Report to Congress is Opportunity to Completely Rescind Youth Model OHV Ban
IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUESTED
As you know, BRC has been participating in efforts to rescind a youth-model off-highway motorcycle and ATV ban along with other state, local and national OHV advocacy groups. The next few days offer a golden opportunity to completely remove the ban.
But we need your help. OHV groups have met with agency officials and politicians. We have the acknowledgment that the youth-model ban was not Congress’s intent when they passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). But the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC), the government agency charged with implementing the law, says their hands are tied. There are several solutions available, but both Congress and the agency need to act.
We believe that a report from CPSC to Congress regarding CPSIA gives our community a golden opportunity to fix this lousy situation. Our action item is below. We have tried to make it as easy as possible so it won’t take unnecessary time away from work and family.
CPSC’s report is due January 15, 2010. The next few days present a key opportunity, and BRC is most influential when our membership makes their voices heard.
Please take a few minutes to complete the action item, and please also forward this alert to your friends, family and riding buddies.
Let’s not miss this opportunity,
Brian Hawthorne
Public Lands Policy Director
BlueRibbon Coalition
208.237.1008 ext 102
ACTION ITEM:
We’ve prepared a letter generator to help keep it as easy as possible. Please take a minute to click on the link below and send a letter. Your comments will help, please send your letter today!
Click here to take action now.
The BlueRibbon Coalition is a national (non-profit) trail-saving group that represents over 600,000 recreationists nationwide The Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) season is beginning. Federal employees, please mark BlueRibbon Coalition and Check #11402 on your CFC pledge form to support our efforts to protect your access. Join us at 1-800-258-3742 http://www.sharetrails.org
Categories: Press Releases Tags: atv, congress, motorcycle, off-highway, ohv
Video Explains How to License and Register Motorbikes, ATVs in Idaho
Do you need a registration sticker and a license plate for your motorbike and ATV to ride legally in Idaho? Or do you just need a sticker? Or just a plate? What’s the deal?
There has been some confusion about those questions, so the Idaho Off-Highway Vehicle Public Outreach Campaign produced a step-by-step video that explains the process for registering and licensing OHVs in Idaho.
Read more at New Video Explains How to License and Register Motorbikes, ATVs in Idaho
Categories: Access Tags: atv, idaho, motorbike, motorcycle, off road, off-highway, ohv, orv
Mt. Hood National Forest Seeks Comments on Motorized Travel Plan DEIS
BLUERIBBON COALITION LANDUSE UPDATE!
The Mt. Hood National Forests — located in northwest Oregon — released the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for their Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) Management Plan, including Forest Plan Amendment #17. The Forest Service (FS) is asking for your input during a 60-day public review and comment period, which will end on October 28, 2009.
The public may review the DEIS, along with associated maps and appendices, by going to the Forest’s website at http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/mthood/projects/. Limited hard copies of the document are available by contacting Jennie O’Connor Card.
Public comments are invited and should be as specific as possible. It is also helpful if comments refer to specific pages or chapters of the DEIS. Before commenting, the public is urged to review the DEIS, including appendices and associated maps. Written, facsimile, and electronic comments concerning this action will be accepted.
Send written comments to:
Jennie O’Connor Card, Off-highway Vehicle EIS
Hood River Ranger District
6780 Highway 35
Mount Hood-Parkdale, OR 97041
You may also hand-deliver your comments to the above address during normal business hours from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm Monday through Friday, excluding federal holidays. Phone: (541) 352-6002 ext 634
Email comments to:
comments-pacificnorthwest-mthood@fs.fed.us
Please put “Mt. Hood Travel Management DEIS” in the subject line of e-mail comments. Acceptable formats are email message, MS Word (.doc), plain text (.txt), or rich text format (.rtf). Comments should include your name and address.
Fax comments to:
(541) 352-7365
For more information on this DEIS, please contact Jennie O’Connor Card, OHV Interdisciplinary Team Leader, at 541-352-6002 ext. 634, or Malcolm Hamilton, Recreation Program Manager, at 503-668-1792.
JUST REMEMBER, PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT IS CRUCIAL TO KEEP RECREATION AREAS OPEN; PLEASE GET INVOLVED!
Thanks in advance for your support,
Ric Foster
Public Lands Department Manager
BlueRibbon Coalition
208-237-1008 ext 107
The BlueRibbon Coalition is a national (non-profit) trail-saving group that represents over 600,000 recreationists nationwide The Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) season is beginning. Federal employees, please mark BlueRibbon Coalition and Check #11402 on your CFC pledge form to support our efforts to protect your access.
