e-mail won't work for Burton. Send via fax instead to 916-445-4722.

Vicki

You can also get your local representatives involved... go to the AMA website:

http://www.ama-cycle.org/index.asp

My fax is on the way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LIVE FREE OR DIE!

Straight from the Sacramento Bee

Panel cuts snowmobile trail grooming
By Ed Fletcher -- Bee Capitol Bureau - (Published October 18, 2002)

To the ire of critics who say the commission is betraying its purpose, the Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Commission voted Thursday not to maintain more than 100 miles of the most popular winter trails used by snowmobile enthusiasts and cross-county skiers.

With six members present Thursday, the commission could not muster the four votes needed to approve grants to continue grooming trails within the Lake Tahoe Basin and Humboldt-Toiyabe national forests.

A 3-3 vote Wednesday ended state-funded off-road vehicle trail grooming within the Eldorado National Forest.

The commission approved funding, however, for snowmobile trails in the Tahoe National Forest along Interstate 80. The amount approved was somewhat higher than the staff recommendation -- in part to compensate for the increased demand created by ending grooming in other parts of Northern California.

Two of the members voting against maintaining trails cited environmental issues. Another said snowmobile users are using too large a share of the state recreation budget.

Commission member Harold Thomas said his concerns about the clarity of Lake Tahoe water led him to vote against the Lake Tahoe basin grant application.

He said there is more to learn about snowmobile pollution, "but we know it is there."

"We need to do something, and the time is now," said Thomas, an appointee of state Senate President Pro Tem John Burton.

John Brissenden, an appointee of Assembly Speaker Herb Wesson, said the cost is too great for the number of users who benefit.

"It's a fairness issue," he said.

The commission allocates money from the Off-Highway Vehicle Trust Fund, which comes from gas tax funds and off-road vehicle license fees. Its decisions do not affect trails designated for non-motorized use only.

"The tree-huggers are trying to put us out of business," said John Frazier, whose family owns Bear River Lake Resort off Highway 88. The resort is in the Eldorado National Forest, where an estimated 5,300 people used snowmobile trails last year.

In past years, the resort was paid by the state to groom and mark 60 miles of trails. The trails and the riders they bring help the resort's snowmobile sales and repair business as well as lodge sales and cabin rentals, Frazier said. He said businesses could not afford to maintain the trails without getting paid.

Advocates of state aid argued Thursday that snowmobile owners will continue to ride, but will operate under more dangerous conditions. They said the commission's actions will close the sport to less-experienced users who aren't comfortable plowing through powdery snow.

Cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and other recreational activities will also be affected, they said. And they argued that groomed trails allow search-and-rescue teams to get to remote areas faster.

Bill Dart of the Blue Ribbon Coalition, representing more than 700,000 outdoor activists, said the commission has always sought to include an environmentalist voice, but should not be dominated by "anti-access people."

"We have had a shift in the balance of power," Dart said. "The anti-recreation groups now control the program."

While rejecting key trail maintenance proposals before them, commission members also voted Thursday to approve numerous grants for law enforcement patrols and environmental research.

New member Robert Chavez, an appointee of Gov. Gray Davis, questioned whether the commission's actions reflected its key purpose.

"Last time I checked, the title of this commission is Off-Highway Vehicle Commission," Chavez said to applause from the audience. "We have to remember what we are here for."