==========================================================

This e-mail newsletter is distributed by:
New York State Off-Highway Recreational Vehicle Assn., Inc.
PO Box 338
Ravena, NY 12143-0338

Please copy and distribute to all interested parties. Your participation affects the quality of this newsletter: Please submit your pertinent material for inclusion in subsequent issues.

Editor: Alex Ernst, aernst@albany.net

Our Official Homepage is located at http://www.nysorva.org

An index of past newsletter issues is available at http://www.nysorva.org/news/newslist.htm

To request an addition to or removal from the list, e-mail aernst@albany.net listing name and e-mail address.

==========================================================

SUBJECTS FOR THIS NEWSLETTER ARE:

1: Letter of the Month
2: ATV Trail Funding Legislation Update
3: Champion Recreational Easement: Letters Needed
4: Riding Massachusetts
5: Wayne County: Rider Input Needed
6: Recreational Trails Fund Grant Update
7: MC Thruway Toll Reduction Legislation Update
8: AMA: Motorcyclist Solidarity in NY
9: Pennsylvania Event

==========================================================

1) LETTER OF THE MONTH

To follow is a copy of a letter sent by e-mail to ATV Trail Fund Bill (A.1060) Sponsor, The Hon. Michael Bragman. Considering the situation that the amended version of the bill had not yet been submitted by the sponsor to committee, this letter was timely. It is a good example of getting a succinct point across.

"Dear Hon. Michael Bragman:

"It has come to my attention that the A.1060 amendment to re-establish a motorcycle / ATV trail fund is stalled again. If I recall, last year the bill stalled in a similar fashion.

"ATV and off-road enthusiasts in New York State have worked hard at trying to get our trail fund re-instated. Each year that slips by results in another year of lost funds that would otherwise be used to build recreational trails. NY currently has no trails, and a lot of ATVers, so we really need to get this bill passed!

"The fund costs NY taxpayers nothing; the dollars come directly from the $[10] which is to be added-on to the current ATV registration fee paid by ATVers. I cannot imagine why there would be a reason not to accept A.1060.

"From what I understand, the bill simply needs approval. Would you please consider moving this bill to the top of the priority pile so we can finally get it signed-off once and for all, this year? Your understanding in this matter is greatly appreciated.

Respectfully,

David F. Borkowski
93 Sherry Drive
Depew, NY 14043
dborkowski.inc@moog.com"

We applaud Mr. Borkowski for doing his part to move the legislative process with constructive participation. We hope this will inspire you to contact your elected members as the time draws close to the bills going to a vote or being put off for yet another year. The regular session ends 6/16, but extensions are inevitable at this time due to the budget not having yet been passed.

Speak up. Be Heard!

2) TRAIL FUND BILL UPDATE

Recently, Senator Nozzolio the Senate sponsor of the ATV Trail Funding restoration bill accepted amendments to S.632 proposed by NYSORVA based on suggestions from may sources. The amended version is now named S.632-B. And as of today, the bill was moved to the Rules Committee at the request of the Senator. If the Rules Committee reports the bill out to the Senate floor anytime today, it may be voted on, and will most likely pass. This is the last day of the regular session for the Senate and may be our last possible chance to get the bill through this year. We will follow up with a special report if anything develops today.

Also, we are still awaiting the official acceptance by Assembly version sponsor, the Hon. Michael Bragman, of the amended version. He had recently agreed to accept the amended version. However, we have learned today that his staff attorney in charge of the registration process of amended bills was called away from his office for floor duty in the Assembly effectively monopolizing his time, and subsequently we now know that the bill amendment is not yet registered. If the bill is finally logged in today, it will be registered as A.1060-A. The Assembly has committed to continuing regular business longer than the Senate, so there is still a possibility that the bill can get to the Assembly floor for a vote this year.

We now ask constituents to contact Bragman's office as soon as possible to ask that the amendment to A.1060 be registered, and that the Assemblyman encourage the appropriate committee to review and report the bill to the Assembly floor at the earliest possible time. Office information: New York State Assembly, LOB 926, Albany, NY 12248, Phone: 518-455-4567, Fax 518-455-5375, E-mail: bragman@assembly.state.ny.us.

