Legislation for ALL Oregon Dunes

[aviomech]

Originally Posted by SegKast

I feel you there, my family is from logging towns up here in Washington. Elma/Mcleary/Shelton, Aberdeen/Hoquim were all pretty much decimated in the early 90's. A lot of that had to do with the whole Spotted Owl thing too.

It's sad to drive through once prosperous towns to see closed stores all over and people out of work everywhere. Apparently bushes and birds are more important than people these days

FU*&$n Hippies !!

I here ya....I lived in Aberdeen 2004-2005, it is sad what it has become. There are hardly any jobs, people are moving away, houses and businesses are being left to rot away......really sad that these libby idiots can live with the thought that they destroyed whole communities!! And whats worse is they will blame it on the Big Businesses and the economy!!




The one thing that gets me going, is that the forest service is trying to shut down dunes areas for wildlife and plants, but will allow maintained, paved roads(not highways, but Forest service roads!) over here in the cascades, on the NATIONAL FOREST LANDS, so people can drive there little family cars to the hot springs and trail heads for hiking. They even build paved parking lots, and put gravel on some of the trails!!! If that is not invasive to the natural enviroment, then I don't what is!! *******ing hippycrits!!

[Senator]

For those of you who haven't yet had the pleasure of meeting Jody Phillips, let me assure you that he has been an absolute rockstar in this battle. I have tried to update based on what I know but I'm a relatively new dog in this fight. Jody is the absolute authority on this so I'm including below his summary of what's going on since it's certainly the most accurate rendition anywhere.


Like you, I am an avid OHV enthusiast. We are family, we love our chosen
sport and we are environmentalist. The greenies could care less and are
willing to put large sums of money to kill our recreation.

I want to get the word out through an educational effort that in the 1994
Forest Plan, the FS closed all but 36% of the ODNRA (Oregon Dunes National
Recreation Area). Of that 36%; 15% is designated "routes only". To use
their language, they Zoned the dunes. Attached is the Zoning and history.
10A is closed, 10B is open riding and 10C is Designated Routes only. The
rest of the zoning is self explanatory. Part of this plan is to create
"Work Groups" to review the 10C and come up with recommendations to where the trails are going to be within the 10C. I am part of that work group.
Please go on line to see this information:
Siuslaw National Forest - Oregon Dunes NRA OHV Designated Routes.
They just made it official that 15% (10C) will be closed with the
exception of a very few connector trails that the work group is deciding
upon now. Please understand that the workgroup is only an advisory group
and the Forest Service is obligated to look at all options before they
make the final decision. In other words, they will do what they want. They
are anticipating a law suit from the greenies challenging their decision
one way or the other. The greenies have already sued to stop the trail for
Riley Ranch access. We have advanced notice through this law suit that we
must step up with our written efforts and our pocket books to fight back.
They want it all closed and designated Wilderness. Ignorance is not
Bliss! We must educate ourselves to understand that this is not the end.
They are going to do a new Forest plan in 2014 so we must band together.
California and Washington OHV groups have done a fairly good job of
working together but the Oregon effort is poor and spotty at best. When I
got involved with this work group I was very ignorant. I am not ignorant
anymore, I am SCARED. If we do not get involved we will as a group lose
what we have left and we all will be STUPID because we did not get
involved.

What we have left to ride on is about 25% of the 28,930 acres of the
ODNRA, only about 7,200 acres will be open to riding. We just went through
the process at the Middle Dunes (Winchester) which does not have much 10C
but Banshee Hill is in the mix. The North Riding Area (Florence) is scary
at best with most of the plantation stands off the table. By the map, half
of the Florence dunes are in play. The Southern Riding area (Coos Bay) is
being looked at in the next month. The public is invited to these meetings
so go on the FS web page above to get the dates and locations.

Some lessons learned are the economic impact and the safety of riders is
very low on the priority list. VERY LOW. The Forest Service charter is to
manage "Resources" first and foremost. That means vegetation, wetlands,
and Critical Habitat for plants and animals. We are indeed an endangered
species in the ODNRA. I thought that any economic impact would be huge. If
you look at what the FS and BLM did with the spotted owl, then you can
clearly see that economics will not come into play. That killed an
industry and left the Pacific Northwest without jobs and money. The way
they are going to regulate safety is to limit the amount of riders that
can enjoy the dunes on any given weekend. They have already studied how
many riders the 25% of dunes available can hold without hurting ourselves.
Restrictions are a given.

