MOTORIZED OHV SUMMIT
JULY 12 & 13, 2005
WASHINGTON, DC

Bob Mason, ASA Chairman, and Grant George, ASA President, participated in the two-day conference co-chaired by Roy Denner of ORBA and Jack Welch of the Blue Ribbon Coalition.

Purpose of the Summit
-- Support House Resources Committee Chairman Pombo’s effort to reform and update the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
-- Educate legislators about the popularity and economic importance of motorized recreation.
-- Participate in a Congressional Oversight Hearing on Motorized Recreation on Federal Lands.
-- Meet with executive management of federal agencies responsible for the management of motorized recreation opportunities.
-- Network with the participants at the Summit.

Overview
The Summit was very worthwhile in terms of formal meetings and informal networking opportunities. The OHV panel representatives were very effective. Detailed testimony, meeting notes, and attendance list will be forthcoming. Advance research and preparation of briefing materials relating to the ISDRA budget shortfall was useful. The PMV DVD and the Litter Education PSAs were well received. Thanks to all that assisted in the preparation of briefing materials.

Attendees
-- Nearly 100 participants - including representatives of snowmobile, personal Watercraft, and OHV recreation.
-- Representatives from Pennsylvania, Oregon, Colorado, Connecticut, California, Nevada, Texas, Idaho, and Arizona.
-- ASA leadership was supported by Dr. Phillips, Botanical and Environmental Consultant; David Hubbard, Attorney; Paul Kavinoky, Washington OHV Lobbyist; and Pete Conaty, California OHV Lobbyist.
-- ISDRA Small Business owners Mike and Michelle Gilmore (Gilmore Off-Road) and Kathy Godley (KD Cycle) attended meetings with the BLM and their congressional representatives. Gilmore Off-Road and KD Cycle joined representatives of the Arizona State Association of 4-Wheel Drive Clubs in a meeting with the BLM staff responsible for permit administration.
-- The United Desert Gateway (UDG) communities of Brawley, El Centro, and Yuma were represented by Nicole Gilles, UDG President.

Meetings
The following is a partial list of meetings ASA had and the discussion topics:

United States Fish and Wildlife Service
Craig Manson, Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks in the U.S. Department of the Interior
Julie MacDonald, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks in the U.S. Department of the Interior
Randy Bowman, Special Assistant to Assistant Secretary Manson
Topics
-- Formal delivery of the resubmission of the Peirson’s milkvetch (PMV) delisting petition and DVD
-- ESA reform and update
-- ISDRA Biological Opinion (BO) & Recreation Area Management Plan (RAMP) implementation requirements and the associated budget shortfall.

Bureau of Land Management
William Woody, Director, Law Enforcement, Security and Protection for the Bureau of Land Management
Selma Sierra, Chief of Staff at the Bureau of Land Management
Ed Shepard, Assistant Director Renewable Resources
Scott Abdon, Sr Outdoor Recreation Specialist
Bob Ratcliffe, Deputy Manager National Recreation Program
Topics
-- UDG activity update and funding delay
-- Law Enforcement commitment to ISDRA by DC office
-- Law enforcement support of Litter Education and enforcement
-- ISDRA small business activity permits-- ISDRA budget shortfall

Department of Interior
Gale Norton, Secretary of Interior
Scott Stewart, Associate Director, Office of External Affairs
Topics
-- ESA reform and update mutual objectives
-- BLM overall funding deficit
-- ISDRA RAMP Biological Opinion implementation funding requirements
-- ISDRA specific funding shortfall
-- PMV delisting petition resubmission
-- Expression of appreciation for support of OHV recreation

Accomplishments/Action Items
-- Bill Woody supports the addition of the BLM law enforcement shield and logo on the Litter Education public service announcements (PSAs).
-- Selma Sierra will follow up regarding the delay of UDG Task Order matching funds.
-- Paul Kavinoky will draft a letter for Congressman Hunter, Pombo, and Filner’s signature supporting increased BLM appropriations for the ISDRA.
-- ISDRA small business owners presented their concerns regarding the RAMP and vendor permit process to BLM and their congressional representatives.
-- Gained usefully insight regarding the submission of additional information in support of the PMV delisting petition.

ALSO, DON'T FORGET THE:

NEXT ASA BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
Saturday, July 23, 9:00 am
Holiday Inn
1240 S. Walnut St.
Anaheim, CA 92802

Q&A Opportunity

Committee reports and guest speakers will include:

Neil Hamada, BLM ISDRA Dunes Manager - Adaptive Management Area (AMA) Permits, 2005-06 Visitor Fee Program
Imperial County Sheriff Sergeant Mark McNay / Vicki L. Wood, Manager, El Centro Field Office Manager - Comp Hill Curfew
Nicole Gilles, UDG President - UDG Progress Report, LITTER Education Program
Steve Razo, BLM CA Desert District External Affairs Director - LA County Fair Opportunity
Jerry Seaver, ISDRA TRT Chairman - Technical Review Team (TRT) Report
Vicki L. Wood - Vendor Administration
Mike Remington, Supervisor of Environmental Regulation and Emergency Planning, Imperial Irrigation District - Modification of the canal near Test Hill
Grant George and Bob Mason - Washington, DC OHV Summit Report

Thank you.

