2019 has been another great year for NOHVCC! Thanks to our partners we had an outstanding conference in Reno, our communications have continued to ramp up, and of course NOHVCC staff and Partners have been busy on many projects. Take a look below to get a better picture of some of the things NOHVCC was up to in 2019.
Communications and Website
In 2019 NOHVCC continued to move forward with the communications strategy implemented in 2018. This included continuing to provide frequent communications through a blog-style format on the new site. NOHVCC continues to average nearly 2 communications per week (including communication directly to Partners). Increased communication has shown results as engagement by the NOHVCC network is steadily increasing.
One popular blog series was our “Meet the Partner” articles. Using information culled from annual reports we were able to highlight success stories that Partners achieved in the prior year, as well as provide a short bio of the Partner. NOHVCC hopes to revive this series in 2020.
Annual Conference
This year NOHVCC and INOHVAA held joint annual conferences in Reno, Nevada on October 15-19. After INOHVAA preliminary activities on the 15th, the conference began sessions on the 16th, with a mobile field workshop for attendees of both conferences on Thursday, October 17, joint INOHVAA/NOHVCC sessions on Friday, October 18, and finally, the NOHVCC conference concluded with sessions on Saturday and a banquet on Saturday evening. Nearly 170 OHV enthusiasts, land managers and industry professionals participated in the Conferences.
The Mobile Workshop was held at Prison Hill Recreation Area in Carson City, Nevada. 140 participants learned about NOHVCC’s management plan, trail layout and design, and management of the area. Participants were able to take an OHV tour around the area with machines provided by Polaris, Roxor, and Kawasaki. To read a review of the Mobile Workshop (and take a look at some cool pictures) click here.
Planning for the 2020 Annual Conference in Knoxville, Tennessee has already begun.
Great Trails
The Great Trails guidebook, authored by Dick Dufourd and published by NOHVCC has been internationally recognized as the must-have guidebook for OHV trails. Demand continued in 2019 with requests for over 1,000 electronic copies and shipment of 100 printed versions. The book provides the curriculum for NOHVCC’s Great Trails workshops, and in conjunction with North Idaho College, we now offer Continuing Education Units (CEU) credits to workshop attendees.
Great Trails Workshops
NOHVCC continued its Great Trails Workshop series with five events in 2019:
These workshops focus on the design, layout, construction, maintenance and management of fun and sustainable off-highway vehicle (OHV) trails. Hands-on field training is emphasized. The intended audience is trail managers; trail construction and maintenance supervisors and crews; engineering staff involved in trail planning, design, maintenance and construction; trail contractors; OHV club trail volunteers; and other interested stakeholders. For each of the workshops NOHVCC staff worked with local representatives from federal and state agencies, local OHV clubs and associations, and other interested stakeholders.
For an in-depth review of the Gunnison Workshop click here.
National Motorized Recreation Strategy (BLM)
NOHVCC continues to partner with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and OHV enthusiasts to inform the BLM on how it can better provide access to high quality OHV recreation experiences on BLM lands. NOHVCC and the BLM have partnered to develop a National Motorized Recreation Strategy that will help the BLM develop individual state strategies for providing high quality OHV opportunities and develop partnerships to help maintain those opportunities. The strategies will guide the BLM in future Resource Management Plans (RMP) and Travel Management Plans (TMP).
Awarded additional grant funding from the BLM to continue this effort over the next several years. Started efforts in Colorado including partnering with the Colorado Off-Highway Vehicle Coalition (COHVCO) to acquire additional grant funding to make this a true statewide plan in Colorado that will not only include BLM-managed lands but USF-managed lands and the involvement of Colorado Parks & Wildlife as well.
To view/read reports from States that have already undertaken this process click here.
Webinars
NOHVCC began a series of free webinars in 2019. The webinars are designed to deliver quality and helpful information on OHV safety, education, management and other issues related to motorized recreation. We will continue with a new webinar series in 2020, starting in January.
The 2019 series included:
Recorded versions of the 2019 webinars are available here.
Projects
Trail Layout & Design:
Prescott National Forest: Designed about seven Miles of singletrack motorcycle trail through an agreement with the Prescott Trail Riders and the Prescott National Forest. Funding from AZ State Parks administered OHV decal program.
Coconino National Forest: Developed new motorized singletrack and OHV trail system concept west of Flagstaff, AZ under agreement with Coconino Trail Riders and the Coconino National Forest. Funding from AZ State Parks administered OHV decal program.
Wildcat Staging Area: Continued implementing new staging area water control features.
Assisted Tonto Recreation Alliance and the Tonto National Forest with Phase 2 of the project which includes rider-oriented features and facilities. Developed detailed project plan and cost estimates for funding and implementation. Anticipated implementation in the Fall season of 2020.
To view drone footage of the area and initial on-the-ground efforts click here. We hope this footage will serve as the “before” video and we will ultimately be able to demonstrate the positive impacts of our efforts with “after” footage.
Wisconsin OHV Association Merger: Hosted workshop designed to assist two 4×4 clubs with potential merger by acting as facilitator and mediator.
Prison Hill Recreation Area:
National USFS Saw Policy: NOHVCC Project Managers completed USFS Saw Training Instructor Level (C) Certification. This allows NOHVCC staff to train OHV enthusiasts to receive their saw certification.
COHVCO Workshop, July 2019: Partnered with COHVCO to host 100 land managers and OHV enthusiasts in Salida, CO. The workshop focused on OHV issues and successes in Colorado as well as discussions of national OHV trends and happenings.
Border to Border (Minnesota)
In June NOHVCC submitted a final report to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MNDNR) after assisting the MNDNR and Minnesota Four Wheel Drive Association with the planning and public involvement on the Border to Border Touring Route (B2B) project. The goal of B2B is to provide a route consisting of primarily forest roads and gravel road routes using existing public roads across Northern Minnesota. The route is intended for street-legal vehicles (4×4 and dual-sport motorcycles).
B2B started Fall 2016 and involved two years of public listening sessions and ground-truthing of possible routes. Running roughly from the north shore of Lake Superior to the Minnesota/North Dakota border, the planned route is approximately 800 miles.
While there is a final plan in place, the route still needs to be signed and mapped. Next steps include MNDNR submitting the route to determine if further environmental review is necessary. Hopefully B2B will be open, signed and mapped by Summer 2020.
Adventure Trail
Penny and Rascal are names that will be familiar to long-time members of the NOHVCC family – and you can join them on a new Adventure Trail! Through the years they have been featured on the NOHVCC website, in coloring and activity books, and on full-size posters. Now they have their own interactive Adventure Trail website which was unveiled at the NOHVCC Annual Conference in Reno, Nevada.
Adventure Trail was created to communicate NOHVCC’s safe and responsible ethic to young kids – including the need to wear appropriate safety gear, stay on designated trails, be considerate of the environment and other messages. Some of the artwork on the posters and in the activity books is designed to portray responsible OHV recreation in a way that kids and adults will find humorous. The remainder of the artwork takes a light-hearted look at the very serious consequences of inappropriate OHV use at a level relatable to kids.
The new site expands on the messages found on the posters and has a few surprises for young and not-so-young visitors to the website. Join Penny and Rascal on the Adventure Trail by clicking here.
