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By: Robert Janis
Access to Land Dominant Issue for New Mexico
Off-Highway Vehicle Alliance
Access to land is the dominant issue for the
New Mexico Off-Highway Vehicle Alliance.
Literally since its inception in 2004 New Mexico
Off-Highway Vehicle Alliance has been struggling
with the powers of the state to better the
conditions of the ATV community. That first
year, 2004, the State Legislature was
considering the passage of an ATV Safety Law.
"The original bill was essentially anti-ATV and
anti-recreation," said Joanne Spivack,
recreation resource director of the group. "In
fact, the first draft included a total ban on
anyone under the age of 16 riding any ATV or
dirt bike. It took over two years of intense
work to create the law we have now. It isn't
perfect, but mostly reasonable."
NMOHVA is a statewide incorporated alliance of
motorized off-highway vehicle enthusiasts that
promotes responsible off-highway vehicle
recreation through education, safety training,
land conservation, and access in cooperation
with public and private interests to ensure a
positive future for OHV recreation in New
Mexico.
A Member-Based Organization
The members are the core of the organization,
explained Spivack. It is these people who become
board members of NMOHVA, who attend agency
meetings and who write letters to the agencies
and politicians. "They are the 'troops on the
ground'," said Spivack. "Our members spread the
word through their networks of riding friends.
They are our ears on the ground for changes in
policy and developing situations needing
NMOHVA's attention. We are a grass roots
organization with information flowing in both
directions, to and from the members."
Since its power depends on the ATV enthusiasts,
the association is involved in the creation of
local clubs. Its staff helps with advice and
examples of by laws and such and uses the
National Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation
Council's Club Start Up Kit as a tool in the
formation of clubs.
"We are always looking for local clubs to work
with," added Spivack. "Joining NMOHVA as a
member club enables a small 'social' club to be
part of the only statewide organization fighting
to protect our access to public lands. Clubs
that used to exist just for fun are realizing
that they can't ignore this any longer. As a
small club they are invisible, as part of NMOHVA
they have a voice. As a result of our growing
strength among the ATV community, NMOHVA is
growing in influence and recognition among
federal agencies and the state government."
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The association also works with outside
organizations including the Blue Ribbon
Coalition and the National Off-Highway Vehicle
Conservation Council in order to get the word
out about ATVs and in the struggle to gain
benefits for the community. The organization
also meets regularly with agencies. Although
they have not participated in any lawsuits so
far, they are preparing to do so. "We are
building contacts with legal experts and
organizations in other states, and we have an
Access Defense Fund," said Spivack.
The Access Defense Fund was created for two
reasons: To have the funding to have equal
ability to exert legal pressure and to be
prepared when legal action may become the last
resort. The Fund is sustained through voluntary
contributions and is kept separate from NMOHVA
operating funds. The Access Defense Fund will be
used to support legal actions undertaken by
NMOHVA and other organizations working for
access to public lands and for communication of
public land access issues. If you wish to
contribute to the fund, you can do so by sending
a check or money order to:
NMOHVA Access Defense Fund
13170-B Central Avenue SE
PMB #322
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87123
"We also have to be very diligent about how we
work within the National Environmental Policy
Act (NEPA) process," Spivack continued. "It is
NEPA that dictates how the Travel Management
planning is done by the Forest Service. There is
a specific process mandated by NEPA that calls
for us to submit official comments on their
proposed trail networks within a certain
deadline in order to have a 'legal standing.'
You must have 'legal standing,' or you will not
be allowed to file an appeal or a lawsuit. In
order to get things done, we can't ignore the
planning process and start complaining after
they make a final decision to close the trails.
If you don't pay attention and get involved
properly, you get locked out."
NMOHVA depends on volunteers to lobby the state
senators and representatives. "As a nonprofit
501(c) (3) group our lobbying efforts are
limited by law," explained Spivack. She said
that the organization relies on its members to
influence decisions by local city councils and
other decision-making agencies. "The best way to
influence local government is through our
members who are local citizens," added Spivack.
"Politicians are more likely to listen to people
who can vote for or against them." Spivack
asserted that many local government personnel do
not understand that they have a stake in what
the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land
Management does. "If the Forest Service closes
the roads and trails in a nearby national
forest, it will have an impact on local
citizens." "In New Mexico, county commissioners
have considerable power and influence,"
explained Spivack. So a lot of effort is
addressed to them.
Individuals, families, businesses, and clubs can
become members of the association. NMOHVA uses
its website to reach out to members, and it also
publishes a quarterly newsletter which is mailed
to members. Past issues of the newsletter are
archived at the website (www.nmohva.org).
"ATV users are dispersed over a very large
state, and there are very few clubs," said
Spivack. "The ATVers here are much less likely
to be organized in local clubs than the dirt
bikers. So we've been relying on 'friend telling
friend.' At this time in our growth we clearly
need to use more formal ways of contacting all
the OHVers, including ATVers. One way is the
'trickle-down' through national organizations
and websites."
