Membership Update – September 22, 2016
Since the last update, many things have happened and I finally have enough time to send out this update.
First, N4WDA has become a 501(c)7 corporation. This makes us a not-for-profit corporation in the eyes of the US government. Our first act, when we started in February, 2013, was to obtain a charter from the State of Nevada recognizing us as a not-for-profit corporation in Nevada. This federal recognition will give us more stature when dealing with corporations and government agencies.
This 501(c)7 status does not mean that donors can deduct their contributions to us from their personal income taxes… that would be a 501(c)3 charitable foundation. As we grow, the Board of Directors will consider creation of a conservation and education foundation whereby N4WDA and its member clubs can apply for and receive grants from other organizations and corporations for projects that would benefit our members and others.
1st Annual N4WDA Silver State Poker Run – September 10th – On Saturday, September 10th, we held our first off-highway fund-raising event. The poker run began and ended at the Mark Twain Community Center in Dayton, NV.
We developed a route of 26.2 miles across county roads and private property that provided some interesting 4 wheeling in an area that even the local folks had not seen. The participants drove Jeeps, trucks and ATV’s and the route took about 4 hours for most to complete. This route was completed following the clues in a “tulip rally” format whereby they followed drawings of intersections and mileages between these intersections. No one got permanently lost, but most had a few misdirections.
Upon finishing the event, the top three poker hands were awarded prizes and the attendees enjoyed hamburgers and hot dogs, followed by a super raffle.
We were surprised that more people from California registered for the event than from Nevada.
Current Issues:
- Expansion of the Navy’s Fallon Range Training Complex – The US Navy has applied to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to continue to use the site of the Fallon Range Training Complex and to expand it to include more than 600,000 acres of additional public land. As a result of the Navy’s withdrawal application, the BLM has segregated the proposed expansion area from appropriation under the public land laws. The two-year segregation is obligatory while the Navy prepares an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on its expansion and extension proposals for the Fallon site.
As a result, the Navy will hold seven public meetings on this expansion and extension. The BLM, Federal Aviation Administration, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service will participate as cooperating agencies in the preparation of the EIS.
N4WDA and its partners need to know YOUR knowledge of the OHV trails that will be impacted by this withdrawal which includes lands near Middlegate and Lake Lahontan.
Please go to the following website for the project area maps and information and to submit comments: https://frtcmodernization.com.
The following is a schedule of the Navy’s public meetings:
- Fallon Convention Center, Fallon, 3-7 PM, October 3rd
- Pershing County Community Center, Lovelock, 11 AM – 1 PM, October 4th
- Evelyn Mount Northeast Community Center, Reno, 5-7 PM, October 4th
- Emma Nevada Town Hall, Austin,5-7 PM, October 5th
- Eureka Elementary School, Eureka, 5-7 PM, October 6th
- Hawthorne Convention Center, Hawthorne, 11 AM – 1 PM, October 7th
- Gabbs School Gymnasium, Gabbs, 5-7 PM, October 7th
- Washoe County Lands Bill – Washoe County, in cooperation with the Friends of Nevada Wilderness (FNW) are preparing a bill request whereby certain public lands would be withdrawn for various purposes.
A public open house on this issue was held on Friday, September 16th and again on Monday, September 19th at the Washoe County Administrative Complex in Reno. We were told that the areas around Reno were withdrawn for new water tanks, water lines, etc. and that the total acreage of the lands shown on their maps would be reduced as the entities requesting these lands finalized their requests. We also noticed that lands showing on the maps as being withdrawn for the Reno–Sparks Indian Colony (RSIC) and the Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation are already, in part, included in H.R. 2733 (Rep. Mark Amodei) the “Nevada Nations Land Act”. Our concerns with the Washoe County Lands Bill is that it appears that the lands withdrawn for the RSIC are far greater than those in H.R. 2733, and that they, although the RSIC has stated for H.R. 2733 that the OHV use on the current Cold Springs-Moon Rocks OHV Area would continue, we have no such assurances in this expanded lands bill.
The Washoe County open house did not address those lands being requested by FNW. In fact, if you went to the meeting and viewed the maps that were posted and asked about the various withdrawals, you would get the feeling that this was all that is included in this bill (almost as if Washoe County were helping to hide the FNW parcels). For further information and maps for the Washoe County Lands Bill visit the following site: https://www.washoecounty.us/csd/planning_and_development/conservation-act.php
The FNW proposes that 494,793 acres be withdrawn for creation of six new Wilderness areas in northern Washoe County (a half-million acres represents a huge portion of the county, considering that there are already several Wilderness areas already in existence in the Black Rock/High Rock area). For information and maps go to: http://www.nevadawilderness.org/wildwashoe
We need your input on these areas, where do you go to hunt, fish and otherwise use your OHV? We need information so that we, along with our affiliated organizations can formulate our opposition to the creation of these new Wilderness areas.
- Pershing County Lands Bill – There is a proposed lands bill for Pershing County that transfers some of the BLM-managed “checkerboard” lands (dating back to the building of the Central Pacific Railroad whereby alternating sections of land for 20 miles either side of the right of way were granted to finance the building of the railroad and the other alternating sections to remain in federal ownership) to the county to aid in economic development including sales of lands to operating mining projects.
Additionally, the lands bill would create 76,161 acres of new Wilderness in four areas and has language to release the remaining Wilderness Study Areas in the county (good luck… the feds were supposed to release these WSAs thirty or more years ago but the environmentalist organizations have prevented their release).
Once again, we need your information on use within the proposed Wilderness areas so that we can coordinate our opposition with our affiliated organizations. In this case, the small miners, specifically the GPAA of Northern Nevada, are adamantly opposed citing mineral potential in these areas.
For further information and maps for the Pershing County Lands Bill see:
http://pershingcounty.net/index.php/Lands-Information/pershing-county-lands.html
Nevada Commission on OHV (NCOHV) – In May of this year, the NCOHV was placed within the Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR). The NCOHV is currently involved in a grants cycle whereby qualified applicants may be awarded grants for projects beneficial to the OHV community.
Since its inception, the NCOHV has operated as a stand-alone commission, but had been seeking a home in an existing department in order to be able to have office space and a permanent mailing address as well as house its newly-hired Executive Secretary.
The next meeting of the NCOHV will be on October 6th. For meeting information and to obtain the supporting materials, go to the Commission website: http://nvohv.com.
That’s all for now. Please email us at nevada_4wd@yahoo.com to provide input on the above items or any concerns you might have.
Larry