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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.

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SUBJECTS FOR THIS NEWSLETTER ARE:

1: ATV Trail Funding Legislation Update
2: St. Lawrence County Opens Highway to ATV Traffic
3: Vermont OHV Association Closes its Doors
4: Poker/Dice Runs, Sand Drags
5: AMA: Beef-for-Bikes Tariff Avoided
6: AMA: Hatfield-McCoy Trails Receive Federal Recognition
7: DMV- New ATV Brochure, Web Site, Special Logo Plates
8: State Sued Over Motorized Vehicles in Adirondack Park
9: Maine ATV Policy- Input Needed
10: NY Snowmobile Trail Resources on the Web

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1) ATV Trail Funding Legislation Update

In brief, A1060/S632 ATV Trail Funding legislation, which would establish a user-based fund for the development and maintenance of an official statewide ATV and trailbike trail system, did not pass during regular session of the New York State Legislature. The bills will be reconsidered in the 2000 session.

Although the bills received probably more attention and gained more momentum than in the previous 5 years of various proposed versions, they did not come to a vote. We could have used more constituent input to move things along, but interest and interaction with the sponsors was very good this year, and this made the prospect of passage much greater than in past years. Various problems like the budget, committee and amendment delays caused the bills to be stalled such that they had slim chance of getting to a vote by the June end-of-session date.

The Senate bill is amended as S632B, basically a re-write proposed by NYSORVA's government-relations attorney. It included notably an increase to $20 total for registration of ATVs, composed of $10 fee for registration and $10 set aside in a dedicated trail fund. The former split proposed in original drafts of S632/A1060 was $5/$5. The amendment also includes a fiscal note from DMV saying that the law would be fee-neutral to the state, a fact that is important to the bills' acceptance by certain legislative members.

The $10 increase in registration cost was proposed initially as a response to Assembly Transportation Committee Chairman David Gantt's resistance to any bill that proposes to "take money away from the state" since $5 was being split out of the money going to the general fund under current law. The Assembly bill must first pass through Chairman Gantt's committee before it can come to a vote. Our hands tied in this onerously political way, we looked on the positive side and considered a "fee increase" as an opportunity to increase the rate at which the trail fund would grow by 100% by making the fund portion $10. NYSORVA settled on this level in the proposed amendment to the bills based on a survey of NYSORVA newsletter list members who overwhelmingly voted for the $20-total registration cost as being acceptable as long as the $10 was indeed dedicated to a fund specifically for trail development.

Ironically, the amendment related to fees was accepted in the Senate version of the bill without objection, but on the Assembly side where the fee issue started, amendment has been indefinitely stalled. A1060 was poised to be amended to be the same as S632B by its sponsor Assemblyman Michael Bragman, but at the end of session was not accepted because Bragman was concerned about the political implications of a "fee increase" the bill proposes. NYSORVA is working with the Assemblyman's office to reconcile this matter and contends that this is not really a fee increase because the new $10 charge will go to a dedicated user-based fund and not to the state's general fund as does the currently-required $10 ATV registration fee. To demonstrate this, review of a snowmobile registration renewal notice is in order. There is one line saying "Registration Fee $5.00" while the next line says "Trail Fund $10" for a total of $15.

Since 2000 is the second year of the 2-year legislative cycle, the bills retain their current numbers and will be reintroduced to the respective transportation committees in the Senate and Assembly for review. NYSORVA expects to continue to work to unify the bills between both houses, work with Michael Bragman to reconcile the fee increase matter, and continue with additional improvements to the bills if it is determined that the significantly changed language retains flaws that could impede passage. We are fairly pleased with the condition of S632B, hope A1060 will be amended to match, and believe that once certain roadblocks are navigated, that we will have a new ATV trail funding law in 2000. We expect that the support of the bills by nearly every legislative member will continue. The hardest part will be getting the bills to the floor.

NYSORVA's activity for the remainder of the year regarding the bills will include working with County Legislatures across the state to adopt resolutions in support of S632/A1060 (draft copy available upon request at aernst@albany.net). We will also continue publicity efforts to develop the interest of the OHV user community.

We encourage all interested parties to continue to encourage their elected representatives to take up the matter in January of 2000. Information about your elected representatives (address, phone/fax, e-mail) is available based on a ZIP+4 search at http://www.vote-smart.org/ce/states/NY/s-leg.html.

