Lines in the sand - Winchester Bay and Forest Service Route Designation

Source: http://www.theumpquapost.com/articles/2009/11/30/local_news/doc4b0c538f5a4b5101185752.txt

Dunes visitors at Winchester Bay may soon know where they can and cannot ride, after a committee began designating off-road routes earlier this month.

Members of the 15-person work group toured a portion of the Dunes National Recreation Area on Nov. 6 before sitting down the following morning at the Winchester Bay Community Center to discuss possible off-road vehicle routes.

Now the group has until early 2010 to decide where routes should be established. At that point, the Siuslaw National Forest will list the Dunes NRA in a travel management plan — whether or not designated riding areas have been determined.

Currently 12,440 acres — or just under half of the 24,940 undeveloped acres in the Dunes NRA — are set aside for use by off-highway vehicles.

Vehicle routes were designated in the rest of the Siuslaw National Forest after 2005, when the U.S. Forest Service required federal land managers to file travel management plans, said Siuslaw National Forest recreation staff officer Mike Harvey.

Siuslaw National Forest filed for an extension in 2008 on its January 2010 deadline to identify routes in the recreational area, Harvey said. But the agency hired Ross Holloway, a third-party facilitator and former policy planner with the Oregon Department of Forestry, to lead the work group when a regional office overturned Siuslaw National Forest’s extension earlier this year.

“It was just a matter of other priorities,” Harvey said. “There were a lot of projects identified, and this is one that’s worked its way to the top.”

Harvey said the forest agency was pursuing other goals identified in the Oregon Dunes NRA management plan, including a dispersed camping and registration system established in 2005.

“It’s just we’re a little bit behind at the Dunes NRA because of the complexity of the routes and the vegetation down there,” Harvey said.

Harvey said the work group may be challenged to suggest routes that balance environmental and recreational needs. The dunes, he said, are caught between the two extremes.

“What we have to do is find a workable balance that allows people to ride on the dunes without destroying the landscape,” Harvey said.

The work group potentially could recommend that vehicles-permitted areas be reassigned as non-vehicle areas, effectively closing them, or ask that closed areas be opened to vehicles — if the forest’s environmental policies allow it.

“The purpose of the designated routes (is) to minimize the effects of off-highway vehicles on habitats, vegetation. And that’s one of the things we’re required to do by law, is minimize the impact,” Harvey said.

The work group focused largely on O&C lands in the section of recreational area known as the middle riding area, at Winchester Bay. Lands designated O&C are for off-road vehicles on designated routes, typically established in vegetated areas, and make up 4,455 acres or 15 percent of the Dunes NRA.

While there are dozens of “user-created” trails in the O&C lands at the middle riding area, there are no official designated routes.

The work group created 16 criteria, from “quality of (a rider’s) experience” to minimizing impacts on wetlands or native species habitats, that will be considered as trails are designated by Siuslaw National Forest.

The group also proposed 10 routes. Options ranged from designating all user-created trails; to building all-new trails and closing user-created trails; to completely closing O&C areas.

Liz Kelly, a representative of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to the work group, questioned how numerous trails, such as the user-created trails on the west side of the middle riding area, could be enforced if designated.

“It’s unenforceable,” she said, noting that a map of user-created trails on the west side “looks like spaghetti.”

The phrase stuck.

“That’s one of the things we’d have to look at coming out of that group,” Harvey said.

He said routes will be simplified later if they’re “not understandable, and setting people up for confusion or violations in the future.”

Forest policy already in place says the agency will focus on education rather than enforcement after it implements its travel management plan as the work group continues to add designated trails. New trails could be added during annual revisions to the plan, Harvey said.

Fewer people visit Imperial Sand Dunes near Yuma

Overall attendance is down for the second consecutive year at the Imperial Sand Dunes, according to officials at the Bureau of Land Management, which oversees the popular recreation site.

David Briery, a spokesman for BLM's California Public Affairs office, said despite attendance being down, he still expects large crowds for the four-day Thanksgiving holiday, which is traditionally the most popular weekend at the dunes.

"I would guess that there being fewer people there would make it more attractive for the duners because they would have more room to recreate," Briery said.

Thanksgiving weekend has traditionally been seen as the big kickoff for the winter sand duning season as huge numbers of local people and thousands of others from California and elsewhere take their RVs and sand toys out for some fun.

The busiest weekends typically are Thanksgiving, New Year's, Presidents Day, Halloween, Martin Luther King Day and Easter.

Last year, 172,000 people visited the dunes over the four-day Thanksgiving holiday, compared with 166,000 in 2007 and 198,000 in 2006.

So far this year, 163,500 visitors have come to the dunes, compared with 247,100 this same time last year.

Since the unofficial start of the dunes season began seven weeks ago, which was on the week ending Oct. 7, Briery said there has only been one week in which the attendance was about the same as it was the previous year.

Briery said nearly 30,000 people visited the dunes the week ending Nov. 16, which was only about 900 people fewer than the previous year.

