CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION
News Release
For energy efficient recreation -California
State Parks on the Internet:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Steve Capps
September 19, 2002 (916) 651-8750
Gov. Gray Davis Signs OHV Reform
Supported by Off-Roaders, Environmentalists

SACRAMENTO - Governor Gray Davis has signed legislation that will secure appropriate
places for off-highway vehicle (OHV) users to ride, while providing better protection for the
environment.
"This is an important measure that will protect the interests of off-road enthusiasts, while
protecting the interests of California's environment," Governor Davis said.
The legislation, AB 2274, by Assembly Speaker pro tem Fred Keeley (D-Boulder Creek)
and Assemblymen Mark Wyland (R-Del Mar), drew bipartisan support in the Legislature, and
won the support of both environmental organizations and off-road recreation groups. AB 2274
represents the most sweeping reform of California’s off-highway vehicle program in its 30-year
history.
The new law will require that a portion of gas taxes paid by owners of non-registered off-highway
vehicles be earmarked for conservation, restoration of lands damaged by off-road use
and law enforcement. It also increases funding for local law enforcement by directing 100
percent of off-highway vehicle fines and forfeitures to the county/city of origin rather than the
current even split between the state and county/city of origin.
The legislation also initiates a comprehensive strategic planning process to improve the
chances for acquisition and development of OHV recreation areas. It calls for a number of
objective studies to better understand trends in off-road vehicle recreation and the need for
development of urban, off-road sport complexes that could maximize use of already developed
areas while providing youth a closer-to-home OHV experience.
AB 2274 also brings California’s off-road noise emissions levels down from one of the worst
in the nation to one of the best, reducing the maximum decibel level standard from 101 db to 96
db.

[ 09-20-2002, 10:15 AM: Message edited by: Bluesky ]

CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES - U.S. Representative Maurice Hinchey -
Washington DC

HINCHEY LEADS COLLEAGUES IN URGING THAT OFF-ROAD VEHICLES ISSUE BE
ADDRESSED WITHOUT DELAY
http://www.house.gov/hinchey/091902blm_orv.htm

September 19, 2002 - U.S. Representative Maurice Hinchey (NY-26) today sent
a letter to the director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) urging the
agency not to defer the designation of off-road vehicle (ORV) routes. The
letter to BLM Director Kathleen Clarke is signed by Hinchey and ten of his
fellow members of the House Appropriations Committee.

"One of the most powerful tools we have in the effort to protect resources
is good information," said Hinchey. "By delaying ORV route designation into
the future, the BLM will be denying us the use of this tool indefinitely.
They will also be defying legal mandates and reneging on their commitment
to resolve ORV issues through the planning process.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) manages 264 million acres of public
lands in the West. Ecologically critical, these lands provide millions of
acres of key big game habitat for antelope, elk, and other species, and
habitat for 400 species of songbirds. All-terrain vehicles, dirt bikes,
dune buggies and other ORVs increasingly threaten these public lands.
Uncontrolled ORV use causes soil erosion, destroys plants, fills streams
with sediment, spreads invasive weeds, and harms wildlife. According to the
BLM's own data, ORV use is allowed in some form on approximately 93 percent
of our public lands in the continental United States.

Since the 1970's, ORV-specific Executive Orders and regulations have
obligated the BLM "to protect the resources of the public lands, to promote
the safety of all users of those lands, and to minimize conflicts among the
various uses of those lands" by designating areas and trails as "open,"
"limited," or "closed" to ORVs. Current regulations dictate that all ORV
designations must be established in Resource Management Plans (RMPs),
comprehensives documents that establish management objectives for each land
unit and provides the public with information so that, among other things,
they can locate appropriate locations and routes to hike, bike, and use ORVs.

In 2000, the BLM proposed and implemented an aggressive agenda to develop a
new generation of RMPs for all of its public lands. Congress responded,
appropriating nearly $25 million in fiscal year 2001 and $33 million in
fiscal year 2002.

Hinchey and his colleagues recently learned that the BLM is amending its
land use planning manual and handbook by directing field staff to delay ORV
route designation to a secondary planning process known as travel
management. In addition to opposing the change, the signers of the letter
also object to the amendment being implemented without opportunity for
public comment.

"Instead of using these increased appropriations to resolve ORV issues
through the planning process, BLM is rushing the completion of plans to
speed up energy development, Hinchey added. "This is detrimental to the
public, including the many responsible ORV users who want clear guidance on
where ORV use is and is not permitted"

*

View the letter from Congress
at: http://www.house.gov/hinchey/091902blm_letter.pdf

quote:

---

It calls for a number of
objective studies to better understand trends in off-road vehicle recreation and the need for
development of urban, off-road sport complexes that could maximize use of already developed
areas while providing youth a closer-to-home OHV experience.

---

YOU JUST DONT F*****G GET IT BLU, WE GO TO THE DESERT TO GET AWAY FROM THE URBAN AREAS YOU IDIOT!!!

LIVE FREE OR DIE!