  These efforts are important for both casual use and permitted events.

New Bypass for OHV Corridor on Mendocino NF

Land agency line-officers are taking time to come out in the field to better understand their managed OHV recreation programs.  This is a good trend and QWR hopes to help facilitate more field-oriented trail workshops and outreach programs with our county, state, and federal partners in 2014.

Regional Forester Inspects Trail Armor Project

OHMVRD Dep. Director, Chris Conlin, Takes Dirt Bike School Class

at 2013 Trail Workshop (Chris is on Blue Yamaha TTR230)

QWR is also thankful for agency efforts to continue motorized access to some of our beaches on the North Coast of California.  Those wave-slope opportunities are a highly valued treasure to local recreationists and tourists who want a coastal beach experience.

OHV Access to South Jetty at Humboldt Bay

Volunteer projects are an important part of OHV management and those partnerships between user groups and agency staff create value to the resource and instill a sense of pride and ownership for the participants.

Post Mill Fire Trail Rehab 

As many of you prepare to enjoy some time with family and friends, QWR wants to once again say thank you to all members of the OHV community that we have had the pleasure to work with and serve in 2013.

Systems Approach is Force Multiplier to OHV Management

RCD/BLM Trail Armor Project

Over the last 40 years, management of OHV recreation on public lands has evolved into a highly complex and diverse “systems approach” concept that is often at the core of successful programs.  QWR believes it is important to highlight those partnerships in order to illustrate the evolution of managed motorized trail opportunities.

Last week, QWR was privileged to do an area review of just such an effort at BLM’s Chappie-Shasta OHV Area near Redding, California.   The Western Shasta Resource Conservation District (RCD) and the Bureau of Land Management recently entered into a ten year stewardship agreement to cooperatively manage the Chappie-Shasta Off-Highway Vehicle Area.

RCD/BLM Agreement

http://www.westernshastarcd.org/BLM_interlakes_stewardship_agreement.html

RCD and the BLM will focus on projects related to road and trail maintenance, forest health improvement, fuel reduction, education and outreach and other efforts.  For example, trail armoring projects - as the result of this partnership - are being implemented.

This collaborative effort with the support from the Yamaha OHV Access Initiative Grant Program is also in the middle of an OHV staging area enhance project to remove invasive plants that are impacting access and use of the facility.

RCD/Yamaha OHV Access Initiative Enhancement Project

Yamaha OHV Access Initiative Grant Program

http://www.yamahamotorsports.com/outdoor/ohv_grants/ohv_grants_home.aspx

The aforementioned RCD/BLM agreement acts as a force multiplier when combined with this unit’s long-standing partnership with California’s Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division and Commission.

CA OHV Grant Funded OHV Bridge to Protect Watershed

This is a good case study of how a comprehensive “many-hands/partners” systems approach to OHV trail and resource management is working in a synergistic manner to protect our natural environment while providing high-quality motorized trail opportunities.

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2013 Ranger Ride - Trail Management, Partnerships, and Collaboration

QWR's Don Amador Tries Out DirtBike School Course at Event

QWR believes there is no substitution for OHV-related on-the-ground training for land managers and recreation professionals.  How can a decision-maker manage an activity they don’t understand? That strong belief is why QWR teamed up with the BlueRibbon Coalition (BRC) this year to host the 2013 Ranger Ride and OHV Campout.     The event was based on a very successful series of such field conferences held during the 1990s.

OHMVRD Dep. Dir., Chris Conlin (on TTR230), Stops for Instructor

Although the shutdown prevented a number of historic event participants such as Trails Unlimited from attending, the Ride saw representatives from the Forest Service, BLM, California Conservation Corps, and the California OHV Program.   The trail workshop was held on October 29 – November 1 at the Stonyford OHV Area on the Mendocino National Forest.

DirtBike School Classroom Instruction

The event kicked off with MSF’s  DirtBike School.  Paul Hart, a certified DirtBike School coach and OHV program manager for the Shasta Trinity National Forest, taught this one-day hands-on training session to agency students from the Forest Service, BLM, California Conservation Corps, and the California Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division (OHMVRD).  Students learned basic riding skills, trail ethics, and environmental responsibility.

DirtBike School Students Prep for Post-Graduation Trail Ride

After graduation from the course, students took part in several days of trail riding where they could polish up on their newly acquired skills.

Tahoe NF's Trail Lead, Joe Chavez, on 80 Mile Trail Ride/Review 

of OHV Management on Grindstone and Upper Lake Ranger Districts

A foundational component of these Ranger Rides is the fostering of discussion and debate related to management of OHV recreation on public lands.  Trail rides, resource tours, and campfire chats are designed to highlight important current and/or evolving management concepts. 

