IN THIS ISSUE:
• New Members
• ORBA's New Location
• No Funding For ISDRA!
• ORBA P/R Firm
• New Land Use Director
• FlatTailed Horned Lizard WIN!
• ORBA President & OHV Closure
• Beetle Threat to Sand Dunes
• Desert Tortoise Challenge
• BLM Director on "Duning"
• OHMVR Workshop
• Pombo Event
• CORVA Expo

NO OHMVR FUNDING BY STATE FOR ISDRA
During a January, 2003 meeting the CA Off Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation (OHMVR) Commission denied a grant request of $900K for operation, maint., and conservation efforts at the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area (ISDRA). The Commissioners did approve funding for law enforcement. No funds will be contributed towards emptying trash, pumping toilets, or operation of the area. Similar actions by this "Green" dominated Commission have impacted funding for OHV opportunities all over the State of California. ORBA is protesting anti-OHV policies like this in several states. If you don't like this picture, call or write your State Legislators and let them know! The Commissioners are appointed by the Governor and his key legislators.

P/R FIRM
Have you noticed how the enviro-extremists always seem to get their position on issues published in the media? ORBA has engaged the services of a public relations firm to help get notice about our important efforts and successes out to the public. Watch for news releases and media reports about ORBA's actions.

ORBA LAND USE DIRECTOR
ORBA's Board of Directors voted unanimously to have ORBA's President add a Director of Land Use to ORBA's staff. The job has been filled by Mr. John Ellis. John has been very active with the San Diego Off-Road Coalition for many years. John will be handling the detailed analysis of the many land use issues that ORBA is involved with. He will make recommendations to ORBA's President and Board of Directors regarding the relative importance of issues with respect to their impact on OHV recreation. John's support will free up ORBA's President to continue with his efforts to build ORBA into a strong national trade association.

BIG WIN! LIZARD NOT ENDANGERED!
"GOOD SCIENCE PREVAILS!"
During November, 2002 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that the proposal to consider listing the Flat-Tailed Horned Lizard as an endangered species has been withdrawn. The listing of this lizard would have had a serious negative impact on vehicle use all over the Mojave Desert. On June 3, 2002, ORBA President, Roy Denner, called together OHV Leaders to propose hiring a herpetologist (lizard expert) to study the data available on the FTHL. His thorough study showed that there is no new evidence to support the proposed listing. His report, accompanied by a legal comment letter from attorney, David Hubbard, was submitted to the U.S. Dept. of the Interior. The ORBA Board of Directors believes that a similar effort, if it had been performed in time, would have prevented the listing of the Peirson's Milk Vetch Plant which led to the closure of 50,000 acres of the Imperial Sand Dunes Ð one of the most popular OHV recreation areas in the country.

ORBA PRESIDENT RECOMMENDS OHV CLOSURE!
YES, IT'S TRUE! ORBA President Denner has written a letter to the Manager of the BLM California Desert District recommending closure of a small portion of the Spangler open OHV area. Tied to the closure would be the expansion of this OHV facility into a less sensitive BLM area to compensate for the closure resulting in no net loss to OHV recreation. Following a Desert Advisory Council meeting in Ridgecrest in December Denner was taken on a tour of the Spangler OHV area. A BLM archeologist, currently conducting a survey of the area, showed Denner a concentrated grouping of prehistoric man's tool making sites and a 6,900 year old geoglyph. These sites are located along the eastern boundary of the OHV open area. Motorcycle and 4WD tracks run randomly across these sites. Denner comments that: "OHV Leaders often state that we too are environmentalists Ð but not enviro-extremists. It's time to put our money where our mouths are! No OHV enthusiast that I know would suggest that we knowingly destroy sites left by prehistoric man." This proposal will set a precedent for the concept Denner has been promoting for a long time Ð that impacts to OHV recreation should be mitigated just like we mitigate species impacts.

NEW THREAT TO ISDRATHE SCARAB DUNE BEETLE
Will there ever be an end to the enviro-extremist's attempts to eliminate OHV recreation in the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area (ISDRA)? Now they have submitted a request to the Department of the Interior to list the Scarab Dune Beetle as an endangered species. They contend that this poor insect exists only in the ISDRA and that its very existence is threatened by those insensitive off-roaders. ORBA's attorney, David Hubbard, has filed a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request with U.S. Fish and Wildlife to provide any and all information that they have regarding this beetle. We will prevent this listing like we stopped the FTHL!

