Hackle
07-24-2005, 05:15 PM
I unstuck the thread in General and will leave this up in Land Use for anybody interested. This is the report that I submitted to the ASA4WDC.
OHV Summit in Washington DC Report
Tuesday July 12 was my first full day in DC. I was very impressed with the format and the way that ORBA and Blue Ribbon set-up this OHV Summit. They had us set up in a conference room in the House Office building and started off introducing everyone. California has a large group here along with reps from PA. CT. VA. TX. CO. ID. Along with a few others that I am sure I forgot. SEMA has several reps here to help out. Sure would have been nice to get more states to send people this could be a very big event for OHV issues in the future. The ORBA/Blue Ribbon Lobbyist was great in giving us ideas and setting up appointments for the days we are here.
We had a rep from Congressman Pombo’s staff come in and go over the new Endangered Species Act reform they hope to have to the floor in bill form by next week. It will not be perfect but it will be an improvement and they should have enough bipartisan support so even the Arizona Repugnant will have a hard time claiming they are out to rape the endangered species. It will give a lot more control to the local governments as to how to put it into effect (so it does not impact jobs as easily). It will also give back private property rights, and the largest improvement will be a higher requirement in the scientific data to 1) put some thing on the list and 2) keep something on the list.
Sandee and I along with John Stewart and Carla Boucher from United and Jack Welsh from Blue Ribbon met with the Forest Service National OHV leads for over two hours going over the new OHV Rule they are working on and how the trail inventories will be worked with and our groups input.
We then returned to the House Office buildings and I met with the Land Use Rep and Chief of Staff for Congressman Trent Franks. We talked about the ESA and working with the Agencies such as the BLM and Forest Service and how they could help us. I was received very well and they spent a lot of time with me. If anyone that reads this is in Trent Franks District it would be nice to send them a letter thanking them for their time spent with Sandee and I. This would be a very nice touch. Let them know we are here representing you and you thank them for making time for us. This would go for everyone’s Rep and Senator that we met with. A letter from their district will give us a lot more standing in their eyes.
This is the end of day two and it has been a long day. A big Thanks goes out to the ASA4WDC which spent the money to send us both here and to be honest I think we are making sure it is money well spent. BTW we could use a few more individual members to help ASA4WDC make sure they have the money for an event like this. End of sales pitch. (I posted day by day reports to the AZVJC forum as my e-mail would not work this was my only option, so some comments may seem strange to this group BTW I was trying to recruit new members)
Today we started off the morning meeting with the Resource rep for Congressman Pastor. It started off rather adversarial but as we explained both the new bill on the ESA revamp and our position, I will not say that we convinced them to vote for it but I do believe they will look at it and give it a chance.
Next stop was Congressman Hayworth offices and we did not get to meet with anyone as they were in meetings or away from the office, but we did get to see the congressman in action later in the day (HE DID GOOD!) We are still working on a meeting for tomorrow or even Friday before we fly out. This congressman has a bone to pick with BLM and let it show.
We then went to the next house office building to talk to Congressman Renzi and were very well received and they plan to support the ESA reform in full.
John Shadegg’s office was very helpful and fully supports the ESA reform plus let us know there is another bill on ESA going through that deals with water ways. This is for our lakes that have been dry so long that the greenies are now giving everyone a hard time about refilling them when we get rain as it may be critical habitat for the flycatcher. This bill will also need our support as it will also allow the expansion of Roosevelt Lake like they tried to do 8 years ago. This will supply more water to the Phoenix area in drought years.
We went to Congressman Kolbe office but they were called out and were not available at this time.
We headed to the 2:00 PM Resource oversight committee meeting on Motorized use on Federal Lands. The first panel of witnesses was the Forest Service Chief and the BLM Rep. both talked about working with the OHV groups and how they could not manage what they do now without our support and volunteer efforts. Most of the Congressman also spoke and then asked questions of the witnesses after they had given their testimony. The best one was Congressman Hayworth who asked the BLM rep how many acres of WSA (wilderness study areas) they had on the books. The answer was 14.5 million. He then asked how many of those acres were found to not conform to wilderness areas? The answer 7.5 million. He was then asked with a straight face how these areas were managed? Answer as if they were wilderness. Question what are you waiting for to release these lands back to use? Answer Congressional authorization. Questions when did you send a report to congress asking for that authorization? Answer well in 1991 we sent in the areas that fit the wilderness bill for consideration. They never sent any information to Congress about the 7.5 million acres that could not fit the Wilderness bill, they just thought they would hold on to it. We need to push this it is very out in the open now! We need our 7.5 million acres back!