Mendocino NF's Forest Supervisor, Sherry Tune, Takes 1st Ever OHV Ride

Review Includes Post-Mill Fire Trail Rehab

Topics covered at this event included construction of companion trails, the value of green-sticker connector trails or mixed-use routes/corridors, new streamlined NEPA process for OHV-related watershed-based restoration projects, traditional rolling dips vs. new “tabletop” erosion control structures, hand maintained single-track trails vs. machine groomed routes,  the need to train dozer operators in the proper construction of rolling dips, creation/management of SxS-oriented routes, collaboration between stakeholders, volunteer programs, post-fire road and trail repairs/management, and many other subjects.

California Conservation Corps Review of Trail Management Structures

QWR wants to commend Region 5 for sending their trails coordinator out to the event to show support for these types of field workshops.   The Forest Supervisor for the Mendocino National Forest also attended and took her 1^st ride in an OHV.  Leadership and key personnel from other units including the Shasta Trinity National Forest, California Conservation Corps, Tahoe National Forest, BLM’s Redding Field Office, and OHMVRD were there as well.  

QWR and our Sound Trails Initiative want to thank our partners and sponsors for their ongoing generous support of our efforts to champion responsible OHV recreation on public lands.  We could not do this without your help.  QWR also wants to thank RK/Excel for their support at this event for the public land volunteers who donate their personal time to help maintain our trail systems.

Stay tuned for updates as plans are already in the works for the 2014 Ranger Ride and OHV Campout.

Post Rim Fire Update - Trail Stabilization on Stanislaus National Forest/Hull Creek OHV Area

Post Rim Fire Trail Work on Stanislaus National Forest

With winter rains approaching in the next few weeks, QWR wants to commend agency staff on the Stanislaus National Forest for their work to stabilize or stormproof motorized routes in the Hull Creek OHV Area that were impacted by the Rim Fire.

According to an October 21, 2013 update from the Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) program, implementation is well underway ahead of the rainy season and assessment of additional needs is ongoing. Emergency response actions being taken include falling hazard trees near roads trails and campgrounds; improving and stormproofing roads to restore drainage; repairing and constructing rolling dips (drivable dips that remove water off the road); stabilizing and repairing trails; installing public warning signs gates and barricades for public safety; applying mulch and chipping woody material to protect exposed soil; and protecting cultural and natural resources.

Example of a Post Fire Rolling Dip

The BAER program also stated that while these treatments will help to reduce post-fire effects it must be recognized that not all effects can be mitigated and potential threats to life and property remain during runoff events. The projects underway are listed below.

Roads/Trails:

Restoring drainage - 61% complete:

Clean the ditches and culverts

Pull floatable debris from uphill of the culverts

Water bars – helps with the drainage of water and

grading the road.

Rolling dips: (repair and construct) - 13% complete

Trails:

Erosion control measure - 46% complete

Trail stabilization - 100% complete

Hazard tree mitigation - 100% complete

Install route markers - 100% complete

Install public warning signs gates and barricades

Protection/Safety:

Hazard tree mitigation - 94% complete along priority roads.

Cultural resource protection: erosion control measures are 69% complete and hazard tree mitigation is 100% complete.

QWR again wants to commend agency staff on the Stanislaus National Forest for their work to stabilize motorized trails that are so important to the OHV community.

"Stay the Trail" During Hunting Season

With the fall hunting season in full swing in many public land states, QWR believes it is important for that user group to “Stay on the Trail.”

 

QWR had a recent discussion with federal land managers regarding the importance of hunters using designated roads and trails when operating an OHV.   Hunters often do not view themselves as an operator of an OHV.  For many of those sportsmen, their ATV or SxS was purchased to replace the family jeep-type vehicle or pack animal.   There is an understandable disconnect between OHVs purchased for hunting vs. primary use for OHV recreation. That appears to be one of the main reasons that many hunters believe OHV-specific rules and regulations (helmet laws, use restricted to designated routes, prohibition of cross-country travel) do not apply to their use.

 

This ongoing land management challenge was highlighted recently in the Spokesman-Review where Idaho’s OHV Public Outreach Campaign was featured.  That program is working hard to help educate hunters to use designated routes.

 

Spokesman-Review Article on OHV Use during Hunting Season

http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/outdoors/2013/oct/08/campaign-urges-hunters-ohvs-stay-trails/
 

Idaho “Stay on Trails” Hunting Season Campaign

http://www.stayontrails.com/

 

Our good friends at Tread Lightly! have a great hunting-related education program as well.  Feel free to check out that campaign at: http://treadlightly.org/tread-lightlys-tips-for-responsible-hunting/

 

QWR believes that OHV stakeholders (industry, aftermarket, dealers, users, and land agencies) must continue to help with outreach to the hunting community on this important topic.  Education about responsible OHV use is a key enforcement tool and more of an effort must be made to encourage hunters to “Stay on the Trail.”

 

 

 

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.

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