Hopefully you can see why I am SCARED. We do have one very important
opportunity that I feel we need to legally pursue. That is the simple,
well documented fact that the dunes are being choked off and are indeed
dying. The European Beach Grass planted in the early 1910 is slowly but
surly killing the dunes. It is also killing Snowy Plover Habitat. We are
the only cost effective documented way of killing the beach grass. I will
try and post several research papers documenting this fact. A brief
explanation is the dunes were created with sand flowing out of the Umpqua
River. The wind and surf would push and blew the sand inland and
accumulate to the dunes we see today. The beach grass is building the
walls you see on the beach and the sand has stopped moving inland. As the
grass stabilizes flowing sand that allows other bad plants like scotch
broom to grow and eventually trees and forest that do not belong there. It
has also killed grasses and plants that are native to the dunes. The FS
and the BLM simply do not know what to do so they just keep doing what
they always have and manage this "new" vegetation like it was always
there. Flowing Sand is not Forest. The greenies are pushing this view as
they want nobody in the dunes. The other point we must make is the fact
that the bad vegetation is not just standing still but growing
exponentially faster. The longer they wait the worse it gets.

A Call to action.
What I am proposing to do as the next step is to work together to build a
war chest to start legal action against the Forest Service. They need to
continue to move ahead with a trail access for Riley Ranch. We also need
to start legal action against the Forest Service to allow OHV access to
more areas to kill beach grass. We must understand that they do have to
manage the ODNRA for other users so let them have the 60% that is now
closed for other uses. Those dunes will eventually die anyway and if that
is what they want then let it happen. Seems stupid to me but... I propose
to work with the Blue Ribbon Coalition

Legal Action Update, December 2009 - BlueRibbon Magazine and have them set up a place on their web page for us to go in and donate money. We need a commitment from ourselves to the BRC to fund any legal action moving
forward. Please visit the BRC and let them know you are willing to donate.
We do not need a bunch of money to start the legal action. If the 300,000
or so OHV folks that visit the ODNRA donated a buck we would have plenty.
I also encourage folks to join the BRC as they have successfully stopped
the greenies across the US from closures. I am a Lifetime Member and very
proud of it.

One other point I must bring up that is very unpopular among OHVers is the
noise we make. The legal noise limit on the ODNRA is 93 db. I will not
argue whether this is right or wrong, it is just a fact. I have finally
found a chamber muffler for my Raptor 700 that gives me plenty of power
and still stays within legal limits. I am in no way advocating this brand
but there are very few manufactures that are willing to give us good power
and keep the noise to a legal limit. Repacking is a waste of time
especially with the 450. That manufacture is Leo Vince. Ron Gray at Bay
Area Yamaha has them and they are not that expensive. Hopefully American
Manufactures will start making these chamber type mufflers available. You
have no idea how much grief we are taking with the Work Group and we are
killing ourselves with this single issue. Please ride in the ODNRA within
legal limits. If you can not, please stay away. I want to ride in the
dunes, not make a point that my whanger is bigger than yours.

Please work with your respective groups to assign a single person that can
communicate with me so I can manage answers to any questions. This is real
and we have already lost too much. I would love to set up a conference
type call with your groups to discuss this and any questions you may have.
We are trying to set up a web page so folks can talk about this. I am not
a tech savvy guy so Barbara and Lance Rowland in Florence will help. I
will let you know ASAP.

Please get back to your designated group member that you are willing to be
a part of the effort and donate money. Also forward this on to whom you
feel is appropriate. The more the merrier.

Thanks so much,
Jody Phillips

[Senator]

Its very simple to donate even if you can only do $1 like Jody says. They even take Pay Pal.

Step 1: Go here:
https://www.sharetrails.org/secure/j...ontribute/?c=1

Step 2: Fill in your name and address info

Step 3: Check the box that says, Yes I want to make a tax deductable contribution

Step 4: Choose BRC Legal Fund from pull down menu

Step 5: Click box for contribution instructions

Step 6: Put in box "For the fight for saving our ODNRA riding areas

Step 7: Fill in how much you would like to donate

[Senator]

To show any potential skeptics that this is legit, instead of logging in I made a small contribution in my sister's name to see how a random donation is handled. Here's what your confirmation will look like. Make no mistake, even a buck or two is a significant contribution.

