NOHVCC continues to work in partnership with the US Forest Service (USFS), the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the Colorado Department of Parks and Wildlife (CPW), and the Colorado Off-Highway Vehicle Coalition (COHVCO) to improve and enhance the motorized recreation opportunities on public lands in the State of Colorado. In order to accomplish this, NOHVCC will conduct a series of listening sessions and invite Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) enthusiasts who recreate on public land in Colorado.
NOHVCC is hosting listening sessions throughout the Front Range of Colorado all week. If you would like to participate, sessions include:
(Listening Sessions on the Western Slope will be held in April):
Completed – January 27: Alamosa, CO; Alamosa Family Recreation Center, 2222 Old Sanford Rd, 81101, 6pm-9pm
Completed – January 28: Pueblo, CO; Pueblo Convention Center, 320 Central Main Street, 810036, 6pm-9pm
Completed January 29: Colorado Springs, CO; Colorado Springs Marriott, 5580 Tech Center Drive, 80919, 6pm-9pm
January 30: Vail, CO; DoubleTree by Hilton Vail, 2211 N Frontage Road W, 81657, 6pm-9pm
January 31: Greenwood Village, CO; 6pm-9pm, Fay Myers Motorcycle World, 9700 E Arapahoe Road, 80112, 6pm-9pm
February 1: Denver, CO DoubleTree by Hilton Denver-Thornton, 83 E 120th Avenue, Denver, 80233, 9am-12pm
February 3: Fort Collins, CO; Fort Collins Marriott, 350 E Horsetooth Rd Fort Collins, 80525, 6pm-9pm
For more information click here.
Please participate in one or more of the remaining sessions if you can!
Recap of Colorado Springs Listening Session
On January 30, about 30 OHV enthusiasts, representing a broad range of OHV enthusiasts including those who ride motorcycles and ATVs, those who drive or ride along in Side-by-Sides and full-sized Four-Wheel Drive vehicles, from the Colorado Springs area gathered for an opportunity to provide comments and input designed to answer a series of questions which included:
- What OHV activities are taking place on public land in Colorado?
- Where in general are these OHV activities taking place?
- What OHV experiences are you looking for on public land?
- Where might these missing OHV activities fit on public land in Colorado?
- What could the land managers do better to enhance your OHV recreation experience?
- Where would you like to see OHV program sticker funds utilized?
- What kind of projects should be prioritized for OHV grant funding?
Ultimately the comments provided will be used to create a Statewide OHV Action Plan intended to inform decisions made by land managers.
Also participating in the event were several representatives each from the BLM and the USFS – ensuring that agency personnel would hear the enthusiasts’ comments in real time.
The Listening session kicked off with welcome and introductions followed by an overview of the Action Plan process. But the overwhelming majority of the time truly belonged to the enthusiasts who were there to provide input.
Each participant was provided a worksheet intended to draw out relevant comments both general and specific in nature that will lead to a well-rounded and useful final report. After each enthusiast completed the worksheet, the participants were broken into several small groups tasked with finding common themes identified by individual commenters. The smaller groups then selected a spokesperson who reported on the common ground shared in each team to all participants while their comments were recorded on large sheets at the front of the room. Finally, individual participants were asked to rank the common themes captured on the sheet. Throughout this process, participants were encouraged to engage in conversation which had a narrowing effect and provided even more focus on consensus.
Some of the common themes identified in Colorado Springs were similar to those outlined in the prior Colorado Listening Sessions and in other States: maintain current (or similar) access, create trail loop opportunities, improve signage and maps and increase enforcement against bad actors, among others. Equally important to the development of the report will be the site-specific comments that were gathered, which can help land managers better understand exactly what kind of opportunity enthusiasts are looking for.
At the conclusion of the meeting, most participants seemed happy with the opportunity to provide input to the Action Plan. One participant commented, “Thank you for this opportunity – it is nice to have our voices heard.”
Next steps include completing the scheduled Front Range listening sessions before heading to the Western Slope for a series of meetings in April. Ultimately, all the comments received will be compiled into a report that will be submitted to the land management agencies. To read examples of Action Plans completed in other States, click here.