New Mexico Off-Highway Access Issues

Hopefully everyone in Valencia County will feel the same way as this guy when it comes to Michael Sanchez and the next election!!! That dude needs to go away.

 

April 2016 Edition
New Mexico 4-Wheeler's
Cedro Peak Earth Day Stewardship Project
9:00 AM Saturday April 23 at the Cedro Peak Group Campground
Submitted by Frank Whiston


The New Mexico 4-Wheelers invite all interested parties to join them in a cleanup event on the Manzanita Mountains (aka Cedro Peak) 4WD roads and trails in association with the "25 Restoration for Recreation Projects" for Tread Lightly!'s 25th Anniversary program.
The Manzanita Mountains Trail System on the Sandia Ranger District of the Cibola National Forest is a key location for public recreation in the Albuquerque, New Mexico area. The trail system benefitted greatly from a large Recreational Trails Program grant procured by the New Mexico Off Highway Vehicle Alliance (NMOHVA). The New Mexico 4 Wheelers (NM4W) is a member club of NMOHVA and a key player in the initial project. NM4W provided the bulk of the necessary volunteer hours for the "matching funds" required by the RTP grant program.
Given the close proximity of the trail system to New Mexico's largest metropolitan area, the Manzanita Mountains Trail System sees heavy use from a very diverse set of visitors. Unfortunately, with this heavy use, some "bad apples" have been leaving their mark by throwing trash and even tagging rocks with graffiti. This clean-up event will target these issues. For all the latest details on the cleanup event and for information on how you can join in, click on this link:Details on Clean-up Event.
OHV Trail Ambassador Program

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NM4W is committed to assisting land manager's efforts to provide a recognizable presence on the lands we enjoy while providing a positive and informative role model for fellow OHV users. NM4W has committed to assist the Sandia Ranger District in expanding the OHV Trail Ambassador program to include full-size volunteer vehicles. The club typically has group outings four or five times a year in this area. The club will easily combine this ongoing presence with volunteer patrols.

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The OHV Trail Ambassador program already has motorcycle and ATV volunteers, but there is a need for volunteers to serve and assist the Sandia Ranger District in monitoring areas, roads, trails and facilities used by 4WD enthusiasts. Four wheel drive use is rapidly growing in the area making the need for a 4WD patrol presence important.

Don't Forget the Annual NMOHVA Member's Meeting

The NMOHVA Annual Meeting is THIS Saturday, April 9th from 9am-12 noon. The 'business' portion of the meeting will be short (and includes the elections of Board NMOHVA will be furnishing its traditional free lunch to attendees immediately following the meeting.We will be ordering lunch around 9:30 so don't be late!
The meeting will be held at the REDW, LLC building in Albuquerque. REDW is located at the corner of Jefferson and Masthead (7425 Jefferson NE), about halfway between Osuna and Paseo del Norte. A link to a map is available here.
We look forward to seeing all of you on Saturday!
Your NMOHVA Board of Directors

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[A version of this article appeared in a recent Slavens Racing email. I thought it was an excellent message and have adapted the article for a New Mexico audience - Editor]
New Mexico experienced a really wet winter during the early part of the year with record precipitation, including deep snow at higher elevations. It has been extremely warm and dry for the last six weeks. Now March is tantalizing us with intermittent warm weather and the threat of wetter weather.

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What does this mean for those of us itching to get out and ride or drive this spring? It means exercising some patience, common sense, and good stewardship of our beautiful New Mexico roads and trails. Please stay off the roads while the snow is still melting and making conditions muddy. Just because a road is officially "open" doesn't necessarily mean it is ready to use. New Mexico is famous for its mud! If you find a muddy road or trail, come back after it has sufficiently dried out.
The locals will be unable to saw-out the downfall trees until the snow melts and the mud dries. We are not talking about a couple of fallen trees, we are talking literally hundreds of trees that are often in big clusters that completely block the trail for many miles. Even one tree that falls on a sidehill trail will completely stop legal traffic. Some lower elevation trails are ride able now, others will open in the April and May, and some routes in the high country will likely be impassable until June.