Attendance at the dunes so far this year has been:

For the week ending Oct. 4 — 3,600

For the week ending Oct. 12 — 15,600

For the week ending Oct. 19 — 23,300

For the week ending Oct. 28 — 21,200

For the week ending Nov. 2 — 65,500 (including Halloween)

For the week ending Nov. 9 — 8,900

For the week ending Nov. 16 — 30,000

Briery said that Halloween has become the pre-Thanksgiving, and in better economic times about 100,000 would attend the dunes during that week.

However, there was also about a 45 percent drop in the number of people who visited the dunes during the Halloween weekend this year as compared to other years.

This year, 65,500 people visited the dunes for Halloween, compared with 90,000 the year before.

Briery said there is no way to tell whether they will have that same type of decrease in attendance for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

"We just don't know whether we will see that same kind of dropoff this year for the week of Thanksgiving," Briery said.

The likely culprit for the declining attendance, Briery said, is the poor economy, which is causing more people to stay at home.

"People are either saving their money or may be out of jobs," Briery said. "Between the two, we think those may be the reasons."

Duners have also been complaining about stricter enforcement and say it is making it less fun to go there now.

Information from: The Sun, http://www.yumasun.com

Sand Dunes Offer Fun, Relaxation; Border Patrol Urges ‘Be Safe’

Imperial Sand Dunes, Calif. - Nearly 200,000 four-wheelers, sand-duners and off-roaders will flock to Southern California’s Imperial Sand Dunes this month. The U.S. Border Patrol Search, Trauma and Rescue (BORSTAR) teams assigned to the area to assist have an important message: “Be Safe.”

The Thanksgiving holiday annually sees as many as 200,000 visitors bring their sand vehicles to the region for four days of fun in the dunes. Each year also sees dozens of them requiring medical assistance because their fun got out of hand.

The Border Patrol teams will be stationed throughout the dunes to ensure that medical assistance is quickly available whenever injuries occur. As many as 30 agents will be on duty over the weekend beginning daily at 7 a.m. and remaining until 2 a.m. between November 25 and 28. Each of the agents is a certified emergency medical technician. Four of the agents on duty are paramedics.

The BORSTAR teams will establish a command post near the Buttercup area and will patrol the area on all-terrain vehicles, sand rails and other vehicles capable of reaching injured persons almost anywhere in the dunes area.

While most of the BORSTAR agents assigned to the dunes work out of the Yuma Sector, eight are coming from other Border Patrol sectors around the country. The El Centro Sector, which incorporates the far western portion of the dunes, also will provide agents.

“We see everything from scrapes and bruises to broken bones,” said Richard Ramirez, the supervisory Border Patrol agent who runs the BORSTAR rescue teams. Three persons have died from injuries suffered at the dunes so far this season. Alcohol is suspected as a contributing cause in at least two of the deaths.

“We advise everyone to have all the fun they can at the dunes, but be prudent. Know your equipment, bring plenty of water and be safe,” Ramirez said.

Additional agents will be on patrol at the international border ensuring that visitors stay more than 100 feet from the border fence.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.

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Oregon Dunes Businesses - Surviving the Winter

From: Umpqua Post

By Alex Powers,Staff Writer

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Several ATV-related businesses will find their own ways to cope with the seasonal downturn in patronage brought to the area by off-road enthusiasts.

For Rick Parker, a co-owner at Pelican Plaza Market in Winchester Bay, “diversification is what it’s all about.”

The squat, brown building houses one of the first ATV businesses that travelers on U.S. Highway 101 see when they enter Winchester Bay.

But inside, racks of riding gear and ATV parts transition to fishing gear and a small grocery store.

Parker said the store focused on fishing tackle until ATV parts became more profitable. Unpredictable fishing seasons made fishing gear a sink-or-swim business.

“When it was fishing, you’d just die,” Parker said. “If you get a good forecast, you’ll be busy.”

Now Pelican Market relies on the June through October ATV season to keep afloat, Parker said.

Parker said an ATV rental shop run out of a space next door closes during four months of the year because of the falloff in business.

At nearby Discovery Point Resort and RV Park and Dune Country ATV Rentals, managers take business where they can get it, said Simi Hoover.

Business is “very seasonal, but we’re open every single day,” she said. “You’ve got to be answering your phone to get any winter business.”

While Discovery Point typically has business during autumn from fishermen, Hoover said much of the RV park’s business comes from ATV riders during spring through fall.

Hoover said the park is almost subsidized by summer riding season.

“And that’s part of being seasonal,” she said.

According to Cathie Sullivan, that seasonal income is something that Reedsport may come to rely on.

Sullivan, who owns No. 1 Stop Sports Shop with her husband Pat, said Reedsport never recovered after the decline of local fishing and timber industries.

“We haven’t done anything since the ’70s to bring something here,” she said. “Fishing, compared to the ’70s and ’80s, is nonexistent. There are some events throughout the year, but it’s a drive-through town.”