DESERT TORTOISE CHALLENGE
Previous newsletters described ORBA's President's challenge to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to get the enviro-extremist organizations to pull back the money they have budgeted for law suits against the BLM over the Desert Tortoise. In return, Denner committed to raise an equivalent amount of funds from the OHV community. The entire pot of dollars would then be used to fund a serious effort to determine the cause of the apparent decline in tortoise population in the Mojave Desert. Millions of acres of Desert Tortoise habitat across 4 states have been closed to protect the tortoise and its population is still declining. Many biologists believe that an upper respiratory disease is the real culprit. Closing all of the public lands in the country will not cure this problem! State BLM Director, Mike Pool, responded to Denner's move by assigning a BLM representative to address the challenge. Separate meetings were held between the BLM and OHV Leaders - then the BLM and Environmentalists. During the OHV meetings, Denner suggested that, for starters, the OHV'ers and the Enviro's pool some money to pay for an effort to accumulate and organize the huge amount of data that has been collected over the past few years by several Federal Agencies regarding the tortoise. This information has never been cross-referenced and computerized. It makes good sense to analyze the current status of, and impacts on, the desert tortoise before discussing what to do in the future. This could be a small collaborative process to get the cooperative process rolling. The environmentalists involved summarily rejected the idea of cooperating with the OHV community for any effort to help the tortoise. They contend that they have already spent $25 million on the tortoise. What they don't say, is that any money they have spent to date has gone to closing areas with alleged tortoise habitat to vehicle access. It is clear that the enviro-extremist organizations are not really concerned about helping the Desert Tortoise survive!

KEY BLM PERSONNEL VISIT THE IMPERIAL SAND DUNES
During meetings in California and Washington, DC, ORBA's President, Roy Denner, pointed out to high level BLM personnel that it is impossible to appreciate the beauty of the sand dunes and the OHV experience that they provide without actually having been there. In November, 2002, National BLM Director, Kathleen Clarke; CA State Director, Mike Pool; and CA Desert District Manager, Linda Hansen all enjoyed a buggy tour at Glamis.

DOIN' IT IN THE DUNES
At their request, Clarke and Pool were taken for a wild ride in a huge sand bowl by Grant George, owner of Funco, builder of long-travel sand cars (and member of ORBA). Kathleen Clarke whooped and hollered the whole time describing her experience as "awesome!" She returned to Washington with a new outlook on OHV recreation in the Imperial Sand Dunes.

OHMVR COMMISSION WORKSHOP
During January, a 3-day long CA State Off Highway Motor Vehicle Commission meeting was held in Sacramento. On Saturday, following the meeting, a workshop was held. ORBA's President was a member of a stakeholder panel that provided input to the OHMVR commission regarding the State's grant program. Many members of the public attended and also provided input on the program. ORBA President Denner commented that the grant program is buried in the process. Over 2,000 pages of grant requests were submitted by Federal Agencies asking for funding. Local Agency managers vie for the Commission's blessing on the need for funding. Manager after manager make similar presentations. Denner suggested that the whole process be conducted at the state level for each Federal Agency. Much of the duplication would be eliminated and the process would be streamlined. Many of the Commissioners agreed that this is a good idea. Only time will tell if any action is taken.

POMBO ELECTED CHAIR OF RESOURCES COMMITTEE
CA Congressman Richard Pombo, newly elected chairman of the House Resources Committee announced his agenda to reform the Endangered Species Act and the Environmental Protection Act. Pombo opposes Boxer's Wilderness legislation. He is a strong advocate for off-roading and public access to public lands. ORBA members are encouraged to attend a meeting of the Natural Resources Education Foundation in Palm Springs on March 15, 2003. This nonprofit foundation's primary purpose is to support Pombo's agenda.

CORVA OFF ROAD EXPO
ORBA members are encouraged to participate in CORVA's Off Road & Recreation Exposition at the San Bernardino County Fairgrounds in Victorville, CA on March 29 & 30. Proceeds from this event will help CORVA, a non-profit organization, assist ORBA with the ongoing land use battle in California. ORBA is involved with similar organizations in other states.

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS!
• RB Components, Inc.
• Sick Racing Corp
• K&N Engineering, Inc.
• ProfessionalÔs Choice Sports
• J & J Marketing
• West Coast Cabling
• Competition Specialties, Inc
• Competition Specialties, Inc.
• Kawasaki Motors Corp., USA
• Scat Enterprises
• Motorsport Warehouse
• The O.V.W. Company
• Advertising Edge
• Revtek
• Quinsey KawasakiSuzuki
• Quinsey Powersports
• East Bay Motorsports, Inc.
• Amplified Performance
• Majestic Powdercoating
• Robert F Chapman, Inc.
• Motonation
• Kasea