NMOHVA - New Mexico Motorized Off-Highway Vehicle Association - Calendar of Events

PLEASE do not go off the road or trail to get around downed trees, damaging the terrain, then leave us with a mess to clean up and give ammo to the radical enviros who want us off all roads and trails. Going off-trail is (literally) a federal offense. If caught, you will be summoned to appear in front of a Federal Magistrate Judge in Albuquerque to explain your actions. It probably won't work out well for you.

Support the locals that do the dirty work. Trail maintenance is a tough and tiring job. Try carrying a chainsaw, bar oil and tools on your back then get off and on the bike 50 times a day, saw a pile of trees and drag them off the trail at 10,000 feet of elevation where the air is thin and you struggle to breathe. Locals like Blackfeathers and the New Mexico 4 Wheelers are salt of the earth guys. They spend the first weeks of our short riding season every year clearing roads and trail. They spend their hard earned cash to travel up and down the mountain every weekend, buy chainsaws, buy gas, buy trail permits, wear out their dirt bikes, their trucks, their bodies so that we all have great routes to ride. These are just a few of the many men, the real men that do our dirty work. If you run across a group of locals clearing trail, don't be "that guy" riding off the trail, around the trees they are cutting. Do the right thing. Stop and lend a helping hand. Please consider being a valued and much appreciated trail steward. Show the roads and trails and those that support them being open some love!


Sipapu Shindig Registrations Going Fast!

The available registrations in NMOHVA's 2016 Sipapu Shindig are filling fast. As this newsletter goes to "press", we already have 41 riders signed up. With a hard cap of 70, the remaining slots will certainly fill up well before the event. Last year's event sold out and we expect the same this year. Don't wait too long and be left out. Register today by clicking HERE.




Upcoming Events
April 3 - New Mexico 4 Wheelers (NM4W) Trail Ride in the Jemez Mountains Santa Fe National Forest Opening Weekend, Jemez, NM
April 3 New Mexico Trials Association (NMTA) Observed Trials Round 3, Gallup, NM
April 9 - NMOHVA Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM
April 12 - Las Cruces Four Wheel Drive Club (LCFWDC) Monthly Meeting, Las Cruces, NM
April 14 - New Mexico Four Wheelers (NM4W) Monthly Meeting, Albuquerque, NM
April 16 - LCFWDC Trail Ride to Green Canyon Trail System, Arrey, NM
April 16 - LCFWDC Trail Ride to Aden Crater, Las Cruces, NM
April 17 - NM4W Trail Ride to Manzano Mountains, Tijeras, NM
April 23 - NM4W Earth Day Clean-up at Cedro Peak, Tijeras, NM
April 23 - Red Rock Motorsports Navajo Trust Land Improvement Project, Gallup, NM
April 30 - LCFWDC Billy the Kid Trail Ride, Las Cruces, NM
May 1 - New Mexico Trials Association (NMTA) Observed Trials Round 4, San Ysidro, NM
May 10-15 Burro Mountain ATV/UTV Jamboree, Silver City, NM
June 24-26 NMOHVA Sipapu Shindig, Vadito, NM


See the NMOHVA Calendar for all the upcoming event details and contacts.
Do you have an upcoming 2016 event to share? Contact NMOHVA at resourcedirector@nmohva.org for a listing in the newsletter and on the NMOHVA website calendar.

