Letter Writing Party for the Glen Canyon Off-road Vehicle Management Plan - 2/27/14

[U4WDA]

Letter Writing Party for the Glen Canyon Off-road Vehicle Management Plan/ DEIS
2/27/2014
​

Come to a letter writing party for the Glen Canyon Off-road Vehicle Management Plan (DEIS)!

The letter writing party is sponsored by Expedition Utah, Rocky Mountain Extreme, and the Utah 4- Wheel Drive Association (U4WDA).

What: Come and write a comment letter on the Glen Canyon Off-road Vehicle Management Plan/DEIS! Includes free pizza!

When: Thursday, 2/27/2014, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM

Where: Larry H. Miller Jeep, 10905 Auto Mall Drive, Sandy, UT 84070

We expect to have a wifi hotspot available, so bring your laptop or other electronic typing device in order to submit your comments electronically. We expect to have at least one laptop computer available for those who cannot bring their own, but who wish to submit their comments electronically. We will provide pens and paper for those who wish to make handwritten comments. Representatives from Expedition Utah, Rocky Mountain Extreme, and U4WDA will be on hand to answer questions and provide guidance.

The letter- writing party will be during the U4WDA’s monthly Board of Directors meeting. Come for the letter writing and pizza, feel free to stay for the meeting if you like!

…

Even if you can’t make the party, please be sure to still submit your comments!

Please send a copy of your comments to U4WDA at ront@u4wda.org. Sending copies of your comments to us is valuable in our overall efforts to keep public lands accessible to motorized recreation.

Submit your comments electronically at:
http://parkplanning.nps.gov/commentForm.cfm?documentID=56859

or submit your comments by US Mail at:
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
ORV Plan/DEIS
PO Box 1507
Page, AZ 86040-1507

DEADLINE is Tuesday 3/4/2014, 11:59 PM (submitted or postmarked)

…

Below are some items you may want to consider including in your written comments:

INTRODUCE YOURSELF: Describe how you use (or how you wish to use) the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Describe a trip you’ve taken to the area or a trip you plan to take to the area. Describe how four wheel drive access to the area impacts you and/or your family/friends. State that you support the position of Expedition Utah and/or Rocky Mountain Extreme and/or U4WDA and/or any other motorized recreation club or land use group that you know is submitting comments.

ALL ROUTES SHOULD REMAIN OPEN to motorized travel, including OHVs and street-legal ATVs. Describe specific routes/areas that you are familiar with and how important it is to you for those routes/ areas to remain open to motorized travel.

PERMITS, if implemented, should be simple, affordable, and without usage limits. Describe any concerns you may have about access to your favorite areas being restricted if a permit system were implemented.

OPEN OHV PLAY AREAS should remain unchanged. Describe your opinions on the importance of having play areas that are open to cross country OHV travel.

FUTURE ROUTES AND OHV PLAY AREAS should be open to discussion. Describe how having a system in place for creating new routes and new OHV play areas is important to you.

BE POLITE! Refrain from using rude or demeaning language in your comments. Compliment the park service if you feel they are doing a good job in any particular area. Do not give them an excuse to apply any kind negative stereotypes to the motorized recreation community.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

There!

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

Thank you again Ron!

 

[SRN]

In!

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Bump for tomorrow!

 

[U4WDA]

This is today! If you can make it, great! If not, please submit your comments at the link in the first post.

Thanks!

 

[Expedition Utah]

U4 hosted a great letter writing party the other night for the Glen Canyon Off-road Vehicle Management Plan! For those that made it, I hope you had a great time and had plenty of pizza, please don't forget to send me a copy of your comments.

If you didn't make it, please make sure to submit your comments online at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/commentF...cumentID=56859.

The deadline is Tuesday, 3/4/2014.

Please also send a copy of your comments to ront@u4wda.org, doing so will allow us to package and share our collective comments with other interested parties, such as affected counties, etc. Also, we will submit a duplicate copy of all your comments along with ours to ensure a backup.

Consider the writing guide below that was used at our letter writing party...

Expedition Utah, Rocky Mountain Extreme, Utah 4- Wheel Drive Association
Glen Canyon Off-road Vehicle Management Plan/ DEIS Letter Writing Guide

1. Introduce yourself. How do you use the backcountry? How do you use Glen Canyon area? How do you wish to use the backcountry? How do you wish to use Glen Canyon area? How often do you recreate in Southern Utah? How much do you spend? What activities do you engage in? Describe a trip you’ve taken on a Glen Canyon road? Describe a trip you someday plan to take on a Glen Canyon road? Declare your support for organization who will be making more detailed and technical comments (i.e. I support the position of U4WDA/ RME/ Expedition Utah/ Whatever club may be commenting).

2. Be polite! Refrain from using rude or demeaning language in your comments. Compliment the park service if you feel they are doing a good job in any particular area. Do not give them an excuse to apply any kind of negative stereotypes to the motorized recreation community.

3. Touch on a few Talking Points. Consider one or more of the following talking points. Use your own words. Describe your why the particular issue is important to you and how it might affect your recreation.

-Permits. What concerns do you have with permits? What suggestions do you have for a permit system?

-Should all routes should remain open to motor vehicles, including OHVs and street legal vehicles?

-Should all open OHV play areas remain open?

-A system for future additions or changes to roads/routes should be defined.

-A system for future additions or changes to open play areas should be defined.

-Noise impacts from offroad vehicles in the backcountry is minimal, including OHVs and street-legal ATVs?

-Soil impacts from ATVs and conventional vehicles is minimal. All road areas have already been impacted?

-Behavior and impacts in the backcountry is different than behavior and impacts at popular open play areas. Different people. Different type of recreation. How is it different?

-Orange Cliffs area should be open to OHVs and street legal ATVs. Important connections between different BLM areas. Important access to remote BLM areas.

-Through road connecting Red Canyon and Blue Notch is not clear on old map. The road should be clear on the new map. The route makes a connecting loop.

-Roads near Monticello BLM office (Bull Canyon/ Imperial Valley area) should be clearly defined on the map. Important loop with BLM lands. These roads should be open to OHVs and street legal ATVs.

-Should Rincon road be added to routes?

-Will limitations on popular shoreline access areas drive those users further into the backcountry?

-Is it a historical tradition (or cultural tradition) for you to use motorized vehicles in the backcountry?

-Do motorized vehicle trips to the backcountry provide you with a primitive experience?