The American Sand Association
Unite, Inform, and Mobilize

This meeting was held on Thursday morning, and had been arranged by the Arizona State Association of 4-Wheel Drive Clubs.

I had called Lee Larson's (permits) office on Wednesday and he told me about the meeting set for Thursday. Wednesday night at the Pombo reception we asked the Az State Assoc. if there was room for a couple more attendees.

Arizona State Association of 4-Wheel Drive Clubs is a small and very hard working group that doesn't always get the support or credit they are due. It was very gracious of them to share their time with Gilmore Off-Road and KD Cycle, especially after they had done the work, research and phone calls it took to set the meeting.

Vicki

[edited for missing word]

SOOOOOOOOOO, for us PI people.....

That all looks impressive, what does it mean to us, the duner ???

Did anything get accomplished or was it just a bunch of ........

Great to meet ya,
Great to see ya,
We will look in to that,
We will get back to ya,


OH YEA,,,,,,, VOTE FOR ME THIS YEAR .....

I received this from Ed Waldheim (CORVA) as part of his DC report:

10.30 a.m. I headed to the Interior department. 11.30 a.m. Meet with Secretary of Interior for 30 minutes Gale Norton. [Pete] Conaty, Paul Kavinoky, Bob Mason, myself [Ed Waldheim], Roy Denner, Bob Reed , Harold Sones attended this meeting with [Dave] Hubbard.

We where escorted by Scott G. Stewart Associate Director office of Eternal and Intergovernmental Affairs.. Judge Manson from USFWS was also there. Before meeting I talked to him about tortoise issues and need for breeding and that the closing of public land is doing nothing for the tortoise. Gave him FOJ map and showed him the areas.

Gale Norton listened to Hubbard talk about the ESA and changes. Bob Mason talked about dunes and I was able talk about the budget. Mrs. Norton said Congress has to do the funding. (she threw the ball back to us) I asked her to direct the 7 million increase in funding for recreation to area where the use and visitors are. (Empahsis added)

SB, as you know, DUNERS was in DC too and I have to say, for the most part these "lobby days" are pretty much meet-and-greet events. That's not a bad thing... those meet and greet moments can often blossom into something more important

But sometimes the meetings can be cumbersome. For instance, some of the meetings had anywhere from 10 to 20 people in attendance. That may have impressed the politician to see the OHV support, but it was not a good venue to get a particular issue addressed.

Smaller, more focused meetings, like the one DUNERS arranged with Congressman Calvert's office and the one Gilmore and KD Cycle attended with Az. State Association, are usually less "meet" and more "meat."

As for what any of it will mean, sometimes nothing will "show" for quite a while, but my impression from this outing is that some very definite support will come in the form of letters from legislators and that kind of support is always a good thing.

Vicki

[edited for foolish errors]

Targeted meeting are very important.

I met with several folks:

Congressman Doolittle (my rep). Talked about ESA reform, which he will suport, so we didn't take much time on the issue. Also asked him to consider authoring another Wilderness Study Area release bill (there are WSAs at 4 different dunes: St. Anthony, Coral Pink, Christmas Valley & Killpecker). He seemed cool on the idea, but I later found out that Congressman Otter may be sending in his bill again.

Congressman Gibbons (NV). Talked about NV BLM (lot's of different angles that I don't want to cover here). Talked about the need for the need that ESA reform also includes subspecies. This is a big issue for Sand Mountain, and sand dunes everywhere (ever notice that every dune has its own scarab beetle?).

Congressman Simpson's chief of staff - Releasing the WSA at St. Anthony.

Congressman Walden's land use person - Release the WSA at Christmas Valley.

Forest subcommittee legislative assistant - WSA Release at all 4 dunes.

Also had several shorter conversations with a few folks on the Resources Committee at the reception.

Everyone I talked to knew we were all here to push for ESA reform amongst other things. The ESA bill we should see next week won't have everything we want in it, but it will be a huge improvement over what we have now. It is my opinion that we should all do everything in our power to make it happen.

I don't favor general type lobby days. I favor targeted meetings with specific agendas. That was my goal, and I saw several others with the same mission. The ASA, ORBA, etc. were well prepped and received at the Norton meeting, and it is very impressive that they got 45 minutes with her. There were lots of these types of meetings, that set the stage for bigger and better things in the future. I believe that building these relationships is HUGE, and will pay big dividends in the future. Things don't just happen because they make sense. They happen because a lot of people are working hard to make sure the right people are helping us.

The reception was a crack up. For any of you liberals that somehow think that democrats will help us, you need to attend one of these lobby efforts and/or congressional hearings. The democrats on the forest subcommittee were all targeting less land for OHV use, and were coming up with off-the-wall "facts" to support their agenda. The Congresswoman from the Virgin Islands made us laugh several times because she was so far over the top.