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Fallon Navy Training Ground Expansion Comments Due

January 30, 2019 by Doug Holcomb

You have until Feb. 14 to let the U.S. Navy know what you think about the draft Environmental Impact Statement tied to their planned expansion of the Fallon Range Training Complex at Naval Air Station Fallon. The AMA hopes you will submit comments.

The DEIS offers three alternatives and a no-change option. The three alternatives progress from dramatically impacting OHV access on Alternative 1 to the least impact on Alternative 3, the Navy’s preferred option. Our primary concern with each option is the closing of trails and roads long open to OHV use, whether for recreation or competition.

The complete draft Environmental Impact Statement is available here.

A summary of the alternatives is here

Alternative 1 would allow continued OHV use only in the Dixie Valley Training Area. Alternative 2 allows some shared recreational use of the Fallon Training Area by setting specific access dates, much like the compromise that was reached for California’s Johnson Valley at the Twenty-Nine Palms Marine base. But Alternative 2 does not include OHV use. Alternative 3 would have similar restrictions and area removal sizes, but would locate the removed areas in a way that minimizes OHV access restrictions.

PNMTA’s support for Alternative 3 was contingent upon roads being added or boundaries modified to correct OHV legal trails and roads left disconnected by planned changes, and a Special Recreation Area being established outside the training range that recognizes motorized recreation as an approved use.

Since the ultimate change will be determined by the U.S. Congress, your contacting your federal elected officials with your views on the DEIS and expansion, as well as the Navy, makes sense. Contact information for your federal representatives is available here by entering your address or zip code or their names.

Comments Deadline: Feb 14 for U.S. mail postmark.

Submit comments through the U.S. mail, addressed to:

Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwest

Code EV21.SG
1220 Pacific Highway
Building 1, 5th Floor
San Diego, CA 92132

For more information, contact the Navy at the address above or call the Fallon Modernization Information Line at (775) 426-4081

Prison Hill OHV Area Meeting Update

May 21, 2018 by Doug Holcomb

Prison Hill OHV Area Meeting Update

The National OHV Conservation Council, Monday, May 21st meeting was well attended with numerous OHV users from different use backgrounds as well as local hikers and residents that live right there on Golden Eagle Lane (the houses at the end of the road in to the staging). Also in attendance were Carson City employees including the Parks and Rec. Open Space Department Manager.

The agenda for the meeting was to get users thoughts and ideas on how WE THE USERS would like to see the area managed. Ideas were written down, prioritized and discussed. Comments can still be submitted until June 21st, by email to Alexis Nelson at alexis@latlongresourcegroup.com

Prison Hill Recreation Area: OHV Management Plan Open House

Hello Everyone,

The National Off-Highway Conservation Council (NOHVCC) in conjunction with Carson City Nevada, with grant funding from the Nevada Commission on Off-Highway Vehicles, has begun the process of developing an OHV management plan for the southern portion of Prison Hill Recreation Area. This plan will serve to provide a long term vision for the management of the area of Prison Hill open to off-highway vehicle (OHV) recreation. In order to make this plan successful we will rely heavily on input from local stakeholders such as yourself. To collect this feedback an open house will be held on Monday May 21 at 6:00pm at the Carson City Community Center. The open house will feature information on the project, and will allow ample time for you to share your thoughts and ideas on the project moving forward. Please feel free to invite those who you believe would be interested in attending, and to share the attached flyer which includes information about the event. If you have any questions on the open house or the project in general please feel free to contact me.

Sincerely,

Marc Hildesheim

NOHVCC Project Manager

208-416-3557

NOHVCClogo

Washoe County Lands Bill-with Wilderness Component-Information and Upcoming Meetings

April 11, 2018 by Doug Holcomb

A comprehensive federal lands bill is being proposed for Washoe County, which also goes by the name of Washoe County Economic Development and Conservation Act. The bill includes three distinct components:

  1. Economic Development for the Greater Reno/Sparks area
  2. Names, acreages and maps of federal lands in the northern portion of Washoe County that will be proposed for conservation and the release of the remaining wilderness study areas
  3. The draft language that accompanies these maps.

For more information or to view the updated proposed maps and bill draft language, please visit their website: www.washoecounty.us/csd/planning_and_development/conservation-act.php

Washoe County is asking for input on the updated proposal based on the input received up to now on the bill.

Please plan to attend the meetings listed below for information and discussion of the two components of the bill.

For the economic development portion: Tuesday, April 24. 2018 from 5:30-7:30pm at the Convention Center.

For the conservation portion: Thursday, April 26, 2018 from 5:30-7:30pm at the Convention Center.

For additional information, please contact:

Jamie Rodriguez
Management Analyst- Government Affairs
Washoe County Manager’s Office
(775) 328-2010 (office)
JARodriguez@washoecounty.us
1001 E. Ninth Street Reno, NV 89512

National OHV Conservation Council Looking For Local Input for Carson City OHV Area

April 8, 2018 by Doug Holcomb

Representatives from the National OHV Conservation Council (NOHVCC) will be in Carson City, Tuesday April 10, 2018, to get local input on the best use of the Prison Hill OHV Area. Carson City Parks And Recreation Department is working with NOHVCC to determine what type of motorized users are currently using the area and what type of use they would like to see in the future.