Both bills are intended to be in unified language meaning that they do not need to be reconciled with one another before becoming law. Notably, the new versions contain a new section from a Fiscal Note published by DMV that states that the ATV trail fund program would be revenue-neutral to the state, meaning that there will be no negative impact on general fund revenues. This was an important step to getting the bills in acceptable form for both Senate and Assembly committee members to accept the legislation's provisions and advance the bills for voting.

Our main concern now is the waning legislative session. The last official date of the regular legislative session is today, June 16. However, with the failure of the Legislature to pass a budget yet (overdue as of April), it is possible that session will be extended or legislators will be called back for special sessions throughout the remainder of the year. At this late hour things must happen quickly if the bills are to be voted on during an unpredictable end-of-session.

We will keep you posted as soon as we know of any developments during the regular session, and of any contingencies should the bills not come up for a vote by today.

3) CHAMPION LANDS RECREATIONAL EASEMENT: LETTERS NEEDED

Over the last few months, the Department of Environmental Conservation has been working out a deal to secure a combination of state ownership and recreational easements on lands being sold by Champion Paper Company. The Governors office and the DEC have heralded this ~140,000 acre deal as a major boon to recreationalists and has suggested in publicizing the matter, that significant trail mileage for ATVs may be included. These lands will remain largely in private hands but will be under state control for public recreational access.

Since early this year, staff of the ATV Ruffriders Club, Inc. have been working diligently and cooperatively with Region 5 DEC Staff to secure appropriate ATV routes to be officially accepted as part of the land use plans for tracts under the purview of the recreational easement. Many of these roads and trails are already on the ground and in use by private hunt clubs.

After having provided map traces of desirable routes and taking DEC staff on exploratory rides to show such proposed routes, concerns remain that DEC may not be sincere in its suggestion of inclusion of ATV trails in the recreational easement. We are concerned that anti-OHV groups may be calling once again for riders to be denied of a badly needed outlet for OHV recreational activity. If the recreational plans for these tracts do not include trails for ATVs and trail motorcycles, the states will miss yet another opportunity in a string of failures to provide for the 200,000+ OHV users in the state. If trails are successfully included in the plan, there will be an unprecedented opportunity for riders from all over the northeast. If not, it will be one more "public" place where riders are not allowed.

ATV Ruffriders Club members have worked on the behalf of the entire OHV community to gain access under the Champion easement. Please return the favor by showing your solidarity. We are asking that you, your riding friends, and fellow club members write to DEC Officials and the Governor to request that such trails not be denied from being included in the Champion Lands Recreational Easement land use plans. After all, these trails were proposed in publications of the Governor's Office and of the DEC regarding the Champion transaction, and therefore the state should follow through on its own suggestions.

A simple note saying you are an ATV or Trailbike rider (of XXX Club, yyy members) and that you want them to follow through and open at least the 150 miles for ATV use they pledged when publicizing the land deal. Let them know you will be very displeased if they miss another opportunity to provide public recreational opportunities for you and the other 200,000+ riders in New York. Especially remind the Governor of the badly needed economic and tourism opportunity that a large-scale OHV trail system will provide for the region. Remind him of the wonderful benefits that the 8,000-mile snowmobile trail system brings the state— why not cash in on other forms of trail riding? After all, New York has the fourth largest OHV economy but is at the bottom of the list for public wheeled-OHV recreational opportunities.

Addresses for your correspondence:

DEC Commissioner-- John P. Cahill, NYSDEC, 50 Wolf Road, Albany, NY 12233-1011
518-485-8940, Fax 518-457-7744, e-mail: jcahill@gw.dec.state.ny.us

Deputy Commissioner of Natural Resources-- Peter S. Duncan, NYSDEC, 50 Wolf Road, Albany, NY 12233-1097

Governor-- George E. Pataki, State Capitol, Albany, NY 12224, or to E-mail The Governor:
gov.pataki@chamber.state.ny.us

If e-mailing, please copy me at mail@nysorva.org so we can catalog communications on this issue should we need to discuss this with staff of DEC or the Governor's office.

Thanks you for your help in this matter. With luck we may be riding a few legal public OHV trails in Northwest New York by the year 2000.

4) RIDING MASSACHUSETTS

While we struggle to get a few miles of OHV trail open to the public on either public or private land in one of the largest states in the union, one of the smaller states, Massachusetts, has had hundreds of miles open for decades now on Public Lands.

