What's New in the aSa
July, 2010

The Draft Imperial Sand Dune Recreation Management Plan Could

CHANGE DUNING Forever!

DO YOU WANT?

·INCREASED PERMANENT CLOSURES

·DECREASED CAMPING ACREAGE

·RESTRICTED CAMP AREA USE

YOU’RE COMMENTS WILL COUNT

Please go to INFO MEETING Documents to learn more. ASA has prepared comments for your consideration. Review the ASA suggested comments and send your personal comments via email to caisdrmp@ca.blm.gov or by US mail to the BLM attention Erin Dreyfuss at 1661 S. 4th Street, El Centro, CA 92243.

ACT NOW the Deadline is Aug 7, 2010

ASA's Official Comments Will Be Emailed to You in the Very Near Future.

ASA Gears up for 10-Year Anniversary & Awards Reception
Ten years ago, who would’ve thought that GlamisOnLine.org, created by three avid duners to inform and clarify important dune related issues to the users, would turn into today’s – over 35,000 member strong - American Sand Association?

It’s hard to imagine the ASA has been fighting for your right to recreate on public lands for a decade. The ASA will be commemorating this momentous occasion at this year’s Sand Sports Super Show in Costa Mesa on September 18th.

Many people will be on hand to congratulate the ASA. One of which is Bureau of Land Management Director Bob Abbey flying out from Washington, DC. Director Abbey is scheduled to give the key note address and present the prestigious Jerry R. Seaver award to an outstanding individual who exemplifies what the ASA is all about – volunteerism.

ASA Accepting Nominations for the Jerry R. Seaver Volunteerism Award
The American Sand Association (ASA) is looking to recognize our volunteers that give freely of their time and talent in the pursuit of the goals and ideals of the ASA. The Jerry R. Seaver Award, established by the ASA Board of Directors, commends and recognizes extraordinary volunteer efforts of ASA members.

The program provides an opportunity for all of us to honor the dedicated people who make a difference in our sport by uniting, informing and mobilizing Sand Sport enthusiasts. Our volunteers are the backbone of our organization and we appreciate the personal sacrifices made by our volunteers and their families – their efforts are what make our organization great. We thank those outstanding ASA members who give their time and talent unselfishly to protect public access to public lands.

Examples of volunteer activities qualifying for consideration include:

Fundraising
Distributing flyers
Committee leadership
Event coordination or support
Letter writing
Clean up activities
Merchandise promotion
Representation at meetings
Web site support
Legislative support
Other activities

Anyone can nominate any ASA member who they believe qualifies for this award, or apply for the award personally. Qualifications, rules and forms are available on the ASA’s web site by CLICKING HERE or by contacting Nicole Gilles, ASA Executive Director at (760) 996-8983.

The deadline to return the nomination form is August 1, 2010. Those who are selected for the Award will be announced at the ASA 10 Year Anniversary & Awards Reception taking place at the Sand Sports Super Show in Costa Mesa, CA on September 18, 2010.

BRC Action Alert – America's Great Outdoors Initiative
What you need to know:

On April 16, 2010 President Obama signed a Presidential Memorandum that will radically reshape the U.S. Government's conservation policy. The Memorandum created the America's Great Outdoors Initiative which directs the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Council for Environmental Quality (CEQ) to coordinate with the Interior and Agriculture Departments on a program to promote conservation and outdoor recreation.

According to Obama's Memorandum, the goals of the Initiative shall be to:

1. Reconnect Americans, especially children, to America's rivers and waterways, landscapes of national significance, ranches, farms and forests, great parks, and coasts and beaches by exploring a variety of efforts, including: promoting community-based recreation and conservation, including local parks, greenways, beaches, and waterways; advancing job and volunteer opportunities related to conservation and outdoor recreation; supporting existing programs and projects that educate and engage Americans in our history, culture, and natural bounty.

2. Build upon State, local, private, and tribal priorities for the conservation of land, water, wildlife, historic, and cultural resources, creating corridors and connectivity across these outdoor spaces, and for enhancing neighborhood parks; and determine how the Federal Government can best advance those priorities through public private partnerships and locally supported conservation strategies.