New Mexico Off Highway Vehicle Alliance
www.nmohva.org

or visit us on Facebook and Twitter

 

Excerpt from NMOHVA Sept Newsletter:

Santa Fe National Forest Hosting a Series of "Wilderness Evaluation" Public Meetings in September

The Santa Fe National Forest is holding a series of public meetings on their ongoing wilderness evaluation process. These meetings are an opportunity to learn about the wilderness characteristic criteria and how the wilderness evaluation is performed. These meetings will also provide the public an opportunity to provide site-specific input for areas that will be evaluated for wilderness character. The meeting dates and locations are:

September 7th in Española

September 12th in Cuba

September 13th in Pecos

September 19th in Jemez Springs

September 20th in Gallina

On each date, the Forest Service will have TWO meetings: A General Meeting and a Technical Meeting. The general meetings, scheduled for the evening (6-8pm) to make it easier for members of the public to participate, will include opportunities to interact with Forest Service staff and provide comments. There is no need to RSVP for the general meetings.

The technical meetings, earlier in the afternoon on the same dates (1-4:30pm), will include more in-depth discussions about the evaluation process. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn more about our internal processes and provide public input about specific features on the landscape. The Forest Service is asking for RSVPs for the technical meetings so they know how many people to expect.

Please email (santafeforestplan@fs.fed.us) or call (505-438-5442) the Forest Plan Revision Team and let them know if you plan to attend a technical meeting.

You can comment in person at the meetings,

by email (santafeforestplan@fs.fed.us),

or by postal mail (11 Forest Lane, Santa Fe, NM 87508).

Wilderness evaluation comments are most useful if the agency receives them by September 30, 2016.

For more details on the location of each meeting, visit the NMOHVA calendar at:

NMOHVA - New Mexico Motorized Off-Highway Vehicle Association - Calendar of Events

COMING UP:

Sep 3 - NM4W Mt. Blanca Trail Ride, Alamosa, CO
Sep 3 - Cliffhangers 4WD, Chokecherry Canyon Cleanup/Campout, Farmington, NM
Sep 10-11 - W.E.Rock Extreme Rock Crawling Competition, Farmington, NM
Oct 12-16 - 26th Annual 4WD Chile Challenge, T or C, NM
Oct 21-23 - NMOHVA's 5th Annual Rubber Chicken Ride, T or C, NM

 

IF I can get away, I'm trying to get to the general meeting in Jemez tonight, and the one in Gallina tomorrow.
Anyone else able to go?

 

I'm going today to the Jemez Springs technical meeting today from 1:00 to 4:30, then maybe the general meeting depending on how crowded it is, and what I learn there. If it's too crowded I'll go to the Gallina meeting tomorrow night.

 

Wish I could get there for technical. I'm more interested in the coyote area, but I know Jemez needs the input. If I don't make it tomorrow and you go to gallina, I'd be interested in what the discussion is.

Thanks always for posting this info!!

 

The technical meeting today was about as expected - except the focus of these meetings is *solely* to designate more wilderness areas. It's not travel access management, other than to change portions of that 99% of land not accessible by vehicle to not accessible by wheelbarrow either. That's the story. No more roads to be removed. Going to Gallina tomorrow.

 

Interesting meeting in Gallina. In absentia of course were the designers of the process, safely isolated to the east coast somewhere. The local crowd, of course, made it loud and clear that they didn't want anymore "Wilderness." Having been camping north of Big Bear lake, I can assure you some places need it. There, the landscape was quite like the moon, with trees sticking up our of the dust.

Not the problem here, but the FS employees gave it a good shot in trying to maintain that the program was effective. It's officially a "four step process" but really only a two step process. Step one is to go through the 4 steps dictated by the Wash DC contingent, who spreads it out to the whole nation. I don't think I know of two locations with such opposing polarity - Gallina NM and Washington DC. The whole process sounded like they meant us to be singing Kumbaya, but that was not the local reaction. At any rate, go here and please make your opinions heard. Things are important like whether the landscape is primarily natural or man-made. If natural it may be a candidate for "Wilderness" designation. My point was that since the Ponderosa Pine environment is supposed to burn every ten years or so, the fact the FS has been putting fires out and a lot of it hasn't burned in over a half-century. Therefore the remaining forest is man-made and not suitable for "Wilderness" designation.

So, check out the link and comment!

 

Forest Updates at the bottom!