OFFICIAL BLUERIBBON COALITION CORRESPONDENCE

Dear **********,

We have received your payment and information. Thank you for your support. A receipt for this transaction has been emailed to you by PayPal.
If you have chosen to join the BlueRibbon Coalition, you will be sent a welcome packet with your membership card, decals, and a helpful booklet of information about grassroots advocacy. This may take up to six weeks, so please be patient.
If you chose to contribute, this is a tax-deductible donation and you will be receiving a letter for your records in 2-3 weeks.
If you have any questions regarding the transaction, please contact our Bookkeeper, Barbara Larsen, by email at brbooks@sharetrails.org. For membership or donation questions, contact our Administrative Director, Mary Jo Foster, at brmem@sharetrails.org.
To keep abreast of what's happening in the area where you live and/or recreate, sign up online for our BRC alert list. We will notify you of pending legislation, national forest planning, and other issues of interest to you. With the help of our members, we guide policymakers to keep recreation issues in the forefront of the public lands planning process. Together, we can make a difference. One voice, when added to many, gives us a clout that is hard for policymakers to ignore.
Thanks again for your support. You are important to us. Without our members' continued support, and generous contributions, we could not hope to accomplish our shared goals. Americans deserve to have their public lands available for their appreciation and recreation, whether you use an ATV, a snowmobile, mountain bike, four-wheel drive, horse, motorcycle, personal watercraft or your hiking boots. Public lands should belong to the public and be shared by everyone.
Sincerely,

Barbara Larsen
BRC Bookkeeper

[YZ Otis]

Here's my bump to keep this on folks mind. I'm not the joining type but I've joined the Blue Ribbon Group. Today I received the message of a USFS study in the Prescott area of Arizona. It's not just about Oregon Dunes. I'll do what I can when I can. I can't afford much money but I can take advantage of my internet connection.
I also plan to peruse another approach. Request Respect. I plan to write not only to political leaders but to the leaders of the organizations that are represented on the study group. I would like to think that the people behind the scenes with the purse strings have heard more than one point of view. I don't believe bad mouthing, flaming or escalating verbal wars can help. Y'all have positive experiences to share. I know you can write cuz I see all the posts on ATV forums Respectfully request that your passion is understood.

Here is one of my attempts. I know y'all can do better!

-------------------------------------------------------
Chief Warren Brainard

This letter is in regards to the U.S Forest Service project designating OHV Routes for the Upland Areas of the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. I attended the January tour and meeting of the study group In Florence where you where represented by Arrow Coyote.

I am the Father of a family that has always enjoyed outdoor recreation. We go hiking, fishing and rafting but the real bond that has helped through the teenage years has been riding OHV's together. I understand there are issues like noise, wildlife habitat preservation and the protection of Indian archeological sites. I believe these issues can and should be addressed without restricting the use of our dunes by thousands of families who are passionate about their OHV's. If you find the screech of a Sea Gull annoying, step away and tolerate him for what he is. To me he's special, maybe to someone else he just loud. Follow the OHV motor noise to the parking lot where they gather and the noise is replaced by hugs and laughter. We should be sad if that's annoying.

Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians understand recreation. Your community support is remarkable. My family enjoys the entertainment provided by the Three Rivers Casino. The web site promotes motorsport rentals and tours at the dunes with a nice picture of an OHV overlooking the dunes.

I respect your commitment to your community. I respect your traditions.

I respectfully request you to respect my passion, that of thousands of families and the individuals that come to the dunes alone to be part of a common family. I promise to ride with respect, teach my grand children and encourage others to ride with respect.

Sincerely
Jon Gustafson
Neotsu, Oregon
---------------------------------------------
Request Respect
Sticker Otis / YZ Otis

[Mrs. Senator]

The world could use more folks like you Otis. It's a privelege to call you friend and I'm glad I now can.

[450R]

Any new news on this? Planning to go to South Jetty this weekend but heard rumors it could be closed......any one know?

[Senator]

You'll be fine, it won't be closed.

[raceya97439]

I just contacted Winston Ross, the Register Guard's Coast reporter and let him know about this and encouraged him to do a story and some coverage on it.

Also contacted the heads of the Florence and Winchester Bay Chambers of Commerce to ask if they'd figured out the economic loss to their communities when the atv traffic thins because of the Forest Service.

It'll take some very strong, vocal allies in the media, political and business arenas in these communities to compel the career criminals who run this Federal bureaucracy to back off.

[Senator]

Thanks for getting on board raceya. Unfortunately the media and local businesses don't seem to have any effect on this process yet. The forest service seems to have their mind made up about how this is all going to go down in a pre-meditated sort of way. There are already representatives from the Winchester Bay Chamber involved (Greg Hoover).

Ever tried to stop an avalanche? The best we can hope for is to slow this thing down and even that will take a very well funded and well orchestrated cast to make happen. It's way bigger than a small grass roots effort can compete with. We're playing hardball with a formidable competitor and as such, no small effort will do. Getting folks in line with the Blue Ribbon Coalition BlueRibbon Coalition: Protecting your recreational access to public lands. and other organizations like it is the answer. Support these folks. They can parlay our contributions to produce greater results if they have the funding. Like it or not, it's a dollars game. Pay to play is the bottom line.