The second panel of witnesses included a rep from ORBA, Blue Ribbon, AMA motorcycle, and (I can not remember but they are pro OHV) one retired Forest Service Ranger (anti & strange) and last but not least a Pediatrician on OHV children injury issues. All the Pro OHV went first and made very nice presentations. We then got the Forest Service Ranger who has read too many Zane Grey Novels. The doctor described OHV injuries to children and how the American Pediatric Association suggested that nobody under age 16 be allowed to ride on an ATC and called out lack of helmets, training, and too much speed as the problem. To me if my kid got hurt because at 8 they are riding a full size quad without a helmet, pads, boots and a heck of a lot of training and supervision I AM THE ONE AT FAULT! Not the quad.
After this presentation the Congressman asked questions again that made both the Anti OHV look well…..dumb. At the end the legislative people we have met and the forest service people came to us to explain that the meeting went very well as the Anti OHV were so far out of wack that nobody paid any attention to them. Overall the meeting was very positive for OHV.
I headed out to meeting with Congressman Flake while Sandee stayed to go over the meeting with others. At congressman Flakes office I had a very good meeting and found out that the second ESA bill on waterways was introduced by Congressman Flake’s office. They support the revamp of the ESA also and asked some good questions (I think to see if I really new anything about the bill or was just a messenger) I would have to say I held my own. We also discussed the BLM & Forest Service Offices in AZ and a couple other issues. I was very happy with the time they gave me.
I then went back to the OHV Reception and I got the Lobbyist off to the side to ask how successful this event had been. His answer surprised me Congressman Pombo and his office were so happy with the support he gained for the ESA reforms they could not have asked for more. We made great contacts in our own AZ offices and the Forest Service both now have faces to put with the Names they have heard. The reception was well attended by many of the people all of us had met in the Congressional offices in these two days.
Overall I am very happy with the contacts we have made and the feeling that this is well worth the time and money.
Day Number Three in DC
We started out the day with a meeting with the BLM Recreation group which Sandee set up. It is amazing the contacts that she has made, just about every member of the BLM team knew her by name and most by sight. The attorney from ORBA was also at this meeting and may have accounted for some of the lack of attitude from the BLM team. This meeting went very well. They are the ones that write the standards and train the BLM staff on how to enforce and understand the standards. We had a very good meeting as we pointed out several areas that the standards have not been applied correctly. To be honest I think they were surprised by some of the issues that came up of BLM staff not understanding their own standards as well as we do. They have an Acting Director of this group that was in a large part of the meeting. When he had to leave early he made it very clear they would be going over some of the standards and the training or lack there of after we left. It was a very positive meeting. I could not
In Senator John McCain’s Office and Senator Jon Kyl’s Office we met with the resource/environmental staff member to give them a heads up on the coming House bill and asked them to support the revisions of the ESA. We also spoke about the BLM and Forest Service Agencies that we deal with. It was very informal in both offices and we really got a chance to talk about what we as four wheelers do and would like to see. We talked about how the agencies use the ESA and other standards as an easy way out closing an area instead of putting some hands on the ground and manage recreation. Both Sandee and I came away with a very good feeling. While in Senator Kyl’s office the staff member asked us about Walnut Canyon of which neither Sandee or I know much of she promised to send the information on the bill to us. The information beat us home. Lucy sent the Walnut Canyon stuff immediately. This shows the importance of having persons to directly contact regarding Arizona issues. To date I have received two calls from Senator Kyl’s Office this week we must have made an impression.
The D.C. Lobbyist Aide got us an appointment with Congressman Hayworth’s Office. We received a very nice reception and the conversations went pretty much as they did in our previous meetings. All our Congressman and Senators staff made time to meet with us. We have found it is better to talk to the Staff member in charge of your issue as they do all the research and know that issue. They advise the Boss on how to vote.
I think in these couple days we made some strong contacts if not allies in both Congress and Senate along with started to get the Agency heads to understand where we are coming from. This week I think will pay dividends to all of us in OHV in the future. I think the use of my vacation time has been put to good use.