Las Cruces Four Wheel Drive Club Goes After Graffiti!

Submitted by David Beyer, President - LCFWDC



It sounded so easy at the meeting. All we needed to do was go out and clean up a little graffiti. How hard could that be? We have done it before, so it was no big deal to say "We can do that!" when it came up in discussion with BLM -- just a little graffiti in one of the canyons out at the Trackways National Monument. Besides, we had recently partnered with NMOHVA and were awarded a grant from the Rugged Ridge Trail Access Program. That should make it easy to acquire the tools we need to accomplish the task, right? I wondered why I got a wide-eyed stare from one of the club members when I volunteered us. Hey, this should be a piece of cake. Turns out, not only do I not know how to bake a cake, I had never been down the particular canyon I had committed us to, either.

This canyon just happens to be considered an "extreme" trail, one that is only accessible on foot or with a highly modified off-road vehicle, or "rock crawler" as they are called. So there we were; I had just stuck the whole Las Cruces Four Wheel Drive Club's collective foot in my mouth. Let the games begin!

The first task was to assess the situation. A couple of club members went and checked it out and came back with the report. "It's really tough to get to", "We aren't sure how to get equipment in there", and my favorite "What the hell did you get us into?" It was time for some head scratching. The challenge is to remove the graffiti without defacing the rock. We wanted to do it the right way, but what really is the right way? Now for some homework (I hate homework!).

It just so happens that the New Mexico Four Wheelers club in Albuquerque was working on a graffiti project about the same time and were using a water-based gel called "Elephant Snot" (what a gross thought!) that is designed to remove graffiti from natural surfaces. The results looked promising, so we did some research and decided to try it. We ordered a gallon and headed out to test it. We found some graffiti in Faulkner Canyon that was much easier to get to, and found that the results were very promising. The only problem is that it is best removed with a pressure washer. So now on to the next problem, now we have a product to apply to the graffiti,


just no way to wash it off. We found out that if you don't wash it thoroughly, just smears the graffiti and can make a huge mess. Just take a pressure washer with us, right? Oh yeah, how do you run a pressure washer in a remote canyon, and how do you run a water hose 2 miles to supply the water?

It was back to the drawing board. We knew that 5 or 10 gallons of water was not going to be enough, and how do you get a pressure washer up the canyon, anyway? It's not like we can throw everything in the back of a pickup truck. After a lot of brainstorming and (dis)cussing, we came up with a plan. David Smith's rock crawler has an inverter which would give us the ability to run a 110 volt pressure washer. I didn't want to ask a stupid question, but why would his rig have an inverter? Does he run a microwave? Anyway first problem solved. Now we need water. We found a portable 30 gallon water tank with a sprayer attached. Slowly but surely it begins to look promising.

Now, how do we get it all up there? And by the way, some of the graffiti is up high on the canyon wall. So that means we will also need a ladder just in case. I left this problem up to the guys that are driving in there. By the time we are ready one of the rigs looks like it should have a sign that reads "Oklahoma or Bust". All we needed was a rocking chair on the other rig with grandma sitting on top.

So off we go, four of us, and me regretting I had ever opened my big mouth. What was really frightening was listening to David Smith and Ray Torres discussing how to get that tank full of water up the "big waterfall". BIG WATERFALL!! Nobody said anything about a big waterfall! Now I'm wondering whether we would make it out alive. No worries; my life insurance is paid up.

Well, amazingly, everything went according to plan. The Elephant Snot worked, the sprayer worked (for a while) and then the back-up sprayer finished the job. Just about the time I thought we were on the home stretch, they started talking about the big waterfall again. You mean the Niagara Falls we climbed just getting in here wasn't it? And you guys call this fun? I don't own enough underwear to do this!





Many thanks to David Smith, Ray Torres, and Jerry Arp, as well as those who helped with the planning and collection of equipment. Special thanks to Rugged Ridge and NMOHVA for their assistance with the grant monies. And thank you to the wonderful group of people at the local BLM office; it has been a pleasure working with you.