And if you are a voter in Assemblyman Bragman's district (North Syracuse area), we also ask that you contact his office to indicate your acceptance of the $20 registration fee and express the importance of unifying A1060 with S632B so that it may be passed in the 2000 Session.

For additional information about the ATV Trail Funding Bills including a copy of the S632B amendment, please see the NYSORVA web site: http://www.nysorva.org .

2) St. Lawrence County Opens Highway to ATV Traffic

In a move that recognizes the importance of OHV recreation to the region's economy and quality of life, the St. Lawrence County Legislature unanimously voted in favor of opening a portion of a county highway to ATV traffic. The road is known as an important link in connecting significant ATV trail riding opportunities of the area.

A 4.5 mile section of County Route 60 was opened and signage authorized for posting as such. The section was described as running from the caution light on State Rt. 3 in Oswagachie nearby the Aldrich Pond Wild Forest trail system, to Newton Falls, at which point other roads already authorized for ATV traffic lead to area trail sections.

NYSORVA applauds the St. Lawrence County Legislature for serving its trail riding constituents well with the opening of Rt. 60. This should serve as an example to riders across the state showing how your participation in government can affect changes that are positive to OHV recreation.

3) VETRA Shuts Down

By way of Eric Edelstein, Director of the, now former, VETRA:

"The Vermont Trail Riders Association (VETRA) closed their doors for good as of JULY 1st 1999 due to the lack of participation by the members, unresponsive attitude of Vermont state government to OHV recreation and the inability to find new board members and officers willing to take the job. We regret the situation, but are glad we made the effort for four years. Hopefully, another organization effort will occur in the near future and help our fight riding opportunities we will leave the web site up for posterity and reference at: http://www.edelsteintech.com/vetra.html"

NYSORVA is dismayed to see the dissolution of a much-needed central voice for Vermont trail riders, especially at a time when its neighbor states’ associations continues to ramp up efforts; but more notably, as OHV activity continues to increase while resistance to it grows. We understand the reasons and commiserate the circumstances. Apathy is our greatest enemy.

Eric, we thank you for your years of hard work in VT and wish you well in your future endeavors. Maybe we’ll see you actually riding the trails you worked for? I know that I will personally continue to ride available trails in the beautiful Green Mountain State as long as I’m welcome by its residents.

4) Poker/Dice Runs, Sand Drags

Several clubs and organizations feature ATV riding events this year across the state and in New England. Here's just a sample:

Western Massachusetts ATV: See the following link for information on their poker run.

Northeast ATV Assn. July 31, 1999: Ninth Annual ATV Rodeo at the Glad Rag Sand Drags in Corinth, NY. Location- Take the Northway to exit 15, turn left at light onto RT 50 south, follow Hospital signs on to Rt. 9N north (not Rt. 9 north). Go for about 7 miles on 9N past the Hospital and turn right on Holmes Rd., proceed for about 100 yards to Sand Drags on your right. Info- Matthew Carner, President, 51 Green Avenue, Castleton, NY 12033, Phone: 518-732-4694, E-mail: carnerfl@nyssbdc.org for registration info please.

Adirondack ATV Riders Club, Inc August 14, 1999: Third Annual ATV Rodeo. Location- Harrisville Rod & Gun Club, Bryant Bridge Rd, Harrisville, NY. Events- Mud Bog, Water Carry, and the Race track. Registration- 7am till 10am only. ($5 per event), gate fee: $5 for adults, 12 and under are free. Food and Beverages will be available, bring your own chairs. Additional info- Mia Clark Sec/Tres. clarkmia@aol.com, http://www.adirondackatv.org.

North Country ATV Assn./NYTRO-East September 18, 1999: First Annual ATV Rodeo (click here for detailed info and a registration form). Location- Glad Rag Sand Drags in Corinth, NY. Directions- Take the Northway to exit 15, turn left at light onto RT 50 south, follow Hospital signs on to Rt. 9N north (not Rt. 9 north). Go for about 7 miles on 9N past the Hospital and turn right on Holmes Rd., proceed for about 100 yards to Sand Drags on your right. Additional information- contact the Fay "Moak" Detraglia at atv500e@aol.com or see their site at http://members.aol.com/_ht_b/atv500e/page.

