Copied from a BRC email I get all the time.

BLUERIBBON COALITION CODE RED ACTION ALERT!

Dear BRC Action Alert Subscriber,

Attention California Recreationists!

As many of you already know, the State of California is in fiscal meltdown. One victim of the current budgetary crisis is the CA OHV program. It is one of the very few self-funded "user-pay/user-benefit" government programs in the state. The California legislature has already "borrowed" and diverted $90 million dollars from the OHV Trust Fund to other non-OHV-related programs.

Now the folks under the dome in Sacramento are considering any number of untenable options, including the borrowing of any remaining funds, gutting the program and moving into "regular" state parks, or cutting the basic operating budget of Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation (OHMVR) that funds state OHV parks and provides grants to other land agencies.

If there is one time you send a letter to Sacramento... it is TODAY. Send your letter and get as many of your friends to do the same. BRC has provided a sample letter that you can cut and paste and FAX to the following legislators, including the chairperson of each committee. You may also look up your own state representative using BRC's Rapid Response Center. Just type in your zip code at http://www.sharetrails.org/rapid_response and click GO.

2009 Budget Conference Committee Members

Assembly

Noreen Evans - Fax 916-319-2107 (phone 916-319-2007) (Chair)
Roger Niello - Fax 916-319-2105 (phone 916-319-2005)
Bob Blumenfield - fax 916-319-2140 (phone 916-319-2040)
Kevin de Leon - Fax 916-319-2145 (phone 916-319-2045)
Jim Nielsen - Fax916- 319-2102 (phone 916-319-2002)

Senate

Denise Ducheny - Fax 916-327-3522 (phone 916-651-4040) (Chair)
Bob Dutton - Fax 916-327-2272 (phone 916-651-4031)
Mark Leno - Fax 916-445-4722 (phone 916-651-4003)
Alan Lowenthal - Fax 916-327-9113 (phone 916-651-4027)
Mimi Walters - Fax 916-445-9754 (phone 916-651-4033)

Cut and Paste Sample Letter:

Dear (insert name of Legislator):

As a resident of California and a member of the off-highway vehicle (OHV) community, I am asking that you oppose any effort by the legislature to divert OHV trust fund monies to manage state parks that do not allow OHV recreation.

The California Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division of California State Parks is nationally recognized as a model "user-pay/user-benefit" department that effectively blends the following core tenets of OHV recreation: 1) trail/facility maintenance; 2) restoration of legally-closed lands; 3) law enforcement of OHV regulations; and 4) safety/education outreach into an ecologically-balanced OHV program.

I understand the serious nature of California’s budget crisis. However, the state has already borrowed $90 million dollars from the OHV Trust Fund. I again urge your office to oppose any effort by the legislature to divert additional OHV Trust Fund dollars to non-OHV-related projects or programs.


Sincerely,

Your Name and Address

__________________________________________________ _______________


Thanks in advance for your attention to this very serious matter,


Don Amador
Western Representative
BlueRibbon Coalition

Shit sucks, CA is trying to close down any and all state parks.

Shit sucks, CA is trying to close down any and all state parks.


This is they are trying to "borrow" money from OHV taxes that keep the OHV park programs funded. Once it is gone, we will never see it again.

The Budget Committee is looking for ways to save as many state parks as possible. They have now come up with the idea of stealing the gas tax money from OHV and sharing it with all of the others parks.

We need you to contact your own legislator and members of the budget committee with a letter, note or phone call that says don't punish OHV for doing a good job.

Let them know that OHV is user-supported, budgets for law enforcement and environmental concerns, including preservation of endangered species, and has been managed to be prepared for a rainy day. They have also already given ninety million dollars from their acquisition and improvement fund to offset the budget.

OHV parks are among the most visited in the park system. Don't punish those who have supported proper management and user fees by taking away their program.

or you could all move out of california and let its rot away in it own stinking pile of liberal backstabbing corrupt cesspool filth of of a governments excrement it seems hellbent on dragging it's own citizens through......... rant over that is all. they'll take the money and run cause they need it and close the parks cause they can't keep them maintained

or you could all move out of california and let its rot away in it own stinking pile of liberal backstabbing corrupt cesspool filth of of a governments excrement it seems hellbent on dragging it's own citizens through......... rant over that is all. they'll take the money and run cause they need it and close the parks cause they can't keep them maintained

:beer

don't worry, looks like they will leave the OHV fees alone, but tag on another $15.00 fee on everyones registrations.

BRC CALIFORNIA OHV FUND UPDATE:

Conference Committee keeps OHV money in OHV account, votes to increase non-OHV state park entrance fees by $15.

Dear BRC Alert Subscriber,

BRC wants to thank those folks in the OHV community who took time out of their busy schedules to send in letters to their elected state representatives regarding potential fiscal impacts to the California OHV Program.

OHV organizations and individual recreationists from throughout the state asked their legislators not to redirect the gas tax money to non-OHV state parks or other non-OHV-related programs or departments. Because of your efforts, the senate/assembly conference committee decided not to appropriate OHV trust fund money to subsidize non-OHV park costs.

According to a spokesperson for the Coalition for Public Access, the committee proposed that there be a $15 increase to the Motor Vehicle Account (MVA), which, unlike the Vehicle License fee - a personal property tax - is an actual fee.

Thanks again to all of you who decided to make a difference and be a champion for the California OHV Program. We’ll keep you updated of any potential shenanigans in Sacramento.

Don Amador
Western Representative
BlueRibbon Coalition

If they can't afford to maintain them, then they can't afford to patrol them, right?

Damn right!!

If they can't afford to maintain them, then they can't afford to patrol them, right?

Damn right!!

your both missing the point here. OHV has their own fees and is one of the few state units which has/had a positive cash flow, Arnie already took 90million in OHV funds.

why would they need to close something if it is user fees keep it running 100% monetarily on the positive cash flow?

your both missing the point here. OHV has their own fees and is one of the few state units which has/had a positive cash flow, Arnie already took 90million in OHV funds.

why would they need to close something if it is user fees keep it running 100% monetarily on the positive cash flow?

I get the point, and it's really messed up. All I'm saying is, just because they might shut them down, doesn't mean I will stay out.

I get the point, and it's really messed up. All I'm saying is, just because they might shut them down, doesn't mean I will stay out.

I'm sure the ticket for trespassing on a OHV park when closed is much high then normal day pass, but more power too you. I'm also sure busting down the gate to go in will tell them to reopen the park so people like you can pay again. :duh

IF they close the parks, i know an offal lot of people who will go 4x4ing anyway. be it in the closed parks (unlikely) or on national forest land, and private property illegally (most likely)

taking away the places to do it wont stop people from doing it. it'll just stop them from doing it legally, in those places.