Happy Trails!

Forest Plan Revision Update

We started giving monthly updates on the New Mexico Forest's Plan Revision process here last month. Here are the latest developments and public engagement opportunities for each of New Mexico's National Forests:

Lincoln National Forest: No changes or updates for the past month. They are still working on the first draft of their initial "Assessment". It should be out for public scrutiny early in 2017 when they will also have a series of public workshops on drafting the "Need for Change" document. The best place to keep track of the Lincoln's Forest Plan revision process is HERE.

Gila National Forest: NMOHVA submitted comments on both the draft Assessment and the draft Need for Change Statements documents this past month. The Gila will be starting the 2nd phase of the plan revision process, the development of the revised plan, early next year. You can keep up with everything related to the Gila National Forest Plan revision process HERE.

Carson National Forest: No changes to report since last month. They are currently working on developing the first draft of the revised Plan. There is one more upcoming Open House event to further explain the process and detail how the public can get involved. The date for the remaining Open House event is December 13th from noon-2:00. The meeting is taking place at the Supervisor's Office in Taos. You can keep up with the Carson National Forest Plan revision process HERE.

Santa Fe National Forest: No change to report from last month. The Santa Fe is in roughly the same stage of the plan revision process as the Carson. They have completed their Assessment and initial Evaluation of lands for Wilderness characteristics There is still one more Open House meeting on Dec. 7th. See the NMOHVA calendar on the web site for complete details. The place to keep tabs on everything related to the Santa Fe National Forest Plan revision process is HERE.

Cibola National Forest: They have now kicked off formal collaboration teams ("Shared Stewardship" teams). These teams, consisting of members of the public, will help the Forest in developing and then implementing the revised Forest Plans. NMOHVA was invited to participate in these teams and is doing so but we can use your help. We are still in need of volunteers who can attend regular meetings of these new teams. Each team will be focused specifically on one of the four Districts (Sandia, Mt. Taylor, Mountainair, Magdalena) and will probably be meeting at least monthly during the next six months. Please send an email to resourcedirector@nmohva.org if you are interested in helping out or would like more information. All of the Cibola National Forest Plan revision process updates can be found HERE.

The revised Forest Plans will be the basis for our recreation on Forest lands for at least the next fifteen years. That makes them IMPORTANT! Please continue to stay actively involved during the LONG Forest Plan revision process.
More Trails Preservation Alliance Dollars


Headed to New Mexico Trails


We reported last month that the Colorado Trail Preservation Alliance (TPA) had donated $6,000 to NMOHVA's Access Defense Fund. We have since learned that TPA is also donating an additional $2,000 directly to the Mt. Taylor Ranger District of the Cibola National Forest. TPA's intent is that the money be used by the Forest Service to "enhance single track and 2-track trail opportunities" on the Mt. Taylor District.

This is the 2nd donation that TPA has made to the Mt. Taylor Ranger District. TPA "is dedicated to preserving and protecting OHV use on public lands in Colorado and surrounding areas". NMOHVA would like to thank TPA for their generous and ongoing support of motorized trail promotion and preservation in New Mexico and looks forward to continuing our support of TPA's efforts in Colorado.
Upcoming Events

Dec 7 - Santa Fe National Forest Plan Revision Open House, Santa Fe, NM.
Dec 13 - Carson National Forest Plan Revision Open House, Taos, NM.
Jan 17 - 2017 NM Legislative Session Begins

 

Steve - Great story - thanks for sharing! I especially liked the "Elephant Snot" connection...

 

From NMOHVA:
(BTW, the last I heard High Desert Cruisers had a continuing resolution to keep membership up in NMOHVA. I don't see us as being members. Did we forget?)

Friends of the Box Terminate Their Lawsuit

The Friends of the Box, Inc (FOTB) have accepted a financial settlement from Zane Kiene, et al effectively ending the legal challenge to the Monticello Box closure. The settlement will allow FOTB to pay their outstanding legal fees and any residual funds will be distributed to other 501c3 organizations (including NMOHVA) that had supported the legal challenge financially.