An economic impact study prepared in September by Oregon State University for the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department estimates that the ATV industry generated $22.5 million last year for local businesses, and created about 79 jobs.

Though the gear shop was nearly empty early this month, Sullivan said No. 1 shop stays busy through the winter.

Pat Sullivan estimates that 90 percent of the store and shop’s business comes from out of town, with customers from across the U.S. and parts of Canada ordering parts and shipping motors to Reedsport to be repaired at No. 1 shop.

And he said the shop stays full year-round, because it does not have a dealer affiliation.

That means that the store can service bikes first-come, first-serve rather than catering to customers with bikes of a specific brand.

“Being independent has its drawbacks, but it has more advantages that drawbacks,” Pat Sullivan said.

The rest, said Cathie Sullivan, is just knowing how to survive the winter.

“The thing about our sport is that you have to know our sport,” she said.

Source: http://www.theumpquapost.com/articles/2009/11/25/business/doc4b0c57e48a872060926087.txt

More information on the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area:

• Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area
• Coos Bay
• Florence
• Winchester Bay
  

AMA urges support for language that would protect kids’ access to youth OHV’s

PICKERINGTON, Ohio — The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) is urging all motorcyclists and ATV riders to ask their U.S. senators and representatives to support language in an appropriations bill that would allow kids’ dirtbikes and all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) to continue to be sold.

The language, written by Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.) and included in the House fiscal year 2010 Financial Services Appropriations bill, would bar the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) from spending money to implement or enforce a section of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) that relates to youth-model off-highway motorcycles and ATVs.

The CPSIA limits the amount of lead allowed in products meant for children 12-years old and younger. While aimed at toys originating in China, the law also covers youth-model off-highway motorcycles and ATVs because certain parts, including batteries and valve stems, may contain lead.

When the law took effect, off-highway motorcycle and ATV manufacturers told their dealers to stop selling machines meant for kids 12 and under, as well as some of the parts to maintain them. That’s because no new or used kids’ machines or certain parts for those machines could be sold unless they were tested and certified at government-approved labs to meet the new federal lead-level requirements.

“Unfortunately, while Washington bureaucrats bicker over the meaning of words, the intent of Congress to protect kids from dangerous toys is being ignored,” said Rehberg, a member of the House Appropriations Committee. “The federal government is now forcing children to ride adult-sized motorcycles, ATVs and snowmobiles — a serious danger that’s much more real than the invented threat of chewing on a battery cable or valve stem.

“I don’t know of anyone in the House or Senate who intended this, and it’s important to off-road enthusiasts and American families that we work together to fix it once and for all,” Rehberg said.

Earlier this year, the CPSC said it would not enforce the ban on the sale of kids’ dirt bikes and ATVs until May 1, 2011.While the Rehberg language is in the House bill that was approved by the full House and sent to the Senate for consideration, there is no similar language in any Senate appropriations bill. Therefore, the AMA is asking concerned motorcyclists and ATV riders to urge their senators and representatives to include the Rehberg language in the final version of the fiscal year 2010 Financial Services appropriations bill or the Omnibus Appropriations bill, whichever passes the full Senate.

The most effective way to contact your senators and representative is to call them. To obtain contact information for elected officials, go to AmericanMotorcyclist.com.

Issues Legislation. Additionally, a prewritten e-mail is available immediately to send to lawmakers by following the “Take Action” option and entering the constituent information.

“AMA members and motorcyclists everywhere have shown that we can make a difference when we pull together and act as a group,” said Ed Moreland, AMA vice president for government relations. “Now is the time to work with your elected senators and representative to get them to include the Rehberg language in the appropriations bill that comes out of the Senate. Let them know how important it is to continue to allow responsible and safe family enjoyment in riding dirtbikes and ATVs.”

Arizona Dirt & Sand Expo & Arizona Motorcycle Expo December 12th & 13th

PHOENIX, AZ – NOVEMBER 11, 2009: The Arizona Dirt & Sand Expo has combined with the Arizona Motorcycle Expo at the Arizona State Fairgrounds for one big show the weekend of December 12th and 13th. With the economic state, the promoters AZ Expos, Inc have changed the structure from a formal show to a SuperSwap with very affordable $100 booth prices.

AZ Expo has opened up booth spaces to all companies and the general public that would like to sell their new and used off-road parts and accessories as part of the SuperSwap. All booth spaces are just $100 for a 9x17. Sign up for one space, or multiple to fit your trailer or products. All booth spaces are outdoors with AZ December weather being historically pleasant. Companies and SuperSwap Vendors please reserve your spots now by calling 480-899-6458, or contact Charlene@BowerMedia.com with questions.

“As many of you know, I produce these events because of my love for the Powersports community,” said Andy Myers. “I am fully aware of the brutal economy we live in and it is for that reason I am changing this event dramatically. Businesses and spectators are encouraged to display their used goods to sell at this event. This is an open format expo.” To encourage attendance, AZ Expo Inc has also dropped the entry cost to $10, with kids under 12 free and have added limited free parking.