The NOHVCC meeting will be held at The Union Eatery, 302 N. Carson St., Carson City, from 5:30 to 7:00 pm. This will be just prior to the scheduled Pine Nut Mountains Trail Association (PNMTA) monthly meeting. The PNMTA meeting will be from 7:00 to 8:00 pm. NOHVCC will attend the PNMTA meeting to talk about the Prison Hill project, as well as their role in national off highway vehicle issues. [Read more…]

F.S. Sign Installation CANCELLED

October 2, 2015 by Doug Holcomb

Due to the 93% chance of rain and especially the high chance of thunderstorms on Sunday, Oct. 4th, the Bridgeport R.D. has decided to cancel the interpretative sign install that we were going to help with.
Thank you all who were planning on helping.
Please pass this on to anyone who was planning on going to help out and may not see this.

Volunteer Day to Help Toiyabe Forest Install Interpretive Sign

October 1, 2015 by Doug Holcomb

Danny Hilde, from USFS, is looking for assistance to erect a new interpretive sign near Star City and Belfort in The Sweetwater Mountains on Sunday, October 4.

A few PNMTA members have confirmed but more hands make for less work. Plus an after work ride is planned through the Sweetwaters. PLUS it just rained and or snowed so Sunday afternoon traction should be fantastic!

Meet Danny at 9:00 a.m. in the Sweetwater Valley at the wide turnoff near the airstrip on Hwy 338.

See you there.

DougH

BLUERIBBON COALITION MAKES FORMAL REQUEST FOR SUPPLEMENTAL SAGE GROUSE ANALYSIS

September 7, 2015 by Doug Holcomb

BOISE, ID (August 31, 2015)–The BlueRibbon Coalition (BRC), a national trail-based recreation group, is again urging federal agencies to avoid “exit-based” final land-use decisions. BRC has weathered numerous litigatory storms at the Presidential administration such as occurred over winter use in Yellowstone Park, or various incantations of a “roadless” rule on our National Forest System lands.

BRC believes the Forest Service and BLM are headed down a similar pathway that will lead to intractable litigation over numerous Greater Sage Grouse (GRSG) planning efforts in Western States.

BRC highlighted these concerns in a letter Friday, punctuated by the apparent trajectory of the Bi State Grouse decision process on the Humboldt-Toiyabe Forest. Under the Bi State decision new restrictions would be for off-highway vehicle events through an apparent agreement with environmental groups under the guise of the objection resolution process. The lek buffer distance would be nearly doubled from 3 miles to 4 miles, the 10 a.m. event restriction amended to an all-day closure, and the seasonal restriction expanded by 45 days to include the time from May 15 to June 30.

Don Amador, BRC’s Western Representative, stated, “I think these new restrictions are unwarranted and were never day-lighted during the public process. OHV recreation has been identified as nothing more than a secondary threat to GRSG, but is an important land-use activity in the West.  We are concerned that the GRSG is becoming a convenient excuse to issue parting gifts to various special interests during the Administration’s final year.”

BRC’s letter outlines significant new information and changes that were not available for public comment. BRC formally requested that the agencies conduct a supplemental analysis, and seek an extension from a deadline which would force the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to decide on or before September 30, 2015, whether the GRSG must receive protection under the Endangered Species Act. “The purported urgency of meeting this deadline is improperly driving this process,” Amador noted.  In fact, the deadlines in the settlement agreement have been extended on multiple other occasions for other species. “We intend to test the agencies’ willingness to conduct a proper process that incorporates best available science and allows for full public involvement,” Amador concluded.

Douglas County hosts flooding session Aug. 6

August 5, 2015 by Doug Holcomb

Douglas County hosts flooding session Aug. 6

Flooding at East Valley and Shirley. |

Flooding at East Valley and Shirley

IF YOU GO

What: Flood outreach session

When: 3-30-7 p.m. Aug. 6

Where: CVIC Hall, Minden

Flash flooding in Carson Valley earlier this month has prompted Douglas County to set an Aug. 6 hearing in Minden, where residents are going to have an opportunity to gather information, provide input and view flood damage maps.

“After our staff presentation on the flooding, we wanted to give citizens a place to gather and receive information from as many resources as possible.” said Douglas County Commission Chairman Doug Johnson.

The session will be from 3:30-7 p.m. at the CVIC Hall, and will include topics like stormwater management, roads, planning, emergency services, mapping emergency management and public information.

Meanwhile, some north Valley residents are asking their neighbors to contact their representatives to reduce off-highway vehicle use on federal land.

Resident Mark Garic has been trying to reduce off-highway vehicle use near his neighborhood for many years.

Garic said off-road vehicle trails are increasing run-off from public land above Johnson Lane.

Skyline Ranch resident Janet Geary said a photo of her fenceline showing rushing water at East Valley Road and Shirley appeared in the newspaper.

“All that stuff is coming down from right above us where BLM allows ATVs,” she said. “That’s why it’s now flooding. They have signs that say ATVs this way. They’ve completely pulverized the desert up there, so that every time it rains all the silt comes down into our neighborhood.”

