OMRA Legal News 
OMRA Legal News
NOHVCC NEWS 1/17/03
Welcome!!!
This weeks newsletter contains the following:
----FEDERAL AGENCIES FAIL IN DESERT TORTOISE RECOVERY
----CHILTON COUNTY MINOOKA PARK
----NOHVA SWAP MEET
----NEW HANDBOOK DEMYSTIFIES SAFE AND RESPONSIBLE USE OF 4WD
----SECRETARY NORTON ANNOUNCES NEW FIREFIGHTING INITIATIVES;
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FEDERAL AGENCIES FAIL IN DESERT TORTOISE RECOVERY
(From: Ron Loomis)
1/8/03 San Diego. Public land access advocates
served a notice of intent to sue to federal agencies
on Wednesday charging that the U.S. Department of
Interior, and its two subordinate agencies, the United
Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) have knowingly and negligently
impeded the recovery of the desert tortoise since its
listing as "threatened" in 1989.
The four organizations, primarily off road groups,
claim that the DOI, USFWS and BLM have failed to take
reasonable steps to arrest the spread of Upper
Respiratory Tract Disease (URTD), which is suspected
to be the primary cause of dramatic declines in desert
tortoise populations. The action also cites the
agencies' failure to properly monitor the recovery
efforts, and claim the agencies have ignored the
growing body of science that indicates URTD, along
with raven predation, are driving the species rapidly
toward extinction throughout the deserts of
California, Arizona, Nevada and Utah.
This action also follows the release of a report from
the General Accounting Office (GAO), which indicates
that federal government has spent over $100 million in
the last 12 years trying to protect the tortoise; with
little or no evidence these efforts have made any
difference.
"The DOI efforts to recover the desert tortoise have
been an abject failure.," states David P. Hubbard an
environmental attorney who filed the notice.
"Millions of dollars have been expended, and millions
of acres of federal land have been closed off to
public use; yet the tortoise continues to spiral
towards extinction."
The filing will heat up the battle between
recreationists and those who want to close the desert
to off-road vehicles and campers. Since 1994,
millions of acres of public lands have been closed off
from motorized access, making over 14% of California
inaccessible to the public.
"The federal agencies are being driven to closure
decisions by environmental lawsuits, and fail to
consider the science or economical impact of the
communities that are affected.," states Michelle
Cassella of AMA D-37 Sports Committee, the lead
organization in the action. "Recent studies funded in
part by off road interests clearly indicate that in
many cases the public has little or no impact on
threatened species. Ironically, it is the trails and
highways in the desert that provide barriers for
disease transmission among tortoise populations."
Other plaintiffs in the action include the California
Off Road Vehicle Association (CORVA), Off Road
Business Association (ORBA), and the San Diego Off
Road Vehicle Association (SDORC).
David Hubbard is an environmental and land use
attorney with the firm of Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves &
Savitch, LLP located in San Diego, CA. He represents
public land advocates who have filed the 60 Day Notice
of Intent to Sue. (760) 496-0776
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CHILTON COUNTY MINOOKA PARK
(From:Glenn Myers)
Press release;
Chilton County's Minooka Park is well into becoming a reality.
We started in 2001 with power point presentations to the county
commissioners. After several meetings and site review with the BLM they
decided to go for the project of creating the "FIRST" county
operated OHV -
Multiple use park in Alabama. Now for the Who, What, Where, When,and Hows.
Who, Chilton County Alabama
What. Create and build the first Multiple use OHV Park in Alabama.
Where. 159.2 Acres of land received from the BLM. Between the towns of
Calera and Jemison off Hwy. 31 and I-65.
When. FY 2003.
We plan to have some of the facilities in place with most
of the motorized trails built by the Late Fall or early Winter. Planning
and trail flagging have started at this time. On January 13,2003, Mr.
Bobby Bledsoe, Mr. Brooke Beazley, and I started flagging the trails
system.