3. Use science-based management practices to restore and protect our lands and waters for future generations.
The Memorandum listed three “functions:” 1) outreach; 2) coordination; and 3) reports. The outreach function includes the listening session mentioned above and directs that special attention should be given to bringing young Americans into the conversation. The coordination function directs the EPA, CEQ, Dept. of Ag and Interior to work with various agencies of the federal government to “identify existing resources and align policies and programs to achieve its goals.” The Memorandum also requires the Chair of the CEQ to issue a report by November 15, 2010, and Annual reports by September 30, 2011, and 2012.

Why this matters to you:
There is a very real possibility this might just end up being a giant vehicle to hand the “conservation community” whatever is on its latest wish list.

What you need to do (click here to jump to "How to Comment")
Get involved now. Participation in the “outreach” portion of President Obama's Memorandum is MANDATORY.

IMPORTANT: The DOI has an online “idea generator.” There are many good ideas that you can “vote” for and you might want to submit your own. http://ideas.usda.gov/ago/ideas.nsf/ We've posted a few ideas and talking points below. Feel free to use these if you wish.

The DOI also has a “tell your story” web page. If you enjoy OHV and snowmobile riding with your family, please consider taking a minute to jot down a personal anecdote on this web page. http://www.doi.gov/americasgreatoutdoors/Feedback.cfm

Finally, call your congressional representatives! With all that is going on in Washington these days, your Congressman and Senator may not even know about this initiative. Make sure he or she knows and remind them that it is their (Congress) responsibility for provide oversight and represent constituents' interests – especially when access to public lands is at issue. Easily find your Congressman's contact info via our Rapid Response web page. http://www.sharetrails.org/rapid_response/

MORE ON THE WEB:
http://www.doi.gov/americasgreatoutdoors/
http://www.doi.gov/americasgreatoutdoors/Organizers-Toolkit.cfm
Remarks by The President at America's Great Outdoors Conference
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-americas-great-outdoors-conference

HOW TO COMMENT ON THE AMERICA'S GREAT OUTDOORS INITIATIVE:
You can email your information to: ago@ios.doi.gov or mail a hard copy to: Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife and Parks, America’s Great Outdoors, 1849 C St NW, Washington, DC 20240.

We've posted a few ideas and talking points below. Feel free to use these if you wish.
The DOI also has a “tell your story” web page. If you enjoy OHV and snowmobile riding with your family, please consider taking a minute to jot down a personal anecdote on this web page. http://www.doi.gov/americasgreatoutdoors/Feedback.cfm

Ideas for America's Great Outdoors Initiative
This initiative is partly motivated by a need to enhance recreational opportunities on public lands. But increased recreation opportunities will not flow from a whisk of a pen in Washington D.C. Any successful recreation management policy must be accompanied by adequate budget, staffing, and above all, management’s priority to achieve critical on-the-ground goals.

Federal agencies' allocation of budget, staff, and management effort should reflect the developing reality that outdoor recreation provides a greater good for more Americans than any other aspect of its multiple-use mandate. The time has come to make managed recreation the BLM and Forest Service’s top priority.
Prioritize all efforts on clearing the repair/maintenance/improvement backlog in the National Park Service before designating any new National Parks or other similar protective area designations. (The National Park Service alone estimates that it would need an extra $9.5 billion to clear a backlog of repairs and improvements.)
All too often "conservation" means reducing public access and recreational uses. The AGO Initiative should explore ways to enhance a diverse range of recreational uses, including motorized and non-motorized recreational uses, across federal, state and private lands.

Federal land managers too often limit or restrict public recreation activities. Federal land managers should focus on recreation friendly management plans that are not restrictive and embrace a wide range of diverse recreational uses, including motorized and non-motorized recreation.

The administration has prided itself in being open and transparent, yet Representative Rob Bishop and Representative Doc Hastings have not yet received a response to their requests for documents. It will benefit the outreach function of this Initiative if the Department of the Interior would respond to H. Res. 1406.
The new National Park Service management policy emphasis is on preservation of our National Parks. This limits land managers' options insofar as what recreation opportunities a Park may provide. The initiative should study a supplement to National Park management guidelines to emphasize providing a wide range of recreational uses for the visiting public. Similar supplemental guidance may be appropriate for the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management.