The Arizona Dirt & Sand Expo has a 7 year track record of being the largest off-road show in Arizona, then combine that with the 6 year running of the Arizona Motorcycle Expo and they are teamed up for success. This is traditionally a buyers show with it being two weeks before Christmas. The timing makes it a great show to get gifts for family and friends and also a great time for you to raise extra cash for the holiday!

Date: Saturday December 12th 10am – 8pm & Sunday December 13th 10am – 4pm

More Detailed Information: www.arizonasandexpo.com

Baja Designs Introduces New LED Dome/Rock Light

Baja Designs NEW LED Dome/Rock Light is extremely small yet 1 ½ times brighter than competitor’s larger 15 LED units. It is waterproof and can be mounted anywhere. It has a 360 degree optic to illuminate your cab, engine bay, wheel wells or anywhere you need a super bright, super smooth light!

“Amazingly clear, vibrant white light output. Quite possibly the brightest LED undercarriage light ever offered.”

-Robin Stover, Feature Editor, Four Wheeler Magazine

It is available with or without an integrated switch and in tube mount or panel mount versions. If desired the tube mount versions can even be installed using a zip tie - no drilling required. Its simple two wire installation will have you on the trails in no time.

Baja Designs is a leading manufacturer and marketer of high-quality aftermarket lighting systems and adventure products for the off-road industry. Headquarters are located in San Marcos, California.

www.bajadesigns.com

Accel DFI Gen 8 ECM Now Available

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Under-Sheriff reports on first big weekend at the Imperial Sand Dunes

Source: http://kxoradio.com/content/view/6328/1/
First off-road weekend relatively safe…Under-Sheriff Fred Miramontes gave his report to the Supervisors Tuesday.

The Halloween Weekend was the first off-road Weekend in the Imperial Recreational Sand Dune area. The biggest Off-Road Weekend is the long Thanksgiving Weekend, followed by New Years. The Under-Sheriff said 64,000 were reported at the Dune areas of Glamis and Buttercup Valley. He said that number is down from 90,000 reported last year. Miramontes said the economy and other off-road events kept the numbers down. He said the Deputies deployed over the Halloween Weekend made 6 arrests, issued 120 citations and responded to 8 medical calls. The Under-Sheriff said more medical calls were received by the Bureau of Land Management, but no fatalities were reported anywhere during the weekend. He said his Department is prepared for the Thanksgiving Day Weekend, even though they have less funds available this year for security measures.

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Floating Border Fence Holding Strong at Imperial Sand Dunes

Source: http://www.kyma.com/slp.php?idN=2948

It has been one year since the U.S. Border Patrol's built its floating fence in the Imperial Sand Dunes. Stretching 11 miles long and 15 feet high, its steel metal beams separate Mexico from the United States. Designed to sit on top of the sand and have sand blow through it instead of pile up next to it, agents say it has been doing its job.

Vik also says, "It's one of the busiest areas. This place in particular was notorious drug trafficking."

Before the fence was built, smugglers and illegal immigrants would have easy access to Interstate-8. Vik says, “All they would have to do is walk a short distance and get picked up by someone on the other side or hop in a four wheel drive and across the sand."

Vik says activity in the area is almost nothing. “We have had in the entire fiscal year of 2009, only 66 attempts to cross the fence."

Vik praises the engineers who designed the fence. “They actually had to think way outside of the box to create this and it has exceeded expectations."

Imperial Sand Dunes: Decline in dunes crowd bad sign for season

Source: http://www.yumasun.com/opinion/dunes-54026-people-halloween.html

Communities have different ways of assessing the impact of what has come to be called the "Great Recession" of the past year or so. In Yuma, one way to measure it is the number of people on the sand.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) reported there was a significant drop in the number of people off-roading and relaxing in the Imperial Sand Dunes west of Yuma this past Halloween weekend.

Thanksgiving weekend has traditionally been seen as the big kick-off of the winter sand duning season as huge numbers of local people and others from California and elsewhere take their RVs, dune buggies and all-terrain vehicles out for some fun.

Lately, however, the time around Halloween has attracted a large crowd too, and it is something of a pre-Thanksgiving indicator of what the season will be like.

That indication was not very good this year, with a 45 percent drop in the number of people in the dunes for Halloween. BLM officials are hopeful that is not a sign of what is to come.

They said the likely culprit is the economy. Off-roading in the dunes is an expensive excursion, especially for those who come from long distances. Like other leisure activities, it tends to be sacrificed during hard times.

But we wonder if something more is happening. A complaint we have heard is that stricter enforcement of rules in the dunes has made it less fun to go there. Of course, some rules need to be enforced for safety reasons and to prevent misbehavior, but a balance is needed - and some say that balance is now missing.

Whatever the reason, if the decline continues it bodes ill for local merchants who benefit from the crowds who trek to the dunes each winter.