Besides promoting the recreation side, the
association also supports the sports side. It
publishes the race schedule of the New Mexico
Racing Club (http://www.nmdrc.com) in its
newsletter. Spivack noted that the races are
performed on Bureau of Land Management land, and
the association is working hard to keep that
land available to ATV riders. "If ATV and dirt
bikes are banned from BLM land, desert racing
would be severely limited," said Spivack.
The Issues Plaguing ATVers in New Mexico
As mentioned previously, access to land is the
dominant issue in New Mexico. "It is all about
the federally-managed public lands," explained
Spivack. "Both the Forest Service and the Bureau
of Land Management are currently revising
policies about where and even IF, we will be
allowed to ride on public lands. The anti-access
groups are very well organized and funded. When
policies are being changed or re-written, they
see it as a major opportunity to get us locked
off of public lands." It seems that trashing
ATVers is what the anti-access groups live for.
Spivack pointed out that a quick review of these
groups' websites shows the hysteria,
half-truths, and distortions they throw at the
OHV community.
Spivack also pointed out that there is some
difficulty in uniting ATVers and dirt bikers to
fight the common cause over the trails issue. So
there is a concerted effort by the organization
to bring the two sides together.
Taking advantage of grant programs, especially
the federal RTP grants, is another major focus
of the association as is being a watchdog on the
State Trail Safety Board. "New Mexico is now
collecting a sticker fee on OHVs and we have to
keep a close eye on what they do with the
money," said Spivack. "We have serious issues
about the membership of the Board. The law says
there are three seats on the Board for OHV
representatives. Two years later we do not have
a single OHV representative on the Board. We
also still do not have required OHV safety
training widely available at an affordable
price. The OHV Trail Safety Board is working
with MSF and ATVA to provide dirt bike and ATV
training programs, but it won't happen
overnight."
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"NMOHVA is working hard to keep access to public
lands and closely tracks the Travel Management
Plan in every national forest," said Spivack.
"This policy change is the biggest threat ever
to the survival of off road recreation in New
Mexico and across the country. We teach our
members how to contact and work with their local
Forest Service and BLM offices. We support them
with our expertise and with our contacts to the
national organizations. We network people with
each other so that they can form local groups,
and we provide a source for documents on policy,
research, and more to help with the fight."
The organization is also creating the "legal
standing" necessary that gives them the right to
appeal decisions and take them to court.
In order to unite OHVers, the association is
educating the OHV community about the threats
that would close public lands to ATVs, dirt
bikes, and 4WDs.
NMOHVA is also trying to encourage government
entities to apply for grants from the RTP Grant
Program, and it is also developing proposals to
apply for grants from manufacturers including
Yamaha and Polaris.
Finally, the organization is working hard to get
three separate state agencies to appoint OHV
representatives to the State Board. "No one of
them is forced to name a representative,"
pointed out Spivack. "Each agency has kept the
seat for itself. We lobbied the governor's
office about this but to no avail. We are
following the state Trail Safety Board to see if
they get the OHV reps appointed and get safety
training in place. We are also monitoring the
government on what they will do concerning the
fee for an OHV sticker. For two years now the
state has charged ATVers and dirt bikers the
maximum fee allowed by the new law. We have yet
to see them do anything constructive with the
money. If there is no progress on appointing our
representatives, we will have to go to the State
Legislature and ask them to amend the law to
change how the OHV seats are appointed."
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The Website
The association recently unveiled a new website
(http://www.nmohva.org) which includes updates
on events, a calendar of events, major news
articles, and a forum where OHVers can discuss
issues that concern them. There are also links
to OHV Advocacy Groups' websites including
Action Program Keeping Public Lands Public,
American Recreation Coalition, Americans for
Responsible Recreational Access, Blue Ribbon
Coalition, Colorado Off- Highway Vehicle
Coalition, National Off- Highway Vehicle
Conservation Council, Tread Lightly, and the
Utah Shared Access Alliance.
There are also links to OHV membership
organization websites including the All Terrain
Vehicle Association, American Motorcyclist
Association, American Snowmobilers Association,
and Southwest Four-Wheel Drive Association as
well as links to OHV clubs websites in and
outside of New Mexico. In addition, there are
links to public land management agencies'
websites including Bernalillo County East
Mountain Trails & Bikeways Master Plan; Bureau
of Land Management Department of the Interior;
the New Mexico Energy, Minerals, and Natural
Resources Department; and the USDA Forest
Service. Finally, there is a link to the website
of the Recreational Trails Program, an
assistance program administered by the
Department of Transportation's Federal Highway
Administration, and the website of the
Recreational Trails Program of New Mexico.
The association website also allows for fund
raising to take place through the site and uses
Paypal so concerned individuals can make
donations to the Access Defense Fund.
To make a donation and to find out more about
NMOHVA visit
www.nmohva.org.
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