The initiative and the public will benefit from a full understanding of the various public and private conservation efforts currently underway. Accurate information is critical for good decision making. Statements that state large areas of our nation's natural landscape have been lost to population growth and development, or that a changing climate and new sources of pollution are affecting wildlife and watersheds, must be put into an accurate context. The initiative must disclose how much land is being conserved. The initiative should work with the over 1,600 privately run land trusts to find out how much land has been protected in recent years. The initiative should disclose how much land is conserved via federal conservation efforts, such as the Department of Agriculture’s Conservation Reserve Program. In addition, it would help to disclose how much federal dollars are being spent on the various conservation efforts. Finally, the initiative should disclose the conservation efforts underway via the Land and Resource Management Plans of units of the National Forest System, the Bureau of Land Management and National Park Service.

Millions of American families enjoy motorized recreation. It often forms a bond between parents and their children as they experience the great outdoors together.

The OHV community supports conservation efforts including support of the “travel limited to designated roads, trails and areas” paradigm as outlined in the Forest Service travel management regulations and BLM’s planning directives. The OHV community also supports conservation through environmental review and analysis in route designation processes, as well as ongoing monitoring and maintenance of the OHV infrastructure. The OHV community supports conservation efforts by contributing substantial funds to implement OHV management and volunteers tens of thousands of man hours in volunteer work projects. Much of this funding is made available to federal land managers via state OHV programs. These programs exist today because years ago motorized recreationists voluntarily “taxed ourselves” via state OHV registration programs. Some of these funds are used to supplement the agencies' law enforcement efforts.

ATV and off-highway motorcycle riding encourages and promotes physical fitness. OHVs provide access to the Great Outdoors for Americans of all ages, shapes, and sizes.

If you participate in the idea generator:
The agency is asking for comment on four “topics.”

Challenges - What obstacles exist to achieving your goals for conservation, recreation, or reconnecting people to the outdoors?

What Works - Please share your thoughts and ideas on effective strategies for conservation, recreation and reconnecting people to the outdoors.

Federal Government Role - How can the federal government be a more effective partner in helping to achieve conservation, recreation or reconnecting people to the outdoors?

Tools - What additional tools and resources would help your efforts be even more successful?

Here are some ideas for “Challenges”
The inefficiency of federal bureaucracy is a significant challenge. Disengaged or uninterested land management staff is also a challenge.

The problem known as “analysis paralysis” is a major concern. It should be a priority to review the reasons the U.S. Forest Service is having problems writing Forest Plans.

More and more land is being placed into protective designations. The increased focus on conservation in these areas lead to restrictive land use plans. In Wilderness for example, there are many restrictions including a group size limit. These group size limitations hurt scouting and other youth programs.
There are two key challenges related to funding federal outdoor programs. One problem is that much too much money is being spent on overhead and infrastructure and not on recreational infrastructure. The initiative should find ways to focus agency budget spending on recreational infrastructure, including roads, trails and winter sports areas (including ski areas).

The other problem is the lack of funding, especially appropriated funds. The initiative has ambitious goals but we must face the fact that federal budgets aren't going to be significantly increased, and may be decreased in coming years. The initiative must focus on locally based cooperative efforts to accomplish its goals.
An excellent example is leveraging the various State off-highway vehicle programs. Many states benefit from millions of dollars made available for OHV trails and snowmobile areas via these “user pay” programs. The initiative should enhance these programs where they exist and encourage their formation in states where they lack an off-highway vehicle program.

Here are ideas for “What Works”
Active management of recreational use works. With management (maps, kiosks, partnership agreements, adopt a trail, on the ground signing, etc) land managers increase capacity while decreasing impacts to natural resources.

Involvement of federal land managers with local communities works. Community based FACA committees formed from a broad base of stakeholders can well serve as advisory councils to assist the land manager in critical planning and decision-making efforts.

Here are ideas for “Federal Role”
The federal land managing agencies serve a critical role in supplying a diverse range of recreational opportunity to the American public. Recreation is a key multiple use value. The federal agencies should seek to enhance recreational opportunities on lands that they manage.

Training for local recreation program managers is essential, especially in the area of developing funding opportunities through private sector and federal grant programs such as the Yamaha OHV Access Initiative GRANT Program or the Recreational Trails Program at the federal/state level.

Here are ideas for “Tools”
Have units embrace substantive volunteer programs. Utilize proven management principles such as the Recreational Opportunity Spectrum and ensure that all aspects of ROS are served.

Consistent rules for the California Desert District (CDD)
The ASA has been working with the BLM California Desert District Advisory Council (DAC), CDD District Office and the various BLM field offices to generate consistent rules for recreation areas in the California Desert. There has been a prohibition on the burning of firewood containing metal (like pallets) at Dumont Dunes and other desert recreation areas but not at the ISDRA. This revised set of supplementary rules will make the prohibition on possession or the burning of firewood containing any metal, including pallets consistent across the CDD and will be in force at the ISDRA starting with the 2010-2011 dune season.