Halloween at the Imperial Sand Dunes

Proposed transfer of jurisdiction for Tolowa Dunes State Park has ignited controversy

Source:
http://www.triplicate.com/20091105107407/News/Local-News/Dunes-transfer-raises-concerns

Critics: move to preserve hunting has ramifications

A proposed transfer of jurisdiction for 1,200 acres in Tolowa Dunes State Park has ignited controversy.

The issue began with an attempt to preserve waterfowl hunting that has been allowed for years on the land, but opponents of the transfer say it has significance beyond hunting.

The California State Parks and the Department of Fish and Game proposed the transfer to allow hunting to continue.

Due to a series of management mistakes by both agencies, waterfowl hunting has been allowed even though it became illegal after the area’s designation as a state park in 2001.

Earlier this year hunters — and state park officials — were surprised by a decision by Fish and Game to exclude hunting in Tolowa Dunes from its list of allowed sites.

Both agencies then started trying to figure out how to continue allowing hunting in the state park with hopes of resolving the issue in time for the current hunting season, said state park Superintendent Jeff Bomke.

Ultimately they proposed the transfer of jurisdiction from the State Parks to Fish and Game, which would once again make waterfowl hunting legal because it removes the state park restrictions.

“It’s a recreational opportunity that should be allowed to continue,” said county Supervisor Mike Sullivan. “But it’s important to make sure there are still protections in place.”

Some transfer opponents do not necessarily oppose waterfowl hunting there, but they believe there should be a public process involved and they worry that it may allow uses of the land that could have far more impact than hunting on an area of biodiversity and cultural importance.

“I am disappointed that apparently state leadership is making this important decision without any public process, since the lands being transferred are environmentally and culturally unique,” said Sandra Jerabek, Tolowa Dunes Stewards programs manager.

“The Tolowa (tribe members) have lived and worshipped and celebrated in this area for many thousands of years,” Jerabek said. They deserve better than a process based on rumors. We should be having an open public debate about this, with maps and documents, so that everyone can see what’s going on.”

Tribal officials said the land does include areas significant to the tribe.

“This is a big deal,” said Smith River Rancheria Cultural Director Marva Scott. “These are lands that have been part of our culture since time began. We’re taking direct action on it now.”

Scott did not specify what that action was.

“It is the center of our universe,” Scott said. “We’re like guardians of that place, we’re connected there spiritually. It’s not managed to our satisfaction now; how much more would be lost if this were to go forward?”

According to Smith River Rancheria Tribal Council Member Loren Bommelyn, the site in question has been on the federal registry for historical sites since the 1970s.

“It’s a part of the history of America, like the building they signed the Declaration of Independence in,” Bommelyn said. “I think that this may be why it was taken into park status to begin with. It’s our Garden of Eden.”

Bomke said that the cultural significance of the area was not being ignored, and part of the proposed transfer would make culturally significant areas off-limits to hunters.

“At this point the proposal is still being reviewed by legal staff from both agencies,” Bomke said. “We need to see if there is already a public process in place, or if one needs to be implemented.”

The issue didn’t become public knowledge until a press release was distributed by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), an organization that receives tips from from government workers.

“We are essentially a conduit for public employees to keep them from being whistle-blowers and getting in trouble,” said PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch. “This information came from a State Parks employee.”

The fact that it took a State Parks employee and PEER to make the proposed transfer public has opponents claiming it was being attempted behind the scenes.

A further wrinkle is that the local State Parks department doesn’t normally work to promote hunting in parks or in general.

“The contemplated giveaway of these dune swale ponds is particularly outrageous because they are unique in the California State Parks system, and have a tribal heritage that goes back thousands of years,” said Scott Greacen, executive director of the Environmental Protection Information Center, a non-profit organization that seeks to protect endangered species and forest ecosystems along California’s North Coast.

“We were shocked to hear about this transfer because State Parks in this region is otherwise doing a good job of protecting tribal cultural resources,” Greacen said.

The PEER press release states that “Tolowa Dunes State Park and the adjoining 5,500-acre Lake Earl wetland complex provide habitat for at least 43 rare and federally and state listed species, including the peregrine falcon, brown pelican, western snowy plover, marbled murrelet, sand dune phacelia, Oregon silverspot butterfly, seaside hoary elfin butterfly, greenish blue butterfly, steelhead, and coastal cutthroat trout.”

The 1,200 acres in question encompass only state parkland, not Lake Earl, and include multiple ponds and a slough, Bomke said.

Bomke declined to comment on the seeming change of direction for a park service that is usually oriented to resource conservation

“My personal opinion is that waterfowl hunting is contrary to the State Parks’ interests and values,” Bomke said.

Roy Stearns, the State Parks’ director of communications, acknowledged hunting isn’t part of the parks’ mission statement.

“If this were a pristine park without a tradition of hunting we would not be in favor of hunting,” Stearns said.