How. After many planning meetings the Chilton County Commissioners
contracted Mr. Bobby Bledsoe as the planner. Mr. Bledsoe is retired Forest
Service with an extensive background in planning and design. We are still in
the first stages of park design and review, but felt it necessary to get the
utilities and basic design on the ground ASAP. Mrs. Louise Campbell is our
grant writer and did an excellent job on getting the county $560K from RTP
Funding. Mr. Beazley is highly skilled with GPS and is a very active OHVer
with over 25 years experience riding motorcycles and atvs.
Brooke is very active in our local club and trail maintenance along with
trail patrol and education of the users. I feel extremely lucky to have been
a part of the partnership which has formed with this park project.
=======================================================
For Immediate Release
NEWS RELEASE
Contact: Jenna Kane
Glovebox Publications
Voice: 949.645-7733
Email: jenna@eco4wd.com
NEW HANDBOOK DEMYSTIFIES SAFE AND RESPONSIBLE USE OF 4WD
The success
of modern SUVs is evident, but studies show 95%
never realize their potential — unpaved travel. The owners quiver with a
latent sense of adventure, but according to author Harry Lewellyn, "They
are
concerned with family and vehicle safety, and environmental issues."
However, the "Professor of Off-Road" (FOURWHEELER magazine, August
'94)
bridges the gap to responsible off highway travel with SHIFTING into 4WD.
Knowing SUV safety is a current issue, according to Lewellyn, "Safety is
never forgotten and emphasized throughout."
SHIFTING into
4WD answers all of the typical questions. How do
I prepare for a 4WD trip? When do I engage 4WD? Is driving in 4WD
different than driving in 2WD? How do I negotiate different terrain and
obstacles? Is there a backcountry trail etiquette I should practice?
Are
there easy ways to get unstuck? What do I do if I have a field breakdown?
How do I get rescued?
The 360-page
handbook is designed to be a constant trailside
companion. It fits perfectly in the glove box or a door side pocket.
A
logical Quick-Look reference, inside the front cover, makes critical subject
matter immediately accessible. Lewellyn illustrates and details every
technique so even the novice knows what to do. He's also so confident 4WD
aficionados will benefit from the handbook, he offers a money back guarantee
if a reader doesn't learn something new.
Harry
Lewellyn teaches 4WD classes at many southern California
colleges, leads tours into Death Valley, Baja and Copper Canyon, Mexico,
publishes the Ecological 4-Wheeling Adventures newsletter and has been an
expert 4WD witness for the Federal Government. Let his clean and easy
style
open Mother Nature's back door to a lifetime of safe and responsible unpaved
adventure!
TITLE: SHIFTING into 4WD, The SUV Owner's 4WD Handbook
AUTHOR: Harry Lewellyn
PUBLICATION DATE: January 1, 2002
SPECIFICATIONS: 5 3/8" x 8 3/8", soft cover, 360 pages, 114
illustrations,
numerous icons, index
ISBN: 0-944781-02-0
PRICE: $23.95
PUBLISHER: Glovebox Publications
P.O. Box 12137
Costa Mesa, CA 92627
VOICE: 949.645.7733 / Fax: 949.645.7738
EMAIL: info@eco4wd.com
THE AUTHOR: Harry Lewellyn has been traveling the unpaved terrain since age
13. He offered his first 4WD class and tour in 1984 and has been actively
educating on 4WD, leading tours, and publishing books and his fact-based
newsletter ever since. He points out, "I'd have to be pretty blind to
have
conducted 4WD tours and classes for 17 years and not learned something."
This easy to read handbook is the result of that experience.
