Crowdog
04-03-2003, 03:05 AM
THE “GREEN STICKER” PROGRAM
YOU pays yer money and THEY makes yer choice!
By: Roy Denner
President & CEO Off Road Business Association, Inc. (ORBA (http://www.orbanet.org/))
When I talk to young off roaders about “On Any Sunday” they get this puzzled expression on their faces. What’s worse, many of them don’t even know about the role Malcolm Smith, my hero, played in that movie. When “On Any Sunday” was released my two-wheel ride was a Kawasaki “Bushwacker” - the forerunner of today’s dual sport motorcycle. Can you imagine a manufacturer today naming a motorcycle model the Bushwacker?
So, in this movie, there are scenes in the California desert showing the start of a race where motorcycles are lined up for as far as the eye can see. Many of them, models that our younger generation never heard of, some with Flintstone wheels and tree trunk frames, revving their engines, ready for the start. Somehow they all spot the flag drop - and they’re off! Engines screaming! Dirt flying! The whole desert covered with racing motorcycles! Absolutely fantastic!!
OR WAS IT? Could it be that we woke up a sleeping army of environmentalists who viewed these events as wild bands of marauders out of control, mowing down everything in their paths, polluting the atmosphere with noise and dust, without any concern for the environment?
In my opinion, this is where the battle of the use of public lands for off road recreation all started. Before off road recreation became publicized by movies and by articles in magazines cropping up all over the country, off roaders in California pretty much rode wherever they pleased. When the State of California became aware of the growing interest in off road recreation, the Legislators decided that this form of recreation needed to be controlled. This resulted in the birth of the California Off Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation (OHMVR) Division of California State Parks and Recreation. Environmentalists and off roaders collaborated on the formation of the OHMVR Division. This Division is funded by the “Green Sticker” license fee that OHV recreationists pay bolstered significantly by a diversion of highway/road taxes off roaders pay when they buy fuel that is used when driving their vehicles off of paved highways.
The OHMVR program has always been recognized as one of the most successful recreation programs in the country. It has always been financially self-sustaining and has never depended on the general tax fund in California. During the early days of the program, seven State Vehicle Recreation Areas (SVRA’s) were developed in California. The thinking was that, by providing legal OHV recreation areas, riding activities would move to these areas and the earlier impact on the environment caused by wide-open OHV activity would be curtailed. Nobody anticipated the tremendous growth in interest that OHV recreation would experience over the ensuing years.
Somewhere along the way, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) came into play and the battle really heated up. The enviro-extremist groups loaded their cannons with “Endangered Species Complaints” and fired them at important OHV recreation areas. One well-rifled salvo hit directly in the middle of the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area (ISDRA). After losing over 30,000 acres in the North Algodones Dunes to the Feinstein promoted SB21 Wilderness skirmish, the new attack closed half of the remaining ISDRA to vehicle use. Then a scatter-bomb of complaints was filed that closed millions of acres to vehicle use across the California desert district to provide protection to the Mojave Desert Tortoise. Virtually no resistance was mustered by the troops that fight for public use of public lands. After-the-fact reactive efforts have, to date, had little impact against these closures.
Now, you might ask: “How does the OHMVR program relate to impacts taking place on Federal lands like the ISDRA?” The answer is that, during the establishment of the OHMVR program, it was decided that funding assistance would be provided to federally managed OHV areas in California since many California OHV enthusiasts recreate in those areas. A grant program was created. This grant program is administered by a Commission of seven appointed Commissioners. The Governor appoints 3 Commissioners, the Speaker of the Assembly appoints 2, and the Senate Pro Tempore appoints 2. Before the enviro-extremist groups stepped up their war efforts, the Commissioners consisted of members of the OHV community, related concerned groups such as law enforcement, and a representative from the environmental community. Grants were issued to various federal agencies to be used to help operate and maintain OHV recreation areas while providing reasonable conservation work and protection for the environment. Money was made available for the expansion and acquisition of new OHV opportunities.
Today, things are different. The four Commissioners that were not appointed by the Governor regularly vote to spend OHV funds for conservation and environmental studies or law enforcement. Very little is spent on enhancing OHV opportunities or for operation and maintenance. Recently, the Commission voted 4 to 3 to withhold approximately $1 million of funding that is needed by the ISDRA for operation and maintenance. So, the Peirson Milk Vetch Plant, the Flat-Tailed Horned Lizard, the Scarab Dunes Beetle, and other species of concern to the enviro-extremists will be closely monitored but the toilets will not be cleaned and the dumpsters will not be emptied.
Whose fault is this? The answer’s simple - yours and mine! We don’t even care enough to vote! If every off roader in California went to the polls on election day, we would easily decide who our State Legislators would be - as well as our Governor! Appointments to the OHMVR Commission would be made by OHV friendly legislators who would be well aware of who elected them. I believe that more off roaders go to Glamis on Thanksgiving weekend than go to the polls on election day - and this is just one of the OHV recreation areas in California!