Referring to the fact that it is a significant cultural site, Stearns said, “our ultimate goal is to maintain the status quo of historic use. Hunting has not damaged the resource or hurt the land in the past.”

“The transfer to Fish and Game is not a fait accompli,” he said. “There are still some other options. One should stay tuned because those other options are still on the table.”

Supervisor Sullivan said many local residents support hunting at the site.

“I’ve had a lot of feedback from constituents wanting this area returned to its historical use,” Sullivan said, referring to the recent history of duck hunting there.

The issue may not be resolved for this hunting season.

“Who has the jurisdiction to issue the permit is the question,” said California Coastal Commission planner Jim Baskin. “If the land to be transferred spans the high tide line, it arguably falls under the jurisdiction of the Coastal Commission. If it doesn’t, then the county would have to issue the permit.”

According to Baskin, the Coastal Commission is issuing a letter to all agencies concerned expressing the requirement for a permit.

“We still have to figure out who is responsible for issuing the permit,” Baskin said.

The Board of Supervisors recently voted unanimously to send a letter to Fish and Game and State Parks expressing how important waterfowl hunting was for local residents.

Jerabek noted that if the county chose to issue a permit, that action could be appealed to the Coastal Commission.

Rackzilla Rack and Pinion now available for Kawasaki Teryx from Unisteer

Unisteer Performance Products now offers a heavy-duty bolt-on factory replacement rack and pinions for the Kawasaki Teryx. The Rackzilla includes larger tie rods, stronger rod ends, steel backing plate and mounting area, and a powder coat finish.

The Rackzilla can be used with long travel kits and lift kits on most models.

This is a direct bolt-in kit that replaces your factory rack and pinion.

In addition to the Rackzilla for the Teryx, Unisteer also offers a bolt-on power steering unit. You can check it out at:
http://www.unisteer.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=UNISTEER&Product_Code=8051580&Category_Code=

About Unisteer Performance Products:
Unisteer Performance Products is a manufacturer of specialty steering systems and steering components for street rods, classic cars & muscle cars as well a large variety of custom vehicles. Unisteer can be found on the internet at: www.unisteer.com

Juniper Dunes toilets are shot up, then removed

Two temporary toilets in the Juniper Dunes Off-Road Vehicle Area northeast of Pasco have been vandalized.

After shelving initial plans to install permanent toilets because of unsuitable terrain and access problems, the Bureau of Land Management placed four temporary toilets at the Juniper Dunes parking area Oct. 1.

But on Oct. 16 the contractor who provided the temporary toilets notified BLM someone had extensively damaged them with gunfire.

Because of that, BLM officials asked the contractor to remove the toilets, and have no plans to replace them.

The BLM is investigating the incident and asked that anyone with information on the incident call BLM Law Enforcement at 509-536-1224.

Source: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/kennewick_pasco_richland/story/764781.html

More info on the Juniper Dunes can be found at:
http://www.duneguide.com/sand_dune_guide_juniper_dunes.htm

UTV Crap Glamis opens doors at the Imperial Sand Dunes as the season kicks off

With help from UTVCrap.com and a few others, Mark Stoffer and Rick Alger recently opened a UTV parts store at the Imperial Sand Dunes near Glamis Flats. Just like the main store in Arizona that stocks hundreds of parts for side x side vehicles, UTV Crap Glamis is packed with parts for many popular vehicles like Yamaha Rhino, Kawasaki Teryx, Polaris RZR and RANGER, Arctic Cat Prowler and Honda Big Red.

"Our goal is really pretty simple," said Rick Alger. "We will do our best to keep people riding and keep there machines running while they are in Glamis. We don’t want riders to miss their vacation or have to cut their time in the dunes short due to not having parts available and in stock."

The UTV Crap Glamis trailer is stocked with lots of OEM parts that tend to break in the dunes. Axles, CVT belts, A-arms, rod ends, tie-rods and fuel pumps just to name a few. But the trailer is also packed with all sorts of stuff that UTV owners want when they hit the dunes - billet goodies, air filters, paddle tires, harnesses and wheel spacers.

So, if you break an axle, or need some harnesses, stop by the big blue trailer on vendors row. They might just have what you are looking for.

UTV Crap Glamis is located on vendor row at Glamis Flats, near the Glamis Beach Store (Google Maps).

Imperial Sand Dunes Permits Available Online at the ASA

The ASA has ISDRA season permits available in the on-line store. Season permits are $90 plus $2.95 for shipping and insurance. They are good until September 30, 2010.

If you wait and purchase a seasonal permit at the dunes it will cost you $120 - BUYING ONLINE SAVES YOU OVER $27.

The ASA receives $9 for each season permit we sell so this is a great way to get your permit and help the ASA at the same time.

Permits are available here.