Join us at 1-800-258-3742
http://www.sharetrails.org
Categories: Access Tags: Access, land use, mt hood, mt hood national forest, off-highway, ohv, oregon, pacific northwest
Please Contact your Representative today to help save the Recreational Trails Program!
BLUERIBBON COALITION ACTION ALERT!
The Recreational Trails Program (RTP) has been a vital source of funding for recreational access and trails since its inception in 1991. BRC is proud of our lead role in founding the original ‘RTP’ program – the Symm’s National Recreational Trails Act. As such, we ask your support to help ensure it is reauthorized this year by Congress.
Funding for RTP comes from the federal gas tax you pay at the pump as a calculated portion of fuel that is used for “off-highway motorized use.” The program was last reauthorized for three years in 2005 as part of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU.) This law is about to expire at the end of 2009, and the Recreational Trails Program will expire along with it unless it can be authorized and funded in the next national surface transportation bill, the Surface Transportation Authorization Act of 2009.
U.S. Representatives Mike Michaud (D-ME) and Tom Petri (R-WI) have just release a bi-partisan “Dear Colleague” letter urging members of the House of Representatives to sign a letter to the leadership of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in support of RTP. The letter thanks the leadership for including the RTP in the bill.
The letter also encourages appropriate funding levels to sustain the program through the year 2015, requests funding for a much-needed study on off-highway vehicle fuel use by the Department of Transportation, and asks for adjusted funding for the Federal Highway Administration to continue to effectively administer the program.
Copies of the Dear Colleague letter and the letter to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee can be found on our website at www.sharetrails.org/rtp/
It is critical you contact your member of the U.S. House of Representatives and encourage him/her to sign the letter. The deadline is this Friday, July 17th, so we urge you to send an email or make a phone call to your representatives office today. Explain how important the RTP is to the recreating community and to your organization specifically. Suggested text for your email can be found below in this alert.
If you need help identifying your U.S. Representative, the BlueRibbon Coalition has provided you with a handy tool in our Rapid Response Center at www.sharetrails.org/rapid_response/. All you need to do is type in your zip code.
More information on the Recreational Trails Program can be found on our website under the RTP button at www.sharetrails.org, located on the left-hand side of the page.
Thank you for taking action today to support the Recreational Trails Program.
Greg Mumm
Executive Director
BlueRibbon Coalition
Suggested email text:
Dear XXX,
On July 10, 2009, U.S. Representatives Mike Michaud (D-ME) and Tom Petri (R-WI) began circulating a letter to the leadership of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in support of the Recreational Trails Program (RTP). As my representative, I would encourage you to please sign on to this letter.
The Recreational Trails Program (RTP) provides vital funding for trails all across this country, both motorized and non-motorized. There is overwhelming support for this remarkably successful program from all walks of life. This program needs to be reauthorized this year in order to remain a viable source of funding for recreational trails.
The leadership of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has provided the necessary language to continue the program in the Surface Transportation Authorization Act of 2009. The letter from Representatives Mike Michaud and Tom Petri thanks the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee leadership for this action. The letter also further encourages the appropriate funding levels to sustain the program through the year 2015, requests funding for a much needed study by the Department of Transportation on off-highway vehicle fuel use, and asks for adjusted funding for the Federal Highway Administration to continue to effectively administer the program.
Again, I am asking that you please contact the offices of either Representatives Mike Michaud (D-ME) or Tom Petri (R-WI) to sign on to the letter as soon as possible. There is a July 17th deadline to collect signatures.
Thank you for your attention to this matter and helping Americans of all walks of life to continue to recreate responsibly.
Sincerely,
–Your Name –
Categories: Access Tags: Access, blueribbon coalition, motorized, motorized use, non-motorized, off-highway, recreation, recreational, recreational trails program, symms national recreational trails act, trails
Colville National Forest Wants Input on Motorized Routes
Colville National Forest
Public Affairs Office
765 South Main Street
Colville, WA 99114
Contact:
Franklin Pemberton (509) 684-7177
Elsha Kirby (509) 684-7174
For Immediate Release: March 11, 2009
The Forest Service will be holding the first in a series of public meetings to develop a motorized recreation management plan for the “South End” portion of the Colville National Forest. The “South End” area includes the Chewelah, Calispell, and Tacoma Creek drainages, roughly between Chewelah and Cusick, Washington. The first brief meeting will be setting the stage for continued collaboration. Forest Service staff will provide information about the project and how the rest of the meetings will be conducted, and will be held at the Chewelah Peak Learning Center, located at 3215 Flowery Trail Road, near the 49 Degrees North Mountain Resort ski area. The meeting will be from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 19, 2009.