As a result we are losing one of the three fair and balanced OHMVR Commissioners and the new Chairman of the Commission is the past Executive Director of the California Wilderness Coalition, Paul Spitler. This is the organization that published “In the Money and Out of Control” and “Off Road to Ruin” - both of which totally denigrate off road recreation and the off road community.
At the March Commission meeting in Sacramento, Spitler introduced his “Policy” document describing how he believes the Commission should operate. His list of priorities includes route designation, restoring closed routes, improving wildlife protection, minimizing conflicts with landowners and non-motorized users, and protecting air and water quality. Nowhere in this policy document does he suggest that the support and/or enhancement of OHV recreation opportunities should be a priority! Is it unreasonable to believe that the OFF HIGHWAY MOTOR VEHICLE RECREATION COMMISSION should assign a high priority to OFF HIGHWAY MOTOR VEHICLE RECREATION??
Spitler describes the grant awards program as a “competitive” process where grant applicants who best satisfy the Commission’s ultimatums get their grant requests funded. No consideration is to be given to demand or usage! This means that an agency manager who supervises a small, contained OHV park with little or no violations of the rules or trespass into closed areas would have his or her grant request funded. On the other hand, a manager who has a huge facility with extremely high demand and usage - accompanied by the associated number of problems and violations - would get no funding - when this is where the assistance is needed the most! Is this a short-sightedness on the part of the Commission Chairman or part of a long-term game plan to eliminate OHV recreation from the scene in California?
In March, the Off Road Business Association (ORBA) sponsored a Bill submitted to the California State Senate by Democratic Senator Dean Florez, as SB554. This bill proposes to add 4 more appointments to the OHMVR Commission by the Governor. To date the Governor has appointed fair, balanced representatives to the Commission who actually know something about OHV recreation. ORBA is counting on California’s Governor to continue appointing fair-minded representatives to the Commission so that, in the future, the support and maintenance of OHV recreation opportunities may, once again, be considered a priority by the people who decide how our “Green Sticker” money is spent.
###
Roy Denner is President & CEO of the Off-Road Business Association (ORBA) and education chairman of the San Diego Off-Road Coalition. He is also recreation representative of the BLM California Desert District Advisory Council and a member of Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area (ISDRA) Technical Review Team (TRT).
YOU pays yer money and THEY makes yer choice!
By: Roy Denner
President & CEO Off Road Business Association, Inc. (ORBA (http://www.orbanet.org/))
When I talk to young off roaders about “On Any Sunday” they get this puzzled expression on their faces. What’s worse, many of them don’t even know about the role Malcolm Smith, my hero, played in that movie. When “On Any Sunday” was released my two-wheel ride was a Kawasaki “Bushwacker” - the forerunner of today’s dual sport motorcycle. Can you imagine a manufacturer today naming a motorcycle model the Bushwacker?
So, in this movie, there are scenes in the California desert showing the start of a race where motorcycles are lined up for as far as the eye can see. Many of them, models that our younger generation never heard of, some with Flintstone wheels and tree trunk frames, revving their engines, ready for the start. Somehow they all spot the flag drop - and they’re off! Engines screaming! Dirt flying! The whole desert covered with racing motorcycles! Absolutely fantastic!!
OR WAS IT? Could it be that we woke up a sleeping army of environmentalists who viewed these events as wild bands of marauders out of control, mowing down everything in their paths, polluting the atmosphere with noise and dust, without any concern for the environment?
In my opinion, this is where the battle of the use of public lands for off road recreation all started. Before off road recreation became publicized by movies and by articles in magazines cropping up all over the country, off roaders in California pretty much rode wherever they pleased. When the State of California became aware of the growing interest in off road recreation, the Legislators decided that this form of recreation needed to be controlled. This resulted in the birth of the California Off Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation (OHMVR) Division of California State Parks and Recreation. Environmentalists and off roaders collaborated on the formation of the OHMVR Division. This Division is funded by the “Green Sticker” license fee that OHV recreationists pay bolstered significantly by a diversion of highway/road taxes off roaders pay when they buy fuel that is used when driving their vehicles off of paved highways.
The OHMVR program has always been recognized as one of the most successful recreation programs in the country. It has always been financially self-sustaining and has never depended on the general tax fund in California. During the early days of the program, seven State Vehicle Recreation Areas (SVRA’s) were developed in California. The thinking was that, by providing legal OHV recreation areas, riding activities would move to these areas and the earlier impact on the environment caused by wide-open OHV activity would be curtailed. Nobody anticipated the tremendous growth in interest that OHV recreation would experience over the ensuing years.