Geary said she and a group have met several times with the Bureau of Land Management, which has said it would set up signs to encourage people to remain on established trails.

“We’ve lost all of our landscaping in front and half of it in the back,” she said. “This happened last year. They need to provide some sort of protection to people who are down here so it doesn’t flood every time it rains. It’s cost us thousands of dollars in landscaping to restore our property.”

Garic has set up a web site discussing the issue at www.douglascountynv.org.

For more information about the county’s meeting, call (775) 782-9821 or visitwww.douglascountynv.gov.

Northern Carson Valley has experienced flash flooding two summers in a row. Damage in 2014 was estimated at $1 million. A July 20, 2014, thunderstorm over Hot Springs Mountain sent floodwaters into northern Johnson Lane washing away landscaping and replacing it with silt. County officials issued three disaster declarations last year, but the state found none rose to the level of a natural disaster.

Heavy monsoon moisture from the south fed thunderstorms earlier this month, with three straight days of heavy rains in the Pine Nuts July 8-10.

That flooding washed down Johnson Lane and Buckbrush washes, as well as other drainages, to the neighborhood. At one point on July 8, Johnson Lane and Stephanie Way were closed while waters rushed across them.

County commissioners declared a disaster that day, and state officials responded to the neighborhood to collect information about the damage.

The county has been cleaning up ditches and culverts in the neighborhood since.

 

Ride Report for 7-19-15

July 22, 2015 by Doug Holcomb

Sunday morning 0900 was set for a ride up to Mt. Patterson aka Mars.  When I pulled into the staging area I was surprised to see more riders than I expected.  I looked around and did not recognize anyone!  Turned out to be two groups of riders.  PNMTA guys formed up with eight riders and punctually hit the trail at 0900.  Heading up the first wash it was apparent how much water this area got from the recent series of thunderstorms.  We worked our way up to the summit of Mt. Patterson and were greeted by a new American Flag.  It was a beautiful clear day with great views and mild weather.  Our group headed off the hill into the trees in search of water. We found it.  At a few points I felt like I needed swim trunks.
Overall this was a fantastic ride that had a great variety of terrain.  We encountered other riders, cows, utvs, snakes, campers, fisherman, shooters and a few rocks.  It was nice seeing others out enjoying our public land. All eight riders made it back to the staging area logging 55 miles just as the thunderstorm started to head our way.  This was a great group ride giving us all an opportunity to meet and ride with different folks. Get out and explore, the conditions are great.                       Jason D.
m1

Good Times At the 2015 Family Fun Ride & BBQ

June 25, 2015 by Doug Holcomb

June 21, 2015 Fathers Day

PNMTA Family Fun Ride and BBQ Report

As riders, BBQers, and film crew (more on that later) met at the Douglas County Fairgrounds parking lot, the day was already a bit windy. A small but very capable delegation of riders were filmed preparing and leaving on their days adventure.

The film crew was putting together a promotional video about the “rugged, relaxed and reachable” aspects of the Carson Valley area for the Carson Valley Visitors Authority. Our BBQ and riders will be one part of the CVVA promo video.

After the riders left the staging area, Nate L with Kiwi by his side, a trailer full of BBQ essentials, the film crew behind him and myself taking up the rear, led the way to Sheep Camp, our BBQ destination. Along the way it was quite obvious that the smoke from the Washington Fire (between Markleeville and Ebbitts Pass) was blowing just about to the Sheep Camp area. On arrival we got lucky that Sheep Camp was just on the edge of the large smoke trail. It was there but not thick. Even more fortunately, as the day went on the wind shifted a bit and our air was clear and he sky’s above were blue. The trees offered plenty of shade so the ezups were not needed. And much less wind on that side of the hills.

BBQ time

We all pitched in and got the BBQ, tables, etc., set up in no time. The film crew interviewed Nate and myself, discussing PNMTA, the Pine Nut Mountains, and the wonderful attributes of living and playing in the Carson Valley area. Just as my interview was finishing up, as if on que the riders rode into camp.

The film crew then mounted a GoPro onto Denny’s handlebars and filmed the riders coming and going on the roads around Sheep Camp. They then filmed numerous creek crossings, which were “mostly” successful. The video cameraman even got splashed a couple of times. And loved it! Thanks Jon.

All this hard work created quite a thirst and appetite so a break was welcomed. Apparently the video cameraman was really hungry because he jumped right in at the helm of the grill and went to cooking. Burgers sizzled, gourmet dogs were cooked up, big fat portabello mushrooms with Nate’s secret mix of oil and spices were all sandwiched between toasted buns. Oh Yeah!

A few other non-riders showed up for the BBQ. We invited a couple of local teenagers who cruised by on their quads in for burgers. The film crew also got some video of them riding.

The chit chat, stories and lies were all as good as the food.

After sitting around for a while, all fat, dumb and happy, camp was broken down and we were heading back home around 2-2:30pm.

For those of you that couldn’t make it, you missed a good one. The good news is that it probably won’t be the last one.

Thanks everyone who showed up. Hope you all had as good a time as I did.

DougH

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