The ASA4WDC deserves a lot of the credit for sending Sandee and I here. The Association paid for our flight and rooms to make this possible. ORBA and Blue Ribbon set this all up and have the lobbyist here to help us out. This is a group effort and we hope to make it a yearly event to build on what was started last year when ASA4WDC sent Becky to this event
On major item I learned at this event and has been a major discussion in the ASA4WDC this year is changing our dues to United 4 Wheel drive. John Stewart from United was here on Tuesday and Wednesday and did a good job, but he did not meet with any of the Arizona Congressman or Senators. He was at the same Forest Service Meeting that Sandee and I went to which was set up by United and Carla (BTW that is the only time Carla was at the event the Forest Service people did not know Carla but they sure knew Sandee). Sandee set up the BLM Meeting on Thursday with the Recreation Group and nobody from United was here to attend. My Question is why was United not a partner in this event with ORBA and Blue Ribbon? United has Carla a Lawyer but she did not participate in anything other then the Forest Service Meeting. John Stewart is a great guy but can not represent Arizona to our Congressional Reps or Senate like having someone come from Arizona to meet with them. Bottom line if we had joined United for $7000 like we have in previous years we could not have sent Sandee and me to this event. There is no way that United in their limited representation at this event could have made the meetings, contacts, and allies that Sandee and I made this week. This is something we are building off of Becky’s trip last year. We need to keep building every year. Neither ORBA or Blue Ribbon were able to attend the numerous Arizona representative meetings. Even if they had they could not have the effect that an Arizona Representative can have to our Congressman and Senators. ORBA and Blue Ribbon deserve a lot of credit for numerous jobs setting up meetings and organizing the summit…………….. WE must DO OUR SHARE.)
I hope that we can make this a yearly event WE ARE GETTING OUR MONEYS WORTH FOR THIS. Sandee has so many contacts back here in the agencies and they all know her and listen to her. That if I had been here alone it would not have been as successful without Sandee’s contacts. It took five years of work for Sandee to have the name recognition she has with the agencies with her help we will have more people that the DC level officers recognize a lot quicker. This will pay benefits to our efforts to keep trails open for the future and we need to keep the heat on. United can not do Arizona Issues like Arizona people can!
I thank the ASA4WDC for sending me as one of their representatives I hope I make you as proud as I felt being your representative.
Jim Florence
OHV Summit in Washington DC Report
Tuesday July 12 was my first full day in DC. I was very impressed with the format and the way that ORBA and Blue Ribbon set-up this OHV Summit. They had us set up in a conference room in the House Office building and started off introducing everyone. California has a large group here along with reps from PA. CT. VA. TX. CO. ID. Along with a few others that I am sure I forgot. SEMA has several reps here to help out. Sure would have been nice to get more states to send people this could be a very big event for OHV issues in the future. The ORBA/Blue Ribbon Lobbyist was great in giving us ideas and setting up appointments for the days we are here.
We had a rep from Congressman Pombo’s staff come in and go over the new Endangered Species Act reform they hope to have to the floor in bill form by next week. It will not be perfect but it will be an improvement and they should have enough bipartisan support so even the Arizona Repugnant will have a hard time claiming they are out to rape the endangered species. It will give a lot more control to the local governments as to how to put it into effect (so it does not impact jobs as easily). It will also give back private property rights, and the largest improvement will be a higher requirement in the scientific data to 1) put some thing on the list and 2) keep something on the list.
Sandee and I along with John Stewart and Carla Boucher from United and Jack Welsh from Blue Ribbon met with the Forest Service National OHV leads for over two hours going over the new OHV Rule they are working on and how the trail inventories will be worked with and our groups input.
We then returned to the House Office buildings and I met with the Land Use Rep and Chief of Staff for Congressman Trent Franks. We talked about the ESA and working with the Agencies such as the BLM and Forest Service and how they could help us. I was received very well and they spent a lot of time with me. If anyone that reads this is in Trent Franks District it would be nice to send them a letter thanking them for their time spent with Sandee and I. This would be a very nice touch. Let them know we are here representing you and you thank them for making time for us. This would go for everyone’s Rep and Senator that we met with. A letter from their district will give us a lot more standing in their eyes.