5) AMA: Beef-for-Bikes Tariff Avoided

This in from Terry Lee Cook of the American Motorcyclist Association:

Thanks to the efforts of the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA), its members and the motorcycle industry, US trade officials have decided they won't impose a 100 percent import duty on certain European motorcycles in their war with Europe over beef.

Had they remained on the list of products targeted for duties, the price of European motorcycles (displacing 500cc or less) imported into the United States could have doubled. Those include off-highway motorcycles from Beta, Bultaco, Fantic, Gas Gas, Husaberg, Husqvarna, KTM, Montesa, Scorpa, and TM.

But on July 19, the US Trade Representative's Office released a final list of European products subject to 100 percent import duties beginning July 29. The list includes 34 categories of products ranging from beef and pork to onions and soup, and no motorcycles.

"We said all along that motorcycles had no place in a trade dispute over beef, and we're elated that we were able to make the case to federal officials," said Edward Moreland, the AMA's Washington representative. "But this is really a testament to the power of grassroots lobbying and to AMA members and other motorcyclists who made phone calls, wrote letters and sent e-mails to their elected officials.

"This is another good example of how motorcyclists can be effective when they work together," he said. "we had great support from the Motorcycle Riders Foundation and, specifically, from ABATE of Illinois."

World Trade Organization (WTO) arbitrators on July 12 found that a European Union ban on American beef costs the United States $116.8 million a year in lost exports. The finding allows the United States to impose a 100 percent import duty on European goods equal to that amount.

The final list of products targeted for duties was produced from a preliminary list that considered 75 categories of European foods and goods. Most of the categories on the preliminary list were food-related, but the list also included two categories of motorcycles: 51cc to 250cc, and 251cc to 500cc.

The import duties are in response to the 15-member European Union's decade-long ban on the importation of hormone-treated American beef due to health concerns.

But the World Trade Organization (WTO) in recent years found there was no scientific evidence to support the European position, and unsuccessfully ordered the European Union to lift the ban.

[News & Notes for the Politically Motivated Motorcyclist is a monthly service compiled and edited by the AMA Government Relations Staff to keep motorcyclist organizations informed of happenings around the world. We 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.]

6) AMA: Hatfield-McCoy Trails Receive Federal Recognition

This also from the staff at AMA:

June 28,1999 - - First Lady Hillary Clinton and U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater have declared the Hatfield-McCoy Trail System in West Virginia a "National Millennium Trail," the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) reports. The prestigious designation places the system, which will open next year, in the top tier of the nation's showcase trails.

On June 26, the first lady and Slater designated 16 "National Millennium Trails" under the federal Millennium Trails initiative. The designations were announced in Pittsburgh at the International Trails and Greenways Conference, which was organized by the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy.

The Millennium Trails initiative is a part of the White House Millennium Council's efforts to stimulate national and local activities to "honor the past and imagine the future." This public/private partnership is led by the U.S. Transportation Department, the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy and other agencies and organizations.

The purpose is to spark the creation and enhancement of more than 2,000 trails as part of America's legacy for the future.

"Through the Millennium Trails project, we are building and maintaining trails that tell the story of our nation's past and will help to create a positive vision for our future," the first lady said.

The Hatfield-McCoy Trail System employs what U.S. Transportation officials call "an entirely new approach to trail building" by forging partnerships with the corporate giants who own the coalfields of southwest West Virginia and surrounding states. Old railbeds, abandoned logging roads and other unused routes that once transported the region's natural resources to fuel industrial America will be recycled into a 2,000-mile trail system.

The trail system will be used by off-highway motorcycle and all-terrain vehicles riders, equestrians, mountain bikers, hikers and others.

"Beginning with the vision of West Virginia enthusiast Leff Moore, Hatfield-McCoy has attracted full bipartisan support from both houses of Congress, the state's legislature, local government and, most importantly, the local landowners whose properties will support the trails," said Eric Lundquist, the AMA's senior legislative affairs specialist.

"The AMA is a proud supporter of this program, committing substantial Association staff time and funds in this important effort," he said.

With the new designation, the Hatfield-McCoy Trail System benefits from enhanced media visibility, special partnerships, and funding opportunities that may develop as part of the Millennium Trails initiative.