The American Sand Association
Unite, Inform, and Mobilize
www.americansandassociation.org

IMPERIAL SAND DUNES PEAK SEASON BEGINS

News Articles about Halloween Weekend:

"Glamis dunes weekend opens up to small crowd, beautiful weather" (Imperial Valley Press, 10/31/09)
"The BLM normally sees more than 100,000 people" during the Halloween weekend at the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area. Dunes manager Neil Hamada "said he thinks the economy has definitely had an effect on the number of visitors. Those who came out were a lot of families and those who had been coming out for years, he said."
http://www.ivpressonline.com/articles/2009/11/01/local_news/news01.txt

"First big Imperial Valley dunes weekend opens for fun" (Imperial Valley Press, 11/1/09)
"Fields of recreational vehicles filled the area as people enjoyed the Halloween weekend ... Dunes manager Neil Hamada of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management was happy with how the weekend went, he said. There was a lot of activity for Halloween, he said. The children got to dress up, and everyone had a good time..."
http://www.ivpressonline.com/articles/2009/11/02/local_news/news02.txt

"Merino family has sand in the blood" (Yuma Sun, 10/30/09)
"Halloween weekend is the traditional start of the duning season at the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area. The Bureau of Land Management typically expects between 60,000 and 100,000 people at the dunes this weekend." At 74, Steve Merino Sr. of Yuma still looks forward to the season.
http://www.yumasun.com/news/merino-53850-dunes-dave.html

"Halloween weekend dunes attendance down" (Yuma Sun, 11/3/09)
"There was about a 45 percent drop in the number of people who played in the Imperial Sand Dunes during this past weekend as compared to other years, and the Bureau of Land Management believes it may be another sign of an ailing economy."
http://www.yumasun.com/news/dunes-53948-weekend-certainly.html

Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area

Halloween Attendance Down at Imperial Sand Dunes

Source: http://www.yumasun.com/news/dunes-53948-weekend-certainly.html

November 03, 2009 8:05 PM

BY CHRIS McDANIEL, SUN STAFF WRITER
There was about a 45 percent drop in the number of people who played in the Imperial Sand Dunes during this past weekend as compared to other years, and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) believes it may be another sign of an ailing economy.

"Visitation was certainly much lower than usual, and we don’t really have a definitive answer, but certainly one could think the economy is part of it, due to the distance people drive to get out there and the cost of gas, etc.," said Stephen Razo, the external affairs director for the California Desert District of the BLM.

"Halloween has kind of become a pre-Thanksgiv- ing, and in better economic times when Halloween fell on a Saturday, we would see over 100,000 people. Of course, this holiday was on a Saturday, but we only had 64,000 people."

Razo said Thanksgiving weekend, which has traditionally seen scores of off-roaders careening in their vehicles, may also have fewer people in attendance.

"I think the Thanksgiving weekend will validate our suspicions by the numbers to see exactly how much is being affected by what is happening in the economy, which may prevent families from coming to the dunes."

Photo Gallery: http://utvguide.net/trip_report_glamis_halloween_2009.htm

Dust-up Stirs Over Off-Road Vehicle - CPSC / UTV Article

Source : http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2009/nov/03/dust-stirs-over-road-vehicle/

By Mike Lee
Tuesday, November 3, 2009


To read the Consumer Product Safety Commission's analysis of Recreational Off-Highway Vehicles and see how to submit your comments, go to www.signonsandiego.com/offhighway


Thousands of off-roaders kicked off the high season last weekend with campouts and spinouts at Glamis, Ocotillo Wells and other desert hot spots.

Many rolled in a relatively new and inexpensive kind of machine - a cross between a golf cart and a dune buggy known as a recreational off-highway vehicle. More than 416,000 ROVs crisscross terrain from San Diego County to Maine, sometimes at more than 60 mph. Their numbers are swelling as recession-conscious hobbyists buy them instead of more expensive sand cars.

The federal Consumer Product Safety Commission says the ROVs were connected to at least 116 deaths in the past six years and are dangerous enough to warrant safety regulations. Last month, the agency said rules proposed by the off-road industry aren't adequate and started creating its own.

Some off-roaders say the regulatory push is an intrusion into their private affairs and a sign of government paternalism. At least a few think the crackdown is part of a broader attempt to squeeze off-roaders into smaller parts of the backcountry.

"Off-roading is a dangerous sport. Period. So is hunting and surfing," said Jay Langley, who works at Off Road Warehouse in San Diego. "There is no way that you can put enough safety features on one of these vehicles to make them safe."

The commission hasn't proposed specific rules, but agency documents highlight concerns about stability, "undesirable" steering characteristics and "inadequate" protection for occupants of ROVs, also called UTVs or side-by-sides.

Manufacturers define ROVs as off-road vehicles with engine displacements up to 1,000 cubic centimeters that are designed to travel on four or more non-highway tires. They typically come with a steering wheel, bucket seats, seat belts and roll bars and cost $10,000 to $15,000. Their cousins - all-terrain vehicles - have straddle seats, handlebars and no protective cage.

