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.
- 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.
- 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.