Although the mileage was significantly reduced in 1996 when the Mass. Dept. of Environmental Management closed OHV trails in nearly 30 state forests, currently eight forests (and one more to be opened soon) feature ATV and single-track trails open to the public. These forests were reopened to OHV use when the riding community and organizations such as New England Trail Rider Assn. and New England ATV Association rose up and fought the unfair blanket ban on such trails.

Today the trails in eight forests remain open seasonally and are maintained under successful trail work volunteering agreements between the DEM and user organizations such as the Berkshire Trails Conservancy. Five of the eight forest are located in the western end of the state making for easy access by Eastern New Yorkers eager for a legal place to ride ATVs and trail bikes. For additional location information about all OHV-accessible state forests, see the web site http://www.magnet.state.ma.us/dem/recreate/orv.htm.

To legally ride Massachusetts state forests, you must carry a Mass. ATV registration (cost $20 for out-of -state registration; there is not reciprocity for other states' ATV plates) and minimum liability insurance (see http://www.magnet.state.ma.us/rmv/faq/index.htm#insurance for insurance info). Alternatively if riding a dual-sport motorcycle, you may ride if you have a valid highway registration and insurance from any state. The ATV registration form can be obtained by contacting MA Division of Law Enforcement. From our experience with obtaining service, we recommend contacting the Springfield office for forms and instruction: 165 Liberty Street, Springfield, MA 01103, (413) 733-1642. For more information see the web site http://www.state.ma.us/dfwele/dle/dleregtl.htm.

5) WAYNE COUNTY TRAIL PLANNING

Jill Marshall from the Wayne County Planning Department is asking for ATV enthusiasts to be present at a meeting on Wednesday June 23rd at 7pm that will discuss possibilities for OHV trail development in the county. Please call her at 315-946-5919 to RSVP a spot at the table.

Jo Anne Wemes, NYTRO/NYSORVA officer/member and coordinator for our communication with the department, is requesting that we get as many people at the meeting as will be allowed. She exclaims "Lets get something going in our area!" To coordinate with Joanne, she can be reached at jwemes@sctcorp.com.

6) RECREATIONAL TRAILS PROGRAM UPDATE

Thanks to Jim Jennings, NYSSA Hamilton County Director (ridecat@telenet.net) for keeping on top of this matter and sharing his information with us.

To date I have heard of no wheeled-OHV clubs in NY investigating a grant under this program and want to encourage that anyone interested in getting funds to build trails do so now before this application round expires. Here is what Mr. Jennings writes, to bring us up to speed:

"Here is some additional information regarding this grant. It's recommended any grant application be an application for equipment. Even though trail construction or maintenance is eligible to receive these grants the paperwork to document this type of grant is overwhelming. Equipment on the other hand is much simpler. $300,000.00 is available for motorized trails with $100,000.00 being the most anyone can apply for and $5,000.00 the least. 80% is the maximum payback. This time around motorized trail grants will only be competing against other motorized trail grant applications. This definitely a step in the right direction thanks directly to the efforts of NYSSA. One of the down sides to this grant is you have to spend the money before you receive any grant money. For instance if you apply for and are awarded a grant for a $40,000.00 piece of equipment you will have to actually spend your clubs or towns money first before you receive any grant money. The deadline for these grants is July 30^th. You should here in October whether or not your application was successful. A contract would probably not be forth coming until February. Last month I did give you a number to call to receive the grant application. I called that number myself and the person I spoke with had no idea of what I was talking about. That number is 474-0445. If you do call ask for either Patrick or Vic and tell them you want a grant application for the Recreational Trails Program. Good luck!"

Thanks to Jim for keeping us in-the-know. To learn more about NYS Snowmobile Association, see their web site at http://www.nyssnowassoc.org/.

7) THRUWAY TOLL REDUCTION UPDATE

[Editor's Note: Although this issue does not directly affect OHV interests, we find it important to keep you apprised of any motorcyclist-rights issues. ATV and trail bike riders are after all a part of the larger motorcycling community of the state, and an environment of cooperation is building between all types these groups such that we have a larger combined voice in matters that affect our collective pastime. Please see the next article below this one, which expands on this idea. ]

As this is written, the NYS Senate version of a bill to reduce Thruway tolls for motorcycles may very well have been voted upon. The bill was recently reported to the Senate floor and had seen its third reading, of three required before a vote.