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The supplementary rules contain several rules that were already in place at the ISDRA, such as no glass beverage containers and no public nudity. These rules are now consistent across all the CDD recreation areas.
The BLM has posted a "Notice of Interim Final Supplementary Rules" and request for comments on these rules. This notice, the rules and a request for comments can be found in the Federal Register. Deadline for submitting comments is July 26, 2010. Click here to View Federal Register notice

The ASA wishes to thank all the BLM staff that has worked diligently to get these consistent rules put in place. Having consistent rules for all CDD recreation areas will help law enforcement be more consistent in their application of these rules and help visitors to the various CDD recreation areas to know that the rules that are in effect at one location are the same at all locations.

Next meeting for the ISDRA Desert Advisory Council Sub Group (DSG)
The next meeting for the ISDRA DSG will be on Friday July 23, 2010. This meeting will be at the BLM office in El Centro and will start at 9AM.
The El Centro Field Office is located at 1661 S. 4th Street, El Centro.
The agenda for this meeting will be made available on the ISDRA DSG web site at: DSG WEB PAGE

This is the public's opportunity to interface with the BLM managers of the ISDRA. If you are unable to attend this meeting you may comment in writing on any agenda items or make general comments. You may direct you comments to the BLM El Centro Field Office and they will be communicated to the DSG. Contact the DSG

Win an annual Imperial Sand Dunes (ISDRA) Permit!
Worldwide Environmental Products (WEP) is currently accepting entries to the 2010 ISDRA Permit Photo Contest. This is your chance to submit your ACTION photo(s) of your sand toy(s) to be considered for display on the 2010-2011 Imperial Sand Dunes Permit. You must be 18 years or older to participate. Entry form, requirements, complete rules, terms and conditions can be found by clicking here .

AMERICAN DESERT FOUNDATION OFFERS ATV TRAINING

Classes offered monthly at Glamis, Gordon’s Well, and Superstition Mountain

Visit http://www.americandesertfoundation.com/atvtraining.html for dates and details.

ARE YOU AN ASA FACEBOOK FAN?
Make sure you’re utilizing your Facebook account as another tool in receiving all the latest information about the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area. Join the American Sand Association Facebook group today at http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=82231739000&ref=ts

GET YOUR $25 BUCKS TODAY!
The ASA is proud to announce a partnership agreement with Rocky Mountain ATV/MC. All new and renewing supporting members will automatically receive a $25.00 gift card to Rocky Mountain ATV/MC. Basically, your membership pays for itself. Support the ASA’s mission to Unite, Inform and Mobilize while shopping for your favorite gear. All you have to do is become a supporting ASA member or renew your current membership and we’ll mail you your free gift card so you can start shopping right away. You’ll also be able to take advantage of all of the other discounts offered by our premium sponsors. Don’t throw your money away, take advantage of this opportunity today!
New members please visit: http://www.asasand.com/product.php?productid=16136&cat=250&page=1
Renewing members visit: http://www.asasand.com/product.php?productid=16174&cat=250&page=1

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Check out Rocky Mountain ATV/MC products at:
http://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/home.do

ASA Board of Director Meeting Minutes Available On-Line
The ASA BOD would like all our members to be able to track the action of your BOD therefore we have generated a place in the ASA on-line document library where the approved BOD meeting minutes can be found.

The meeting minutes will be found in the document library accessible from the "About ASA" drop down menu on the ASA Home page. They can also be accessed directly from the link below.
ASA BOD Meeting Minutes

Display the ASA Raffle Car at Your Next Event
Do you have an off road shop or an upcoming off road or other motorsports related event in the San Diego or Temecula area? Do you want to help the American Sand Association? You can do that by inviting us to display our Raffle Car at your event or business. The raffle car represents the ASA’s primary source of revenue to carry out its mission. If you would like to help support the ASA by displaying our Raffle Car please contact Chuck Hattaway at 619-890-9093. No event is too big or too small.

ASA Giveaway Car

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Are you an “ASA Supporting Member?”

Click Here http://www.reachairambulance.com/membership/faqs.html to learn more.

Click Here http://www.americansandassociation.org/product.php?productid=16136&cat=250&page=1