Somewhere along the way, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) came into play and the battle really heated up. The enviro-extremist groups loaded their cannons with “Endangered Species Complaints” and fired them at important OHV recreation areas. One well-rifled salvo hit directly in the middle of the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area (ISDRA). After losing over 30,000 acres in the North Algodones Dunes to the Feinstein promoted SB21 Wilderness skirmish, the new attack closed half of the remaining ISDRA to vehicle use. Then a scatter-bomb of complaints was filed that closed millions of acres to vehicle use across the California desert district to provide protection to the Mojave Desert Tortoise. Virtually no resistance was mustered by the troops that fight for public use of public lands. After-the-fact reactive efforts have, to date, had little impact against these closures.
Now, you might ask: “How does the OHMVR program relate to impacts taking place on Federal lands like the ISDRA?” The answer is that, during the establishment of the OHMVR program, it was decided that funding assistance would be provided to federally managed OHV areas in California since many California OHV enthusiasts recreate in those areas. A grant program was created. This grant program is administered by a Commission of seven appointed Commissioners. The Governor appoints 3 Commissioners, the Speaker of the Assembly appoints 2, and the Senate Pro Tempore appoints 2. Before the enviro-extremist groups stepped up their war efforts, the Commissioners consisted of members of the OHV community, related concerned groups such as law enforcement, and a representative from the environmental community. Grants were issued to various federal agencies to be used to help operate and maintain OHV recreation areas while providing reasonable conservation work and protection for the environment. Money was made available for the expansion and acquisition of new OHV opportunities.
Today, things are different. The four Commissioners that were not appointed by the Governor regularly vote to spend OHV funds for conservation and environmental studies or law enforcement. Very little is spent on enhancing OHV opportunities or for operation and maintenance. Recently, the Commission voted 4 to 3 to withhold approximately $1 million of funding that is needed by the ISDRA for operation and maintenance. So, the Peirson Milk Vetch Plant, the Flat-Tailed Horned Lizard, the Scarab Dunes Beetle, and other species of concern to the enviro-extremists will be closely monitored but the toilets will not be cleaned and the dumpsters will not be emptied.
Whose fault is this? The answer’s simple - yours and mine! We don’t even care enough to vote! If every off roader in California went to the polls on election day, we would easily decide who our State Legislators would be - as well as our Governor! Appointments to the OHMVR Commission would be made by OHV friendly legislators who would be well aware of who elected them. I believe that more off roaders go to Glamis on Thanksgiving weekend than go to the polls on election day - and this is just one of the OHV recreation areas in California!
As a result we are losing one of the three fair and balanced OHMVR Commissioners and the new Chairman of the Commission is the past Executive Director of the California Wilderness Coalition, Paul Spitler. This is the organization that published “In the Money and Out of Control” and “Off Road to Ruin” - both of which totally denigrate off road recreation and the off road community.
At the March Commission meeting in Sacramento, Spitler introduced his “Policy” document describing how he believes the Commission should operate. His list of priorities includes route designation, restoring closed routes, improving wildlife protection, minimizing conflicts with landowners and non-motorized users, and protecting air and water quality. Nowhere in this policy document does he suggest that the support and/or enhancement of OHV recreation opportunities should be a priority! Is it unreasonable to believe that the OFF HIGHWAY MOTOR VEHICLE RECREATION COMMISSION should assign a high priority to OFF HIGHWAY MOTOR VEHICLE RECREATION??
Spitler describes the grant awards program as a “competitive” process where grant applicants who best satisfy the Commission’s ultimatums get their grant requests funded. No consideration is to be given to demand or usage! This means that an agency manager who supervises a small, contained OHV park with little or no violations of the rules or trespass into closed areas would have his or her grant request funded. On the other hand, a manager who has a huge facility with extremely high demand and usage - accompanied by the associated number of problems and violations - would get no funding - when this is where the assistance is needed the most! Is this a short-sightedness on the part of the Commission Chairman or part of a long-term game plan to eliminate OHV recreation from the scene in California?
In March, the Off Road Business Association (ORBA) sponsored a Bill submitted to the California State Senate by Democratic Senator Dean Florez, as SB554. This bill proposes to add 4 more appointments to the OHMVR Commission by the Governor. To date the Governor has appointed fair, balanced representatives to the Commission who actually know something about OHV recreation. ORBA is counting on California’s Governor to continue appointing fair-minded representatives to the Commission so that, in the future, the support and maintenance of OHV recreation opportunities may, once again, be considered a priority by the people who decide how our “Green Sticker” money is spent.
###
Roy Denner is President & CEO of the Off-Road Business Association (ORBA) and education chairman of the San Diego Off-Road Coalition. He is also recreation representative of the BLM California Desert District Advisory Council and a member of Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area (ISDRA) Technical Review Team (TRT).