(Photo credit: Don Amador)
Gov. Newsom Signs Competition Off-Highway Motorcycle Legislation Into Law
On September 22, Governor Newsom signed several legislative bills, including CA SB 708, Senator Brian W. Jones (R-San Diego)—Vehicles: off-highway motor vehicles: off-highway motorcycles: sanctioned event permit.
As ARRA members know, this new permit program was needed because CARB ended the Red Sticker Program in 2021 with no subsequent identification process in place for the newer models. That lack of a vehicle identification decal caused chaos and confusion with numerous state and federal land management agencies when trying to identify those vehicles at sanctioned competition events held on public lands.
“I believe CA SB 708 honors the partnership that OHVs have with land agencies and our long-standing user-pay/user-benefit commitment to support mitigation of event-related impacts to important cultural and natural resources,” said Don Amador, Western States Representative for the Motorcycle Industry Council.
CA SB 708 also restores fee monies once collected that were lost when the Red Sticker Program ended in 2021. Those funds will once again help riders pay for event-related costs such as trail maintenance, conservation, and law enforcement.
This new option mirrors California State Parks’ current permits, including the OHV Non-Resident and Snowpark permits. For CA residents trying to find a replacement for the obsolete Red Sticker decal, purchasing out-of-state OHV Non-Resident Permits is unnecessary.
Thank you to all the members who participated in this process and submitted letters of support to Governor Newsom, encouraging him to sign CA SB 708.
The EXPLORE Act Faces Setback in the Senate
The EXPLORE Act, broad-based legislation that aims to improve recreational opportunities across all federal land management agencies, has faced a setback in the Senate as it was not included in the baseline text of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The legislation passed the House in April by unanimous consent and also passed the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee with bipartisan and unanimous support.
Before the August recess, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chair Joe Manchin (I-WV) submitted a version of the EXPLORE Act as an amendment to the fiscal 2025 NDAA. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM), a supporter of the outdoor bill, was optimistic about the amendment’s chance of approval. Given the momentum and tremendous bipartisan support from members of the House and Senate, this development is disappointing to the outdoor recreation community.
The outdoor recreation community will continue to work with members of Congress, specifically House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-AR) and Ranking Member Raúl Grijalva, and Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Joe Manchin (I-WV) and Ranking Member John Barrasso (R-WY), to discuss all options to ensure passage before the 118th Congress comes to a close.
The Biden-Harris Administration Invests $100 Million to Confront the Wildfire Crisis
In early September, the Biden-Harris Administration announced the investment of $100 million in 21 new projects to expand work on the USDA Forest Service’s Wildfire Crisis Strategy. The strategy aims to reduce the threat of wildfires in high-risk areas across the country.
The new projects span 14 states and 18 national forests and are part of the $3.2 billion investment in this comprehensive strategy made possible through President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The announcement is part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to increase the resilience of lands facing the threat of catastrophic wildland fires and better support federal wildland firefighters.
“There are 24 states that meet the criteria for this program, including 13 states in the South, Midwest, and East, said Forest Service Chief Randy Moore. “The internal competitive process and collaborative design of these projects allow National Forests and partners to demonstrate their ability to move forward quickly on wildfire risk reduction actions to protect lives and livelihoods across vast, shared landscapes.”
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law included $1.4 billion for the USDA Forest Service in wildfire risk reduction funds. The Inflation Reduction Act provided an additional $1.8 billion to reduce wildfire risk to neighborhoods, infrastructure, watersheds, and other benefits forests provide. Together, these investments will help strengthen long-term fire preparedness, reduce catastrophic wildland fire risk across states, and support the wildland firefighter workforce.
Recent Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Activity
- Las Cruces, New Mexico – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Las Cruces District recently installed Remote Off-Grid Kiosks designed to process card payments instead of cash at Three Rivers Petroglyph Recreation Area, Aguirre Spring Campground, and Dripping Springs Natural Area. Visitors can now pay with a debit or credit card instead of cash for a more efficient, secure, and user-friendly payment process. The traditional iron ranger fee boxes at these sites will continue to take cash or checks if the visitor wishes.
- Marina, California – The Bureau of Land Management Central Coast Field Office issued an emergency closure of the Condon Peak Recreation Area and Campground in Fresno County due to wildland fire danger from the nearby Boone Fire and existing evacuation orders. This temporary closure is effective immediately until further notice. The Boone Fire started Tuesday, September 3, and has burned more than 17,000 acres of brush and grass fuels and burned in the area previously affected by the 2020 Mineral Fire.
- Cody, Wyoming – Local volunteers, the Northwest Wyoming OHV Alliance, the Shoshone Trails Coalition, and the Bureau of Land Management Cody Field Office substantially improved the Red Lake area south of Cody to celebrate National Public Lands Day. The Red Lake area is known for its diversity of recreational opportunities, including off-highway vehicle (OHV) travel, mountain biking, hiking, and birding. However, the area has historically been used as an illegal garbage dump, detracting from the area’s prominent scenic and recreational values. During the National Public Lands Day event, more than 5,000 pounds of trash were removed from the landscape. The information kiosk was also updated to include an area map and signs to deter dumping was installed.
- Twin Falls, Idaho – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Shoshone Field Office staff, in partnership with the International Mountain Bicycling Association, City of Hailey, Wood River Trails Coalition, and the Blaine County Recreation District (BCRD), just finished constructing the Hang Loose and Hang Tight trails located immediately adjacent to Hailey in the Hangman drainage. These 3.5 miles of trail are available to hikers, equestrians, mountain bikers, and Class-1 E-bikers and will provide recreation opportunities to locals and visitors to Hailey. These trails are now available on BLM-managed public lands and City of Hailey property.
- Fort Benton, Montana – Construction of a new boat ramp at the Bureau of Land Management’s Coal Banks Landing Campground begins this week and should be completed by spring 2025. While most visitor amenities will remain open during this time, some features will be limited or unavailable as necessary to accommodate construction activities:
- The eastern campground entrance will remain open to the public
- Vault toilets will remain open and available
- The existing boat ramp will remain available for river access
- Tent camping will be limited.
- No RV or trailer camping will be available
- Grants Pass, Oregon—The Bureau of Land Management Grants Pass Field Office is excited to announce that repair work on the Rainie Falls Trail has finished nearly three months ahead of schedule. The barriers were removed on Friday, September 20, 2024, and the public will again be allowed to use the trail. The area has been closed since the Rum Creek Fire in 2022.
- Coeur D’Alene, Idaho – The annual seasonal closure for the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Blackwell Island boat launch and recreation area is set to begin October 15. Boaters wishing to use the launch lanes should do so before the evening of October 14. The popular site will re-open just before the Memorial Day weekend in late May 2025.
- National Public Lands Day was on September 28 and BLM hosted events nationwide. For more than 30 years, NPLD has grown into the largest volunteer event for the care and celebration of our public lands. In 2023, the BLM hosted 124 events with approximately 7,438 volunteers, contributing nearly 81,572 hours of service worth over $2.6 million back to BLM-managed public lands.