This is the end of day two and it has been a long day. A big Thanks goes out to the ASA4WDC which spent the money to send us both here and to be honest I think we are making sure it is money well spent. BTW we could use a few more individual members to help ASA4WDC make sure they have the money for an event like this. End of sales pitch. (I posted day by day reports to the AZVJC forum as my e-mail would not work this was my only option, so some comments may seem strange to this group BTW I was trying to recruit new members)
Today we started off the morning meeting with the Resource rep for Congressman Pastor. It started off rather adversarial but as we explained both the new bill on the ESA revamp and our position, I will not say that we convinced them to vote for it but I do believe they will look at it and give it a chance.
Next stop was Congressman Hayworth offices and we did not get to meet with anyone as they were in meetings or away from the office, but we did get to see the congressman in action later in the day (HE DID GOOD!) We are still working on a meeting for tomorrow or even Friday before we fly out. This congressman has a bone to pick with BLM and let it show.
We then went to the next house office building to talk to Congressman Renzi and were very well received and they plan to support the ESA reform in full.
John Shadegg’s office was very helpful and fully supports the ESA reform plus let us know there is another bill on ESA going through that deals with water ways. This is for our lakes that have been dry so long that the greenies are now giving everyone a hard time about refilling them when we get rain as it may be critical habitat for the flycatcher. This bill will also need our support as it will also allow the expansion of Roosevelt Lake like they tried to do 8 years ago. This will supply more water to the Phoenix area in drought years.
We went to Congressman Kolbe office but they were called out and were not available at this time.
We headed to the 2:00 PM Resource oversight committee meeting on Motorized use on Federal Lands. The first panel of witnesses was the Forest Service Chief and the BLM Rep. both talked about working with the OHV groups and how they could not manage what they do now without our support and volunteer efforts. Most of the Congressman also spoke and then asked questions of the witnesses after they had given their testimony. The best one was Congressman Hayworth who asked the BLM rep how many acres of WSA (wilderness study areas) they had on the books. The answer was 14.5 million. He then asked how many of those acres were found to not conform to wilderness areas? The answer 7.5 million. He was then asked with a straight face how these areas were managed? Answer as if they were wilderness. Question what are you waiting for to release these lands back to use? Answer Congressional authorization. Questions when did you send a report to congress asking for that authorization? Answer well in 1991 we sent in the areas that fit the wilderness bill for consideration. They never sent any information to Congress about the 7.5 million acres that could not fit the Wilderness bill, they just thought they would hold on to it. We need to push this it is very out in the open now! We need our 7.5 million acres back!
The second panel of witnesses included a rep from ORBA, Blue Ribbon, AMA motorcycle, and (I can not remember but they are pro OHV) one retired Forest Service Ranger (anti & strange) and last but not least a Pediatrician on OHV children injury issues. All the Pro OHV went first and made very nice presentations. We then got the Forest Service Ranger who has read too many Zane Grey Novels. The doctor described OHV injuries to children and how the American Pediatric Association suggested that nobody under age 16 be allowed to ride on an ATC and called out lack of helmets, training, and too much speed as the problem. To me if my kid got hurt because at 8 they are riding a full size quad without a helmet, pads, boots and a heck of a lot of training and supervision I AM THE ONE AT FAULT! Not the quad.
After this presentation the Congressman asked questions again that made both the Anti OHV look well…..dumb. At the end the legislative people we have met and the forest service people came to us to explain that the meeting went very well as the Anti OHV were so far out of wack that nobody paid any attention to them. Overall the meeting was very positive for OHV.
I headed out to meeting with Congressman Flake while Sandee stayed to go over the meeting with others. At congressman Flakes office I had a very good meeting and found out that the second ESA bill on waterways was introduced by Congressman Flake’s office. They support the revamp of the ESA also and asked some good questions (I think to see if I really new anything about the bill or was just a messenger) I would have to say I held my own. We also discussed the BLM & Forest Service Offices in AZ and a couple other issues. I was very happy with the time they gave me.
I then went back to the OHV Reception and I got the Lobbyist off to the side to ask how successful this event had been. His answer surprised me Congressman Pombo and his office were so happy with the support he gained for the ESA reforms they could not have asked for more. We made great contacts in our own AZ offices and the Forest Service both now have faces to put with the Names they have heard. The reception was well attended by many of the people all of us had met in the Congressional offices in these two days.
Overall I am very happy with the contacts we have made and the feeling that this is well worth the time and money.
