Family Fun Four Wheeling

The United Four Wheel Drive Associations are sending their Legislative Advocate to Washington DC in early February to discuss the pending Surface Transportation bill that eliminates the dedicated funding mechanism, upon which the entire Recreational Trails Program (RTP) relies.  Without dedicated funding, administrating entities do not have to fund the RTP Program.  While the Program would still exist in name, it is extremely doubtful that adequate funding would be supplied without Federal direction.

DENVER, CO (January 19) -- Recreation advocates today filed papers to join a lawsuit about motorized vehicle access to the Rico-West Dolores area in southwest Colorado managed by the San Juan National Forest.  The lawsuit, filed in December 2011 by the Colorado Chapter of the Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, seeks to have specific trails declared off limits to motorized use.  The Colorado Off-Highway Vehicle Coalition (COHVCO), Trails Preservation Alliance, San Juan Trail Riders, Public Access Preservation Association and BlueRibbon Coalition (BRC) today filed a motion to intervene and attain formal party status in the case.  The Colorado groups and the BlueRibbon Coalition have previously worked together in responding to similar threats in Colorado and Utah.  Collectively, the Recreation Groups have defended recreational access in dozens of lawsuits filed by preservationists across the country.

BOISE, ID (Jan 17, 2012) -- The BlueRibbon Coalition today filed papers seeking to enter a lawsuit threatening snowmobiling on lands throughout the National Forest System. The suit claims that numerous Idaho Forests have illegally relied on a "snowmobile exemption" in the 2005 Forest Service Travel Management Rule in allowing continuing snowmobile access.  BlueRibbon Coalition is a nonprofit, grassroots organization headquartered in Pocatello, Idaho, which has participated for more than two decades on the administrative, legislative and legal fronts defending reasonable access to public lands.

Nitto Tire Expects Great Results at This Year’s Ultra4 Sanctioned King of the Hammers Race by Showcasing Specially Designed Trail Grappler® Race Tires and Six Sponsored Race Teams

Cypress, Calif. – Jan. 17, 2011 – Nitto Tire, a leading producer of high performance tires is prepping for a big win at this year’s toughest desert race, King of the Hammers: The Ultimate Desert Race (KOH).  Nitto Tire has put together some of the top winning drivers into six officially sponsored teams to tackle this extreme test of strategy, speed and guts.  To further their edge in this competition, Nitto Tire has also developed a new, non-DOT tire specifically for this event called the 40x13.50R17 Trail Grappler K-spec®.  The first tire designed for speed and rock climbing – two essential tests known in the KOH – the 40x13.50R17 Trail Grappler K-spec combines these two attributes in one performance package making it an industry first.

Ever wonder what that acronym means??  When reading the various news reports about issues affecting motorized recreation and public lands, a number of terms and letter combinations are used.  If you need to know the meaning of ACEC, NEPA, or WSA, MUIRNet Glossaries is now on-line and provides a definition of those and many other terms.

Lakeside, CA (Jan 4, 2012) - An article advocating recreation inclusion in public lands management policy will be published in law book designed for classroom use in U.S. Law schools. The article, written by John Stewart, Managing Editor of 4x4Wire.com,  will appear in the Natural Resources Law 2nd Edition, authored by Jan Laitos, University of Denver Sturm College of Law.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) California Desert District has scheduled eight public scoping meetings to gather public comments and recommendations on the preparation of environmental assessments for eight travel management areas within the West Mojave Planning Area.  These eight travel management areas are identified on the attached map, and each one will be a focus of one of the eight meetings.  This information will be used to compile travel management area information and develop preliminary route network alternatives for the West Mojave planning area.

Lake Havasu City, Ariz. – Temporary Bureau of Land Management (BLM) public land closures are scheduled for January 6-7, and February 3-4, 2012, for the 41st annual running of the Parker 250 and Parker 425 Desert Races.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Lake Havasu Field Office has announced the temporary closure of selected public lands under its administration in La Paz County, Arizona.

WASHINGTON, D.C.(Dec 16, 2011) – U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today unveiled language included in the 2012 Interior spending bill that blocks federal land management agencies from creating new wilderness areas without first getting Congressional approval.

The Hi-Lift® Off-Road Base is one of the best-selling Hi-Lift Jack accessories on the market. It was designed to alleviate jack sinkage on soft surfaces, and can be used with all models of Hi-Lift® jacks. Some recent design changes make the Off-Road base even better suited for use in both soft and now hard surfaces and allows for easier storage along with your Hi-Lift® jack.

It has been my privilege to serve the OHV community under three administrations; first as a Commissioner appointed by Governor Davis, then as Deputy Director when I was appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger, and most recently, to serve in this position under Governor Brown while he considers and develops his own team for the future. At this time, I want to let you know that my term as Deputy Director will end on December 31st.

Dear Trail Voter,

To mark our 4 month anniversary, The Trail PAC is launching its first ever moneybomb (Dec. 5 - Dec. 9). TPAC is counting on you to help make the “DON’T LOCK ME OUT” fundraiser a smashing success that will send a strong signal to closure advocates in Washington D.C that off-road and other outdoor voters are serious about protecting their access to public lands for responsible recreation.

Over the years, legislation within the U.S. Congress has had a big impact of recreation opportunities with the designation of wilderness and other actions that limit access to public lands.  A partial list of Federal legislation active in the 112th Congress is now available on line at:

For more than 50 years, 4 wheelers have been facing the problem of limited cargo space. If you own a large four-wheel drive SUV, wagon, or pickup, storage space is not usually problematic. Of course, the larger machines are hampered by their size during off-highway travel. If you wheel in a smaller 4 wheel drive, you will relate to the topic of this article, namely, "making it all fit."

The release of more than 13,688 historical topographic maps covering California highlights the rapid pace of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Historical Topographic Map Collection.

Nearly 124,000 high resolution scans of the more than 200,000 historical USGS topographic maps, some dating as far back as 1884, are now available online. The Historical Topographic Map Collection includes published U.S. maps of all scales and editions, and are offered as a georeferenced digital download or as a scanned print from the USGS Store.

Wilderness Designations Require Congressional Approval in Addition to Local Support

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today issued the following comment in response to the Interior Department’s recommendation that 18 backcountry areas in nine states be designated as either wilderness or national conservation areas: