Trying to raid the OHV fund AGAIN!!!!!!!!

[psychoneurosis]

I will let COHVCO' action alert speak for itself!

PLEASE READ THIS, TAKE ACTION AND PASS IT ON!!


OUR OHV GRANT PROGRAM HAS BEEN AMBUSHED!!

The policy and guidelines of the process regarding the OHV Program have been unilaterally changed at the last moment without public comment or new information......

In an 11th hour hijacking of a 13 month process, Jim Martin, outgoing Executive Director of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has bowed to environmental pressure and directed Dean Winstanley, Exec Dir of Colorado State Parks (CSP) to re-write and effectively derail the Parks’ staff recommendations presented at the March, 2010 Parks Board meeting that were identified as an action item to be addressed by the Board at the upcoming May 7th Parks Board meeting in Woodland Park.

This new Board recommendation will incorporate changes that are not only unreasonable changes but are designed to take control of the OHV subcommittee by putting anti-motorized members on the committee and removing some motorized members as well as shape the grant criteria so that it spits in the face of 150,000 Colorado citizens and out-of state motorized recreationists that pay for this program.

The State Parks Board will be reviewing this new proposal at their upcoming

Board Meeting on May 7 at 8:50am

in Woodland Park




WE NEED YOU THERE to protect this program and support the reasonable changes that were originally recommended at the March 2010, Parks Board meeting. Citizens appointed to Boards who have heard all the facts should make decisions not bureaucrats in back rooms flexing their muscles, particularly when they are leaving their position and have no real ongoing responsibility to constituents--that means Jim Martin.



Demand the Board support only the recommendations

made at the March meeting!!!!!



We have to go for the Jugular on this!!



The meeting is at the City Council Chambers,

220 W. South Ave. in Woodland Park , CO .

The OHV issue will be addressed at 8:50 am.

(Please arrive by 8:30am.)



We need to send a STRONG MESSAGE that lets the Parks Board know that

State Parks Action May Put all Motorized Trails in Danger and to Stop the Parks Board From Jeopardizing your favorite motorized trail.

Print signs, wear your riding jersey, bring the kids, whatever will help!!



Corey Corbett
COHVCO Manager of Operations and OHV Workshop Coordinator

12161 West Mt. Powell
Littleton, CO 80127
Cell Phone 303-809-6628
Home Phone 303-933-4011
Fax 303-932-8733


Join COHVCO today: https://cohvco.org/forms/univmembform.pdf



Notice: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for research and educational purposes.



--
Colorado Off Highway Vehicle Coalition

 

[jbusch]

Good day to all of you,

As you can see by the alert below the OHV Grant Program continues to be under attack. Most of you are aware that this has been ongoing for a number of months now and frankly it has gone above and beyond reason. The Colorado State Parks staff that the Snow Program and OHV Program work with extensively is no longer a piece of what is going on, all of their efforts and input have been ignored and dismissed. This new ambush is coming straight from the top.

In the past I have expressed the concern that if they are successful with raiding the OHV Fund that the Snow Fund will be next. I am sorry to say that in this last round there has been direct mention of doing to the Snow Fund the exact same thing as the OHV Fund. They are plotting a two pronged approach for the OHV Fund that they have indicated will be done to the Snow Fund as well. This attack consists of changing the make-up of the sub-committee that makes recommendations as to the disbursement of these funds by adding 3 non-motorized members to the 9 member committee. The kicker to this is they have set up the decision making process to allow a project to be stopped by 3 or more votes, thus allowing the 3 non-motorized people the ability to stop projects. In the current proposal the Program Manager (in this case Tom Metsa) and the Trail Coordinators are not even allowed a seat at the table. The second prong is changing the criteria of the grant guidelines to dictate how projects have to be scored based on a pre-set determination of how the money is going to be spent (dictated percentages on enforcement, education and rehabilitation). If these changes are forced upon the Snow Fund recommendations most if not all projects would not qualify for funding.

I urge each of you to take action appropriate to your time and ability. COHVCO and CSA will be well represented at this Parks Board meeting and if you can come please do. If you can’t please send an email expressing your opinion at this latest travesty to parksinfo@state.co.us before May 7.

This whole thing is being driven by an outside conservation group that, because of the political environment of the day, has been allowed traction. They obviously have OHV users in their sights and I will warn again this group is strongly affiliated with a regional group whose sole intent is to force the Forest Service to do Winter Travel Management across the nation with the intent to confine snowmobile use to designated trails only so never think we aren’t in their sights too.