==============================================
NOHVA SWAP MEET
Don't forget the Swap Meet and Annual Meeting to be held on February 1, 2003
in Columbus at Ag Park. The swap meeting is turning into a fairly large
event. Our Annual meeting will be held at the swap meet in a separate
meeting room that afternoon beginning at 4 PM. Election of local chapter
officers for the Headworks/Halsey chapter will take place and positions for
the Board of Directors will take place. Other business will be discussed
as
well. New business first, then old business last. This would be a
good
meeting for NOHVA members to bring their ideas and concerns to. For more
information, visit the Swap Meet Annual Meeting web site at
www.nohva.com/swapmeet
==============================================
Secretary Norton Announces New Firefighting Initiatives;
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Mark Pfeifle or John Wright
(202) 208-6416
Secretary Norton Announces New Firefighting Initiatives;
Details Locations of Five New Healthy Forest Pilot
Projects
NEW ORLEANS ? Coming off of one of the worst fire seasons in modern history,
Interior Secretary Gale Norton today announced two memorandums of
understanding to better coordinate federal, state and local forest and
rangeland firefighting efforts and announced five new Healthy Forests pilot
projects the Interior Department and state, tribal and local partners will
perform this year.
Secretary Norton made the announcements this afternoon in New Orleans at the
National Fire Plan Conference. The conference included more than 400 fire
managers and land managers, representing federal, state and local
organizations.
"We need to take action and leave a legacy of healthier lands and thriving
communities. Together, we can fulfill this vision," Secretary Norton said.
"A century of fire suppression and forest management policies have left
forests with too many trees and trees that are small and unhealthy. Insect
and disease damage have turned whole mountainsides from rich green to rust
and then to gray as the trees died.
Secretary Norton pointed out that more than 7.1 million acres burned last
year ? more than twice the annual 10-year average. These fires caused the
death of 21 firefighters, drove tens of thousands of people from their homes
and destroyed more than 2,000 buildings. These fires also destroyed
sensitive wildlife habitat and severely damaged soils and watersheds for
decades to come. Currently, 190 million acres of public land and surrounding
communities are at increased risk of extreme fires. "For the good of
communities and their economies, most agree that we have to treat the
forests and rangelands to prevent catastrophe. We want to leave a positive
legacy on our public lands and achieve greater safety for America's
communities. We are working with communities to reduce the risks of
catastrophic fires and to restore health to our forests and rangelands.
Success requires that we apply a healing hand to the land," Secretary
Norton
said.
Secretary Norton today announced two MOUs to build better partnerships to
combat wildland fires. In the first MOU, the Department of the Interior,
USDA Forest Service, State Foresters and National Association of Counties
signed an agreement to better prioritize the annual selection of fuels
treatment projects. This will be accomplished by concentrating on high
priority areas: 1) in the wildland-urban interface, where the greatest risk
to property and life exist and, 2) outside the wildland-urban
interface,areas that are at the highest risk of catastrophic fire. Projects
will be
selected May 1st, so firefighting personnel can prepare fuels treatment
projects before the beginning of the intense June through September fire
season.
Secretary Norton also announced an MOU agreement signed with
the Federal
Emergency Management Agency, USDA Forest Service and State Foresters
that
will avoid duplication in fire-related
federal grant programs. The
agreement will leverage funds more effectively
to assist local fire
departments efforts to improve firefighter safety, suppression response and
risk mitigation.
Grant applications will be reviewed simultaneously by all
federal agencies to avoid duplication. Secretary Norton also
announced
five additional Healthy Forests pilot
projects. The pilot projects include the following:
Weaver Mountain, Ariz., in Yavapai Country, three miles southeast of
Yarnell, Ariz. The southern boundary is north of the Hassayampa Wilderness
Area. The project includes approximately 14,000 acres, consisting of 8,950
Bureau of Land Management acres, 4,000 Arizona State acres and 1,100 acres
of private ownership. The project will reduce interior chaparral brush
within the area and improve rangeland and wildlife habitat conditions.
White River Power Line project, near Rio Blanco County, Colo. The project
involves mechanical thinning and prescribed burning of pinon, juniper and
sagebrush stands that are directly adjacent or near electric transmission
lines. The Rio Blanco County commissioners and the White River
Electric Association, recognizing that a hazardous fuel problem exists,
requested that the BLM do hazardous fuel reduction treatments in the area.