The trail system also gets a Millennium Trails marker, a map and description of the trail included in a new National Trails Database and on the Millennium Trails website, and special recognition on National Trails Day 2000.

The other trails designated as National Millennium Trails are: the Unicoi Turnpike in east Tennessee; the Cascadia Marine Trail in the Pacific Northwest; the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail in California; the Freedom Trail in Boston; the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail that stretches from St. Louis, Missouri to Oregon; the Underground Railroad that slaves in the South followed to freedom; the Civil War Discovery Trail that connects battlefields and military routes; the International Express train line through Queens, New York; the Iditarod National Historic Trail in Alaska; the Appalachian National Scenic Trail that stretches from Georgia to Maine; the Great Western Trail that runs from Mexico to Canada; the North Country National Scenic Trail from New York to North Dakota; The East Coast Greenway from Maine to Florida; the Mississippi River Trail from Minnesota to Louisiana; and the American Discovery Trail that criss-crosses America.

[Contact: Bill Kresnak, Phone: (614) 856-1900, Fax: (614) 856-1920. http://www.ama-cycle.org]

7: DMV- New ATV Brochure, Web Site, Special Logo Plates

NYS DMV has made several improvements to its services and communication with the public as of late. This includes a reprinting of the ATV Information Brochure C-29 (9/98), the addition of several custom plates for cars and motorcycles (AMA, HOG, etc.), and a new web site that greatly improves the public's access to the agency.

The main address for the new DMV site is http://www.nydmv.state.ny.us/.

For information on ordering custom plates (i.e. AMA Logo plate), see http://www.nydmv.state.ny.us/org.htm, which includes a lookup for availability of your custom message. (Currently AMA logo plates cannot be ordered with a custom-message through the web site. You must visit a DMV office or call 1-800-364-PLATES (1-800-364-7528).)

Forms such as Motorcycle Equipment Requirements are available at http://www.nydmv.state.ny.us/forms.htm.

The revised ATV Brochure will be reprinted at our site in the near future.

8) State Sued Over Motorized Vehicles in Adirondack Park

DEC recently made public a proposed draft policy for administrative motorvehicle use in the Forest Preserve, which DEC is essentially being forced to adopt in reaction to a lawsuit against the agency. The proposed policy places strictures and potentially onerous bureaucratic demands on the already stretched-thin DEC staff in order for them to operate motorvehicles such as jeeps and ATVs on administrative roads and trails in the Adirondack Forest Preserve. It remains to be seen if this policy will be adopted buy the DEC Commissioner, John Cahill.

It concerns us that the suit against DEC may be a step in blocking OHV activity in general in the Forest Preserve, and that the proposed reactionary policy ironically will further restrict DEC's already strained ability to do its job in protecting the environment. NYSORVA supports DEC's free ability to administer its lands in a manner that is responsive to its priority of environmental protection.

The following May 15, 1999 article regarding the lawsuit comes to us with our thanks to the Associated Press:

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - Environmental groups have taken the state to court to get it to stop letting employees operate motorized vehicles in off-limits parts of the Adirondack Park, or allowing others to do so.

The suit, filed Friday in federal court in Albany, claims the state Department of Environmental Conservation is violating the "forever wild" clause of the state constitution by its use of vehicles and the temporary permits it issues authorizing vehicle use by groups or other government entities.

"We are asking the court to declare that these actions have been both illegal and unconstitutional," said Bernard Melewski, a lawyer for the Adirondack Council. "If DEC is not willing to formally agree to curtail its own activities and to stop issuing permits for improper use of the forest preserve, we are asking the court to compel DEC to do so."

A spokesman for the DEC countered that the agency has already corrected many of the complaints raised in the suit and will soon address others.

Joining the Adirondack Council in the suit were the Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks, Environmental Advocates and the Residents' Committee to Protect the Adirondacks.

According to the Adirondack Council, the suit is the first action ever filed in federal court alleging a violation of the forever wild clause. That provision was put into the constitution in 1894 to prohibit what at that time had become rampant logging in the Adirondack Park and to deal with other forms of degradation of the forest preserve.

A little less than half of the 6 million-acre Adirondack Park is classified as forever wild, meaning the land cannot ever be sold or developed.

