(Photo credit: NOHVCC)
Register for NOHVCC’s Free Virtual Annual Conference
Registration is now open for the National Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation Council’s (NOHVCC) free Virtual Annual Conference on October 15-16. The NOHVCC staff has prepared a virtual suite of presentations and opportunities to interact, guided by survey responses. NOHVCC hopes to have their in-person Annual Conference in Knoxville, Tennessee in 2022.
Click here to sign up for the NOHVCC Annual Conference sessions.
Maryland Establishes Office of Outdoor Recreation
On September 25, Governor Larry Hogan announced the creation of the Office of Outdoor Recreation within the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Maryland became the 18th state to create an office of outdoor recreation following the additions in Nevada, New Mexico, Wisconsin, Michigan, Virginia, and New Hampshire – all launched in 2019.
“One of our state’s hallmarks is the stewardship of our lands and waters by the Marylanders who love them,” Hogan said. “Our sportsmen and women were among the first conservationists to support efforts to protect fish, wildlife, and their habitat. Today we are honoring this partnership for the outdoors while assuring that it continues to grow with the establishment of Maryland’s first Office of Outdoor Recreation.”
Hogan also announced that J. Daryl Anthony would serve as its first Executive Director. Anthony has 35 years of experience with DNR, most recently as Assistant Secretary for Land Resources. He joined DNR in 1983 as a park ranger at Patapsco Valley State Park in Howard County. Anthony also served as a regional manager for the Maryland Park Service’s southern, central, and western regions until his Assistant Secretary appointment in 2015.
Anthony will work with the Maryland Department of Commerce, other agencies, and stakeholders to implement the Maryland Outdoor Recreation Economic Commission (MOREC) recommendations, which the governor established by executive order in 2017.
Recent BLM Activity
- Roseburg, Oregon – The BLM Roseburg District has issued an emergency closure for BLM administered-public lands within the Skyline Complex/Poole Fire area, located three miles southeast of Days Creek, OR. This closure is to protect persons, property, and public lands and resources by temporarily closing or restricting uses on designated public lands until the fire is declared controlled and suppression repair can occur. This Order became effective on August 31, 2021 and will remain in effect until further notice.
- Butte, Montana – The BLM has removed its previous fire restrictions for all BLM-administered lands in Gallatin and Park counties. Now that the weather has started to shift to lower temperatures, the agency felt conditions were favorable enough to lift its previous fire prevention order from July.
- Malta, Montana – Two BLM campgrounds in Phillips County, Montana, reopened to the public following a temporary closure caused by the Pine Grove Fire. During mid- to late-August 2021 a portion of the Little Rocky Mountains burned in the Pine Grove Fire. The fire burned approximately 16,000 acres (5,000 acres BLM/11,000 Fort Belknap Indian Reservation).
- El Dorado Hills, California. – The BLM Mother Lode Field Office issued an Emergency Closure Order for all BLM-managed public lands along the Merced River, between Briceburg and Bagby, in Mariposa County. The temporary closure, in response to the presence of toxic algal blooms in the Merced River, will remain in effect until Sept. 17. The BLM may modify the length of the closure if conditions change.
- Canon City, Colorado – The BLM Royal Gorge Field Office has issued a decision that will reroute a severely damaged section of the Rainbow Trail near Coaldale from the adjacent San Isabel National Forest to BLM-managed land. The trail, previously located in Wolf Creek drainage, was damaged beyond repair in flooding that occurred after the 2016 Hayden Pass fire. In addition to routing approximately 3.9 miles of the trail through BLM lands, an access point will allow space for trailer-friendly turnaround and limited parking beyond the end of Fremont County Road 40. The reconstructed section of the Rainbow Trail will be open to foot, equestrian, bicycle, e-bike, and motorized single-track use, consistent with the section of trail being replaced.
- Ely, Nevada – The public was invited to participate in a National Public Lands Day event (NPLD) on Saturday, Sept. 25, at the Ward Mountain Recreation Area. Volunteers helped perform basic trail maintenance at the site located on U.S. Highway 6, about four miles southwest of Ely, Nevada. Trail work will began at 9 a.m. and concluded at noon and all participants received a free NPLD t-shirt. NLPD is the nation’s largest, single-day volunteer event for public lands, held annually on the fourth Saturday in September. Since 1979, National Public Lands Day has been bringing together hundreds of thousands of volunteers to help restore America’s public lands. The event is coordinated each year by the National Environmental Education and Training Foundation.
- Cody, Wyoming — The BLM Cody Field Office partnered with the community at the Hogan and Luce Recreation Site on Saturday, September 25, to celebrate National Public Lands Day. “Hogan and Luce is a beautiful recreation area and we’ll make it even better by planting 100 trees for National Public Lands Day,” said BLM Outdoor Recreation Planner Rick Tryder.
- Phoenix, Arizona – The Bureau of Land Management Hassayampa Field Office temporarily closed some public lands in Maricopa County for upcoming Vulture Mine Off-Road Challenge off-highway vehicle races. The closures will occur Friday, November 5 through Sunday, November 7, 2021, and again on Friday, January 14 through Sunday, January 16, 2022.
- Medford, Oregon – The BLM is reducing fire restrictions on District. However, because of the historic drought and long term weather outlook, restrictions remain in place.
- Redding, California – The BLM has temporarily closed public access to some Trinity County public lands near the 219,000-acre Monument Fire to protect public safety. An emergency temporary closure is now in place for BLM-managed lands in the Helena, Canyon Creek, and Junction City areas, and in the Hayfork area. The Grapevine Day Use Area is also closed. Details and legal descriptions of the closed areas can be found in the closure order here.