While this is not the final result that we had hoped for, it was the decision of the FOTB that they were unable to pursue the matter any further given the circumstances.
Forest Plan Revision Update:


Here are the latest developments and public engagement opportunities for each of New Mexico's National Forests as of Jan 30th, 2017:

Carson National Forest: The Carson held a collaboration workshop in March to kick off its efforts to better involve the public in the management of the Forest. If you are interested in volunteering in helping with this collaboration process, please contact resourcedirector@nmohva.org for more information. The Carson is working on the development of the draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the revised plan. The draft is scheduled to be released for public comment late this year. You can keep up with the Carson National Forest Plan revision process HERE.

Santa Fe National Forest: The Santa Fe is roughly the same stage of the plan revision process as the Carson. They have completed their Assessment and initial Evaluation of lands for Wilderness characteristics Their current timeline shows a draft EIS released for public comment this fall. The place to keep tabs on everything related to the Santa Fe National Forest Plan revision process is HERE.

Gila National Forest: No changes or updates for this past month. The final "need-for-change" document will be summarized in the Federal Register early next year along with a notice of intent (which starts the official NEPA process) to develop a revised forest plan. These statements provide the focus/direction for the next phase of planning- the development of the revised plan. Plan components are created to help ensure management meets desired conditions for each resource. You can keep up with everything related to the Gila National Forest Plan revision process HERE.

Cibola National Forest: The Cibola has announced that their schedule is slipping due to a short staffing situation. The draft revised EIS/Forest Plan is now scheduled to be released for public comment late this year. All of the Cibola National Forest Plan revision process updates can be found HERE.

Lincoln National Forest: No changes or updates for the past month. They are still working on the first draft of their initial "Assessment". It should be out for public scrutiny early in 2017 when they will also have a series of public workshops on drafting the "Need for Change" document. The best place to keep track of the Lincoln's Forest Plan revision process is HERE.

These revised Forest Plans for all five of our New Mexico National Forests will be the basis for our recreation on Forest lands for at least the next fifteen years. That makes them IMPORTANT! Please continue to stay actively involved during the LONG Forest Plan revision process.
Don't Forget the NMOHVA Annual Meeting!

One last quick reminder! NMOHVA will hold its Annual Meeting on April 8th. The meeting be held at REDW LLC, 7425 Jefferson NE in Albuquerque from 9:00 am - 12:00 noon. The REDW building is located at the corner of Jefferson and Masthead about half way between Osuna and Paseo del Norte. Park in the parking lot on the north side of the building and we will have greeters to point the way to the 1st floor conference room. A link to a map of the meeting location is available here.

The business meeting will be short but important. We will fill the open positions on our Board of Directors by electing a Vice-President, the Treasurer, and two 'At-Large' Directors. We will review NMOHVA's activities this past year and discuss next year's plans.

NMOHVA will provide a free lunch to attendees immediately following the meeting. After lunch, some of the attendees will also be enjoying an informal ride at the Manzanita Mountains Trail System (aka Cedro Peak) if the weather permits.
We hope to see many of you there!
Your NMOHVA Board of Directors

Upcoming Events

April 8 - NMOHVA Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM
April 22 - Chokecherry Canyon Trash Clean-Up and Camp-Out, Farmington, NM
May 2-7 - Burro Mountain Trail Riders Jamboree, Silver City, NM
June 2-4 - 7 Trails of Gold NMOHVA Dual Sport Motorcycle Event, Grants, NM

See the NMOHVA Calendar for all the upcoming event details and contacts.
Do you have an upcoming 2016 event to share? Contact NMOHVA at resourcedirector@nmohva.org for a listing in the newsletter and on the NMOHVA website calendar.

New Mexico Off Highway Vehicle Alliance
www.nmohva.org

or visit us on Facebook and Twitter