The suit claims the mere presence of vehicles in some remote areas violates the wild forest character of the park. In other areas, the suit argues, motorized vehicles have caused "environmental damage, including destruction of trees and other plant life, air and noise pollution, and the severe disruption of the natural environment in the Adirondack Park."

The claim also alleges that the DEC's vehicular activities have violated the state's Land Use Master Plan and the agency's own regulations.

DEC spokesman Gary Sheffer said the agency cut back on its use of motor vehicles in forever wild areas of the park last year and has also "significantly scaled back" issuing temporary permits for other agencies or groups. In the next month, the DEC will be issuing guidelines for vehicle use by other state agencies, he said.

"We feel like we have addressed the points that are in this suit, but they have chosen litigation over cooperation," Sheffer said.

The suit Friday stems from a court case filed by disabled people seeking increased access to the Adirondack Park lands under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. Judge Lawrence Kahn ruled in that case last year that the disabled should get mechanized access to some restricted roads.

Kahn is still considering arguments over how widely he should expand access to wild areas to accommodate disabled people.

The four groups bringing suit Friday against the DEC are on the agency's side in that case.

[AP-ES-05-15-99 0036EDT Copyright © Associated Press. All rights reserved.]

9) Maine ATV Policy- Input Needed

Wayne Bragg (wbragg@telplus.net) of Maine wrote to us asking that we share the following information with riders in New York:

"I've been involved for the last 1 1/2 years with the Bureau of Parks & Lands in Maine, doing my best to represent ATV riders and their interests. We have a policy (since 1998) that lets ATVs ride on most gravel surfaced road on public land units, prior to 1998, we weren't allowed on any public land unit and were/are only allowed into one state park.

"We are almost done with this process and the Bureau will be holding public hearings, 4 of them, around the state. They should start around the end of Sept. or early October. The Bureau will take out ads in the major regional newspapers a week or two before the actual hearings take place.

"It is important that ATVers attend the meetings, as many as they can, and send in written comments. The main sticking point is that due to 3 criteria in our ATV policy, we MAY on rare occasions, be able to have a designated trail into areas we previously were not allowed, such as eco-preserves, backcountry or remote recreation areas. Naturally the anti motorized crowd doesn't want us in any area at all, for that matter on public lands at all.

"The three criteria are: 1. no safe, cost effective alternatives exist; and 2. the impact on protected natural resource values or other recreation activity values in minimal; and 3. the designated trail will provide a crucial link in a significant trail system.

"The reason we came up with these criteria is so we wouldn't be essentially landlocked by these no-motorized designations. The backcountry and remote recreation designations, on most units, are of livable size and generally located so any trails could go around them. But the new proposed eco-preserves, are quite large. Thirteen of the proposed eco-preserves would take up 50% or more of 13 land units, (that's 10,000 to 20-some thousand acres). Several more would take up to 25% of each unit and several would take up most of the state parks the proposed eco-preserve would be located on.

"I don't know what the final policy will be. I think the Bureau is not going with the proposed size of the eco-preserves because they couldn't afford the loss of timber harvesting revenues, (of course, no logging in eco-p's, and logging is the major source of revenues the Land side of the Bureau of Parks & Lands gets to operate on).

"So if you live in Maine or have a camp or vacation home here or visit Maine and ride ATVs, early fall will be the time to be watching your newspapers. Attend as many meetings as you can and send in your comments, do both. Let them know that we won't be zoned off of our public lands.

"The Bureau's director can be reached at:
Tom Morrison, Director of Parks & Lands
Bureau of Parks & Lands
22 State House Station
Augusta, ME. 04333
207-287-4717 phone
207-287-3823 fax

"Thanks,

Wayne Bragg (wbragg@telplus.net)
secretary for Airline ATV Riders
representative of ATV MAINE
14 Levenseller Rd.
Eddington, ME. 04428
207-989-3658"

10) NY Snowmobile Trail Resources on the Web

Here are two good links for information on riding snowmobiles in New York State, provided at the site of Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation (OPRHP):

How your trail fund money applies— http://nysparks.state.ny.us/snow/legalreq/reg$$$.htm

Where are the trails? http://nysparks.state.ny.us/snow/onthetrail/trails.htm

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