AMA District 3 President and energetic activist, Larry Schwartz writes:

"In the Assembly, it's in the Rules committee and I think we have a good chance of getting it on the floor. If so, it will pass and then I'll have to go to work on the Governor's folks to ignore the request for veto that is certain to come from the [Thruway] Authority."

Larry goes on to expound on statistics that support motorcyclists' desire for lower tolls on NY's tollways:

"There are 180,888 registered motorcycles. 15% are entry level bikes that won't use the Thruway. That leaves 153,000. Out of that, at least (conservatively) 50% will never see the thruway. It will actually be more. To make a long story short, about .008...that's point 008 of all the vehicles that COULD use the road, will be motorcycles. .008 of total revenues of 374-million dollars is not quite $300,000."

NYSORVA wishes to express its thanks to Larry for his continued hard work on behalf of riders of all types. Larry can be reached at lschwartz@webramp.net.

8) AMA: MOTORCYCLIST SOLIDARITY IN NEW YORK STATE

Terry Cook, Director of Legislative Affaires for the American Motorcyclist Association shared this article with us, which he wrote in response to his visit to New York for the May 17 Freedom Rally at the Capitol in Albany. The rally was the first-ever combined activist event between off- and on-highway riding interests in the state.

"Motorcyclist solidarity was the fundamental canon when a group of ATV and off-highway motorcycling enthusiasts joined with over 1,100 road motorcyclists in a ride to, and rally at the seat of New York State Government. This benchmark coalition of ABATE of New York, AMA Districts, AMA government relations staff, the Motorcycle Riders Foundation & New York State Off-Road Vehicle Association (NYSORVA) members showed, in force, the political will of motorcyclists rights issues. Among the issues discussed was the re-establishment through legislation of the ATV Trail Development and Maintenance Fund, the helmet modification bill and toll way fee reduction for motorcycles.

After the rally a coalition meeting was held and common ground was discovered that all of the associations could work together on and enhance motorcycling in New York including providing safety material for OHV and highway motorcycling to high schools across the state."

Thanks to Terry for putting it so well. NYSORVA reiterates its intent to work with ABATE, MRF, AMA, local MC/OHV groups, and interested individuals in the state for the advancement of motorcycling rights issues.

[The above is an excerpt from "News & Notes for the Politically Motivated Motorcyclist," a monthly service compiled and edited by the AMA Government Relations Staff to keep motorcyclist organizations informed of happenings around the world. They welcome your news and views. Please submit all material to Terry Lee Cook, Government Relations Specialist / State Program Development, 13515 Yarmouth Dr., Pickerington, OH 43147; fax 614-856-1920 or e-mail to tcook@ama-cycle.org. See also http://www.ama-cycle.org.]

9) PENNSYLVANIA EVENT

Our riding friends to the South asked us to share this with you:

"Thunder in the Valley" Dual Sport Ride, Johnstown PA
- sponsored by -
Keystone Off-Road Riders

A 50+ mile scenic ride through the mountains of the Alleghenies in Western PA.

Pleasure cruising with some off road suitable for riders of all skills and machines.

All bikes must be street licensed and have proof of insurance.

Date: Saturday June 26, 1999 Sign-up: 9:00 - 10:00

Ride starts at 10:00 AM at the Cernic Campground near Cernic Cycle Shop off of Cooper Ave. Watch for signs just past the shop on the first right up Natalie St. then another right to the start area.

• Price will be $20 for pre-registered and $25 for registration on that day, includes 1 year membership to KORR. For members of KORR the cost will only be $5.

• In case of a break down support trucks will be available for anyone in need of a ride for them and their machine back to the starting point. It will be at a cost of $20.

• Some of the areas that will be ridden today are only available for this ride only through special permission and not normally open to the public. Any tickets for improper registration or traffic violations will be the responsibility of the rider and not Keystone Off-Road Riders, its members or any sponsors.

• There will be a lunch stop, with orders being taken at registration. Menus will be available.

For more info: 814-266-6101 or write:
KORR, 201 Coldren St. #1 Johnstown PA 15904
or Email us at PAKORR@aol.com

==========================================================

[Back to News List] [Back to NYSORVA Home Page]