There’s a public workshop tonight (and one Thursday night in San Diego) that anyone who has ever had to pay a use fee at Glamis or Dumont should try to attend. Heck, anyone who has ever registered an off-highway vehicle should try to attend.

This workshop is being put on to discuss how the California Off-Highway Motorized Vehicle Recreation Division that handles our “green sticker” money will work in the future (assuming that SB 742 discussed in the Legislative forum makes it through the process).

Here is what the Commission has written for the Division’s “program focus.”


Not quite the focus I was looking for, I must say. Sure would like to see less “landscape” and more “motorized recreation” in there. Aw, I'm probably asking to much of the motorized recreation division.

Here’s the blurb about the meeting...



Here's the Draft Vision Statement

And here's the Abstract Strategic Plan

Vicki W.

I'll be at the Mission Inn early, sitting downstairs reading over their plan.

Any ideas of where and when future meetings will be held.

No, but I think we need to give them some suggestions.

El Centro? Los Angeles? High desert?

I am going to try to hit the San Diego one on Thursday.

Yes, yes and yes. Definitely LA, I'd like to show up with "friends." More advance notice would be nice too.

Here's a 'recap' I posted on the Dumont Dune Riders site...

Last night's meeting had very low attendance but that actually worked to our advantage. We had a small dedicated group who spent the entire three hours working and stayed on track and I think we really made some headway.

So we can all understand why this process is important, here's a little background info...

When the Off Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division was first created within California State Parks & Recreation, it was more or less a pilot program. The legislation that created it even put in what is called a "sunset" date so that if the whole thing didn't work out it could just naturally die off without needing new legislation to end it. The program was designed to help maintain and create OHV opportunities, provide funding for education, trail maintenance, etc. A Commission was created to help decide how to dole out the money that was coming in from a special tax and OHV registration fees.

This all worked great for a while.

Then the Commission, who really holds the purse strings, started being taken over by anti-access people. How did this happen? Simple... we didn't pay attention. As a community, at least in the past, we have been very passive. Many were and some still are of the mindframe that "someone else will take care of it" and because no one really was, the fox got into the henhouse.

However it happened is not really important any more... the sad fact is, we're stuck with a lopsided Commission who is hell-bent on removing OHVs from the picture altogether.

Okay, so now the program that had such promise is no longer working. It's broken. But here's the thing... it's not just the off-roaders who are losing. Because the anti-access zealots are so impossible to work with, the true conservationists are losing too. The anti-access crazies will never rid themselves of OHVs... it's not possible. There's way too much money tied up in the industry and even in the face of all the environmental adversity we face today, our sport is growing.

And their blind ambition has made enemies of people who could actually help the true conservationists reach their goals.

We are here to stay. How we stay is in their hands just as much as it is in our hands.

Do we want the OHMVR division to continue? Yes, we do. Do we want our money to be held hostage? No, we don't.

The legislation that created the OHMVR Division is about to sunset in January 2008. Without additional legislation to keep it going, it will simply cease to exist. Money that is currently being paid into the OHMVR general fund will no longer be solely accessible to the OHV community. But we're not getting our money anyway, right?

We are, right now, faced with the very real choice of either extending the sunset date in the hopes we improve the program, or letting it lapse and being forced to start over. There is new legislation moving through the system right now, SB 742, and it's gnarly as it stands. But maybe we can make it work to our advantage... we'll see.

For now, we are continuing to attend these workshops under the hope that we will still have an OHMVR division this time next year... but with improvements.

The meeting last night, the meeting Thursday night, and any we are able to arrange in other places... these are all workshops that are vital to fixing this extremely broken system.

If we leave it to the beaurocrats, they'll screw it up. Sorry, but that's the fact. They need our input and our guidance if they are going to get it any where close to right.

And that's why it's important to be at the workshops.

It's called taking control.

Vicki

Thanks for the Recap

yeah...what he said!



there are work shops of this kind goin on all over the place. a good place to check up on em is here: http://www.arra-access.com/arra/regional.html



a lot of route designation goes on at these things. at first i thought, i dont wanna tell em where my favorite riding place is, they are just gonna shut the thing down!!!



but actually the opsite has turned out to be true...................



they mark the trails you like to ride on. THEN they mark the whole aera...closed except for marked trails!!!! i watched this happen out at dove springs. so i know how it gets done now.



if its a trails designation work shop...make SURE you attend...so your favorite spots dont get shut down.



thanks again for the update!!!!!!

Just to clarify... route designation workshops are separate from the OHMVR workshops.

They each have their own distinctive purpose, they are all vital to the off-roaders who use those resources and they are always educational.

And the 'chatter' that takes place before and after is invaluable.

There are systems in place that allow us to exercise our voices... we need to use every oppportunity!

Vicki

Bha, I missed this thread yesterday. So much for 'view new posts'.

Would have liked to have gone to the SD meeting.

Last nights meeting was "eye opening" to say the least. Unlike Tuesday's meeting, there were a few staunch environmentalists in attendance who certainly made it clear what their opinion of us is, and it isn't pretty. Sadly, I don't think much got accomplished last night, even with some very active members from law enforcement and SDORC there. I understand that everyone has a voice and an opinion, but I thought the purpose of the meetings was to pinpoint areas that the OHMVR Division needs to address in its strategic plan, not a public hearing about the evils of off road recreation. I have to say I was much more impressed with the people from the off road community, they were respectful despite the blatant (and loud) attacks on off roaders that had nothing to do with the purpose of the meeting.

One thing that has become crystal clear to me in a very short period of time is that if we don't stand together, one by one we will fall. There is no room for being wishy-washy or infighting. The people who are trying to take away our sport, hobby or lifestyle are methodical, organized and educated. And they are loud. While some may seem like they are willing to find a balanced solution, deep down they want to end OHV recreation all together. And they will do it one acre at a time if they have to.

Please please please begin to educate yourselves on the issues. There are several people on this board that do the research, but it is your choice to get involved. It isn't easy, sometimes I think they made it deliberately hard so that we the people don't always understand. But if we ask enough questions, eventually we will get to the answer.

This is a HUGE issue right here!!!!!!!!! We (as off roaders) need to come together to fight these people tooth and nail. Very well said Vic, this issue should be job one for sure!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can we get everyone on the same mission? God I hope so!

Robin, thank you (and Vicki) for attending last night. I heard it was a rough one.

I am sorry that you had to see the darker side so clearly right off the bat.

Then again, maybe that's a good thing.

Sometimes it's easy to get lulled into a sense of companionship with the anti-access folks and many have learned that is a mistake.

One of the biggest differences between pro-access and anti-access people is, the pro-access really do understand all sides of the issue. The anti-access can only see their side and will do everything they can to pursue it, even if it compromises their integrity.

Last night gave you an up close and personal view of what we are up against.

And Robin, here's the thing... last night was mild.

Buckle your seatbelts... we have a really rough ride ahead.

Vicki