Ranchers and farmers were among the earliest ROV users in the late 1990s, but the machines' popularity took off when people started using them for hunting, racing and other recreation.

Langley and many other off- roaders say the main problem with ROVs is people "doing stupid stuff," such as letting children drive unsupervised and going too fast for the terrain.

Daniel Rosenzweig at Magnum Offroad in Vista, which specializes in safety retrofits, said stock ROVs can exceed 30 mph but can be modified to go faster.

"You figure 65 mph with that wheelbase is a recipe for disaster," he said. "People get in these things, see that they have got a roll cage and think they're safe and they go nuts."

Magnum Offroad adds doors, widens wheelbases and upgrades roll bars on ROVs. Typical customers are fathers who want a relatively inexpensive way to teach their children about off- roading.

"Because of their compact size, they are able to go a lot more places" than dune buggies, Rosenzweig said. "They are able to access a lot more territory likes nooks and crannies in the rocks and wooded trails."

ROVs are so new that no helmet laws, minimum age requirements or seat belt mandates apply in California, said Phil Jenkins, cq chief of the off-highway vehicles division for the state parks department. In contrast, anyone riding an ATV on public lands in California is legally required to wear a helmet.

Jenkins said state officials are talking about whether ROV rules are needed.

The Irvine-based Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle Association is developing voluntary safety standards and said the Consumer Product Safety Commission is jumping the gun with its move to develop rules.

"We are confident that through continued discussion and information sharing, an appropriate standard that reflects the input from all parties can be developed" through the industry process, it said.

At the Consumer Federation of America, senior counsel Rachel Weintraub cq applauded the commission. "The industry has gone where they want to go, which is not far enough," she said.

Weintraub said ROV manufacturers should have anticipated problems after ATVs sparked safety concerns two decades ago with unstable three-wheeled models. She said it's not fair to simply blame ROV users.

"The best way to prevent injuries is to look at the product and say, `What we can we do differently, knowing that people operate them in these ways, to diminish potential hazards?' " she said.

A Consumer Product Safety Commission spokeswoman said the industry's proposed voluntary standards don't fully address stability, handling and occupant retention.

Similar concerns prompted the agency to negotiate a recall with Yamaha in March after two Rhino models were linked to 46 deaths. More than two-thirds of cases involved rollovers and unbelted occupants, and the commission said many appeared to occur during low-speed turns on level ground.

"While we work on new safety rules for ROVs, I urge all riders and passengers to strap on a helmet, use the seat belt, know the terrain and never allow anyone under 16 to drive these vehicles," said Inez Tenenbaum, chairwoman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Sue Cox, director of trauma services at Rady Children's Hospital, said her unit has dealt with 254 injuries in the past three years related to all kinds of off- road vehicles.

"What really is concerning to me is that out of this number of 254, 47 kids were under 10 years old," Cox said. "That is really a sobering statistic. What are parents thinking?"

Many off-road enthusiasts say the answer is responsible parents and drivers, not federal mandates.

"I think it's going to end up just ruining vehicles that are perfectly safe if you follow the manufacturer's guidelines," said Jon Crowley, publisher of UTVGuide.net. "When does the government get involved with something and make it better?"

New T-9 Pro Series 15-inch beadlock Available from ITP

Since 1982, ITP has grown into the world’s number one aftermarket source for ATV and UTV wheels. With over 27 years of wheel building experience and expertise, ITP is now expanding its wheel line with the new 15-in. T-9 Pro Series Trac-Lock.

The T-9 Pro Series Trac-Lock is a 15-inch beadlock wheel designed specifically for dune buggies and off-road race/recreation cars. The wheel is constructed of exceptionally durable yet light 6mm (.236) 6061 aircraft grade spun aluminum that’s double heat-treated for extra strength. A rolled lip on the inside wheel half is an industry first and provides an extra level of protection in this vulnerable area. The rugged clamp ring is precisely formed from 6mm aluminum as well, utilizing a self-centering design for a better fitting, truer running tire. Steel lug nut hole inserts add to this wheel’s fit, longevity and ease of use (no washers needed). The 15-in. T-9 Pro Series Trac-Lock is manufactured to the highest specifications, earning a rigorous QS9000 certification.

The T-9 Pro Series Trac-Lock debuts in 15x6, 15x10 and 15x12 sizing, with a standard 5/205 bolt pattern (look for non-beadlock models of this wheel in the near future). This beadlock wheel is also offered in a bolt-in billet centered option, which allows for simple removal and installation and the option of anodizing or painting for a distinct, custom look.

The 15-in. T-9 Pro Series Trac-Lock is the strongest production wheel of this type, and is available at a distributor direct price unmatched in the industry. Beadlock wheels just became surprisingly affordable!

Dealer and distributor inquiries are welcomed. For more information, inquiries or technical advice, contact ITP at 930-A S. Rockefeller Ave., Ontario, CA 91761; (909) 390-1905. Email us at customerservice@itptires.com, or visit ITP’s website at www.itptires.com.