Horse Thief Subdivision in Montana, near Roundup, Mont., 50 miles north of
Billings. Mont. The BLM lands around the subdivision are overstocked with
Ponderosa Pine, which provides for a very volatile fuel situation. The first
treatment would be mechanical and consist of hand or machine thinning from
below to reduce the fuel load. The second treatment
would also be mechanical and would open the mature canopy to reduce the
change of crown fire. Treatments would be maintained by periodic use of
additional mechanical treatment and/or prescribed fire.
BIA/Zuni Agency project in N.M., 35 miles west of Gallup. Prescribed fire
and mechanical treatments will be applied to 1,300 acres of pine, gambel
oak, pinyon and grassland vegetation to restore the landscape.
Encroachment by pinyon and juniper has reduced wildlife habitat, ponderosa
pine regeneration and productivity and increased soil erosion. The Tribal
government supports the project.
Grand Teton National Park, Wyo., between Moran and Moose. This initiative
encompasses seven sites, covering 83 acres of the park. The chiefly
mechanical treatments will protect historical properties, private
structures, National Park Service housing and a dam. The mixed conifer and
sage rangelands have created a volatile fuel situation.
"Our proposals and pilot projects will help protect forest and rangeland
for
future generations. These thoughtful initiatives can make a difference in
the number of fuels treatment projects we are able to move forward. They
will help us restore the health of our forests and reduce risks to our
communities," Secretary Norton concluded.
=============================================
TREAD LIGHTLY! JOB OPENING
POSITION:
Education & Program Specialist
SALARY: $TBD
BENEFITS: Full
Health & Dental, Paid Vacation and Personal
RESUMES & INTEREST LETTERS DUE:
February 7, 2003
STARTING DATE: On or after March 3, 2003 (or to be determined)
CONTACT: Emily McAllister, Education
& Program Specialist
298 24th Street, Suite 325 Ogden, UT 84401
emily@treadlightly.org
www.treadlightly.org
No phone calls, please.
Tread Lightly!, Inc. is seeking a dedicated, recreation oriented individual
for a full-time education position at the national headquarters in Ogden,
Utah. Tread Lightly! is a national non profit organization that empowers
generations to enjoy the outdoors responsibly through education, restoration
and research. Tread Lightly! works with natural resource managers,
corporations, media, conservation organizations, clubs and individuals in
disseminating educational materials and programs which encourage responsible
and ethical use of the outdoors while recreating.
PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE:
The Education and Program Specialist will oversee Tread Lightly!’s existing
programs including Restoration for Recreation and the new Tread Trainer
Program, and will work to develop new programs and trainings consistent with
Tread Lightly!’s mission. The Education and Program Specialist will work
closely with Tread Lightly! partners, members and Official Sponsors to
implement educational opportunities in spreading the message of Tread
Lightly to the public and recreational enthusiasts.
Other responsibilities include:
Work in conjunction with the Tread Lightly! Education Committee to establish
goals for education programs and materials.
Oversee the updating and development of Tread Lightly! educational
materials.
Managing budgets/timelines for the effective implementation of projects and
programs.
Traveling to various locations for educational opportunities.
Writing of newsletter articles, press releases and other PR associated with
specific projects, proposal and grant writing.
The ideal candidate for this position should have a strong background in the
outdoors, and in education, have excellent oral and written communication
skills, time management skills, be self-motivated, energetic and
professional. Other skills include the ability to manage numerous tasks,
projects, staff and interns; strong creative thinking skills; and computer
proficiency (especially in Microsoft Word, Excel and Access Database).
Tread Lightly! is an equal opportunity employer and encourages applications
from people of all races, ages, sexual orientations, ethnic and religious
backgrounds.
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If you have news you would like to share with the NOHVCC network of OHV
enthusiast's, Please send it to us at lnoltner@nohvcc.org, and I will try
and include it in the next newsletter.
===================================================
The information and data contained in this newsletter was obtained from
sources believed to be reliable, but accuracy is not guaranteed. Neither the
information, nor any opinion expressed, constitutes an opinion of The
NOHVCC.
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Conservation work in the Desert by Quail Unlimited