Day Number Three in DC
We started out the day with a meeting with the BLM Recreation group which Sandee set up. It is amazing the contacts that she has made, just about every member of the BLM team knew her by name and most by sight. The attorney from ORBA was also at this meeting and may have accounted for some of the lack of attitude from the BLM team. This meeting went very well. They are the ones that write the standards and train the BLM staff on how to enforce and understand the standards. We had a very good meeting as we pointed out several areas that the standards have not been applied correctly. To be honest I think they were surprised by some of the issues that came up of BLM staff not understanding their own standards as well as we do. They have an Acting Director of this group that was in a large part of the meeting. When he had to leave early he made it very clear they would be going over some of the standards and the training or lack there of after we left. It was a very positive meeting. I could not
In Senator John McCain’s Office and Senator Jon Kyl’s Office we met with the resource/environmental staff member to give them a heads up on the coming House bill and asked them to support the revisions of the ESA. We also spoke about the BLM and Forest Service Agencies that we deal with. It was very informal in both offices and we really got a chance to talk about what we as four wheelers do and would like to see. We talked about how the agencies use the ESA and other standards as an easy way out closing an area instead of putting some hands on the ground and manage recreation. Both Sandee and I came away with a very good feeling. While in Senator Kyl’s office the staff member asked us about Walnut Canyon of which neither Sandee or I know much of she promised to send the information on the bill to us. The information beat us home. Lucy sent the Walnut Canyon stuff immediately. This shows the importance of having persons to directly contact regarding Arizona issues. To date I have received two calls from Senator Kyl’s Office this week we must have made an impression.
The D.C. Lobbyist Aide got us an appointment with Congressman Hayworth’s Office. We received a very nice reception and the conversations went pretty much as they did in our previous meetings. All our Congressman and Senators staff made time to meet with us. We have found it is better to talk to the Staff member in charge of your issue as they do all the research and know that issue. They advise the Boss on how to vote.
I think in these couple days we made some strong contacts if not allies in both Congress and Senate along with started to get the Agency heads to understand where we are coming from. This week I think will pay dividends to all of us in OHV in the future. I think the use of my vacation time has been put to good use.
The ASA4WDC deserves a lot of the credit for sending Sandee and I here. The Association paid for our flight and rooms to make this possible. ORBA and Blue Ribbon set this all up and have the lobbyist here to help us out. This is a group effort and we hope to make it a yearly event to build on what was started last year when ASA4WDC sent Becky to this event
On major item I learned at this event and has been a major discussion in the ASA4WDC this year is changing our dues to United 4 Wheel drive. John Stewart from United was here on Tuesday and Wednesday and did a good job, but he did not meet with any of the Arizona Congressman or Senators. He was at the same Forest Service Meeting that Sandee and I went to which was set up by United and Carla (BTW that is the only time Carla was at the event the Forest Service people did not know Carla but they sure knew Sandee). Sandee set up the BLM Meeting on Thursday with the Recreation Group and nobody from United was here to attend. My Question is why was United not a partner in this event with ORBA and Blue Ribbon? United has Carla a Lawyer but she did not participate in anything other then the Forest Service Meeting. John Stewart is a great guy but can not represent Arizona to our Congressional Reps or Senate like having someone come from Arizona to meet with them. Bottom line if we had joined United for $7000 like we have in previous years we could not have sent Sandee and me to this event. There is no way that United in their limited representation at this event could have made the meetings, contacts, and allies that Sandee and I made this week. This is something we are building off of Becky’s trip last year. We need to keep building every year. Neither ORBA or Blue Ribbon were able to attend the numerous Arizona representative meetings. Even if they had they could not have the effect that an Arizona Representative can have to our Congressman and Senators. ORBA and Blue Ribbon deserve a lot of credit for numerous jobs setting up meetings and organizing the summit…………….. WE must DO OUR SHARE.)
I hope that we can make this a yearly event WE ARE GETTING OUR MONEYS WORTH FOR THIS. Sandee has so many contacts back here in the agencies and they all know her and listen to her. That if I had been here alone it would not have been as successful without Sandee’s contacts. It took five years of work for Sandee to have the name recognition she has with the agencies with her help we will have more people that the DC level officers recognize a lot quicker. This will pay benefits to our efforts to keep trails open for the future and we need to keep the heat on. United can not do Arizona Issues like Arizona people can!
I thank the ASA4WDC for sending me as one of their representatives I hope I make you as proud as I felt being your representative.
Jim Florence