It is a pleasure to announce that Mr. Ed Waldheim was appointed yesterday afternoon to the OHMVR Commission. He will fill out the vacant seat which expires in 2006.
Congratulations Ed. Frankly, most of what we have accomplished, together, over the last few years would not have been possible without your help. Both the OHV and environmental communities have you to thank for so much of the progress that has taken place. Your leadership has been unwavering, and I personally want to thank you for being able to make the tough decisions, rather than to avoid them. I'm sure the OHMVR staff will greatly appreciate the deep understanding you maintain of the internal operations of the program and your interest in being involved in all aspects of the program, not just that which the Commission typically shows interest in. I also know you maintain a great interest in eventually seeing the sunset of the OHMVR program "go away". At this point, I share that interest, as I believe the program has reached a point where it maintains stability in the legislature and has gone far in responding to its critics. Permanently capturing those changes into the OHMVR Program will be important when you consider your next sunset in 2006. However, staying the course with Stakeholders and continuing your efforts to bridge communications between interest groups will be critical to achieve that goal, as removing the sunset from the program without bipartisan support is highly unlikely. Yet, I think it can be done, and the time has come to seriously begin discussing that possibility. I hope that with your leadership, Stakeholders will initiate that discussion.
Again, congratulations, and good luck.
David L. Widell
Assistant Secretary
California Resources Agency