ORBA NEWSLETTER - JUNE, 2001
OFF-ROAD BUSINESS ASSOCIATION

THIS ISSUE
· ORBA meeting in Temecula.
· Where ORBA $$$ are going.
· Desert Advisory Council Mtg.
· ORBA's Lobbyist Support.
· New Members.
$$$ FROM ORBA
Dues collected from ORBA Members are used to fund projects that the Board of Directors agrees will ultimately help to maintain or improve the bottom line of ORBA members and keep off-road companies in business! Current projects that ORBA is helping to fund include:
· Attorney fee to review the California BLM's Northern and Eastern Colorado Desert District (NECO) Management Plan which, if implemented as drafted will be devastating to off-road opportunities in the California Desert district in the Imperial County area. Attorney, and Environmental Expert, David Hubbard has completed his review of NECO and has provided ORBA with a 29 page critique of NECO, listing all of the discrepancies in the so-called Management Plan. Attorney Hubbard's document has been submitted to the CA BLM State Director. If the BLM does not respond to this critique, which insists on balanced use of Public Lands, ORBA will be in position to take legal action when the final plan is released.
· Financial support for part-time lobbyist in Sacramento to protect off-road recreation interests. State Lobbyist Pete Conaty presented a copy of a letter recently to ORBA President, Roy Denner, that is addressed to Mr. Mike Pool, CA State BLM Director, insisting that the new Public Land Management Plans being prepared by the BLM recognize and protect off-road recreation opportunities. The letter was signed by 53 CA State Legislators. Republicans and Democrats, Senators and Assemblypersons. Unbelievable! Good work Pete! The letter was presented to the BLM and the CA Desert District Advisory Council at its meeting in Ridgecrest on June 16th by ORBA President Roy Denner who holds a position on that Council as a Recreation Representative.
· Attorney fees to review and critique other CA Desert District Management Plans including the Northern and Eastern Mojave Desert District Plan (NEMO) and the Western Mojave Plan (WEMO). At the CA Desert District Advisory Council meeting in Ridgecrest, DAC members were shown areas where off-road trails are being closed by as much as 83%. The WEMO discussions to date suggest closure of 8,000 miles of off-road routes. This must be stopped!

ORBA MEETING IN TEMECULA
June 13, 2001
Temecula, California - A general meeting for ORBA members and wannabe members was held in the warehouse of Sand Tires Unlimited - a grass roots location for a grass roots organization. Three excellent speakers informed about 70 off-road company owners on current issues.
California State Assemblyman Dennis Hollingsworth flew down from Sacramento the morning of the meeting to speak to the ORBA group about impacts resulting from Congress's Interpretation of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). He talked about a fire that occurred, wiping out sixteen family homes, as a result of protection measures for the Kangaroo Rat - which turned out to be listed incorrectly as an endangered species.
Assemblyman Hollingsworth is a strong supporter of multiple use of public lands. Remember him at election time!
Attorney David Hubbard spoke about his findings with the BLM's Northern and Eastern Colorado Desert District Management Plan. In his words:
"the document is replete with errors in logic, unsupported hypotheses, gross and unsubstantiated generalizations, and impact assumptions based on little or no technical evidence."
California State Lobbyist Pete Conaty explained the function of a lobbyist to the group. He said:
"A lobbyist is someone you hire to protect you from the people you elected"
Pete distribute copies of the letter, signed by 53 State Legislators, addressed to Mike Pool, BLM CA State Director, calling for more balanced, multiple use, considerations in the State's Land Management Plans. ORBA plans to contribute more funds to Mr. Conaty's efforts and plans to have a full-time lobbyist, paid for by ORBA, by the end of ORBA's current fiscal year.
Many attendees at this meeting expressed their appreciation for the opportunity to become informed on these important land use issues. As one new member put it:
"I have been so busy running my business that I had no idea how bad the situation really is!"

Page Two

P.O. Box 1339, Lakeside, CA 92040 CONTACT ORBA Phone: (619) 449-0778
CALIFORNIA DESERT DISTRICT ADVISORY COUNCIL MEETING IN RIDGECREST, CA.
June 15,16, 2001
The BLM's California Desert District Advisory Council (DAC) held a very important meeting in Ridgecrest, CA on June 15th and 16th. This meeting's primary agenda items were about off-road issues.
DAC members are appointed by the United States Secretary of the Interior. The DAC advises the BLM on the management of over 10 million acres of public land in the California Desert. Roy Denner, President and CEO of ORBA, currently serves as a Recreation Representative on this Council.
Five positions on the DAC are up for appointment the end of this calendar year including both Recreation Representatives. If you are interested in nominating someone (including yourself) applications may be obtained from the BLM External Affairs office at (909) 697-5220 or by writing to the BLM California Desert District Office at 6221 Box Springs Boulevard, Riverside, CA 92507-0714.
On Friday, June 15th, DAC members and members of the public that were present were treated to a tour of the BLM recreation sites in the Ridgecrest area. Horrible examples of how motorcycle hillclimb areas totally destroy the terrain were visited. It was pointed out that the OHV community does not want the right to tear up every hillside in the State but that some hillclimb areas are needed as part of this type of recreation.
DAC members were informed that, while young people are divesting themselves of tons of pent-up energy on those hillclimbs, they are not participating in graffiti, drugs, and driveby shootings.
Enviro-extremists present insisted, of course, that all such activity should be eliminated because the land will never recover.
It was pointed out, by the BLM, that only 4% of the State of California is available at the present time for OHV recreation.
The enviros stated that this is still too much!
In the Rands area of Ridgecrest, 83% of the off-road trails have been closed to protect the Desert Tortoise. Only 129 miles of trails are open and they are under attack!
The enviros feel that not enough is being done to protect the tortoise - even though the BLM main tortoise biologist agrees that 97% of the tortoises dying may be due to disease. Disease is hard to deal with - OHV recreation is an easy target.
In the Jawbone area of Ridgecrest over 2/3rds of the off-road trails have been closed.
On Saturday, June 16th a formal meeting of the DAC was held. A description of the BLM's OHV program and its funding sources was presented. The funding resulting from the fees collected at the Imperial Sand Dunes was neglected in this report.
The primary agenda item was a presentation, rebuttal, and discussion of the devastating document "Off-Road to Ruin" released by the California Wilderness Coalition (CWC)".
Paul Spitler, Chairman of the CWC, and a member of the State's Green Sticker Commission - the organization that decides how the money in the Green Sticker fund is spent, presented CWC's position on "Off-Road to Ruin". Many DAC members questioned the credibility of the report.
Jim Bramham, former Commissioner and former president of CAL 4-Wheel Drive provided an excellent rebuttal to the claims made by Spitler and his organization's report.
Many off-roaders voiced their opinion regarding the ridiculous claims in the report. Speakers included ORBA's own Board member Mark Harms who was very eloquent on this topic. Also in attendance was ORBA member Grant George.
The result of this meeting was that off-roaders made it very clear to the enviro-extremists and to the BLM that the OHV community is not going to stand by any longer and watch while public land use policy is driven by the environmental extremist position!
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS
· Liberty Motorsports
· Temecula Motorsports
· Yarnell Specialties
· Funrunner
· Kartek
· Explorer ProComp
· Precision Automotive
· Johnson's Bug Machine
· Express Muffler & Hitch
· Lemon Grove Motorcycles
· Auto Trader Magazines
· Rancho Performance
· Alumicraft
· Custom Decals & Emblems
· Maxima Oil
· Douglas Wheel
· Southern Motorcycle Supply
· Aros Trailers
· CNC