Stamped Trail

[akram]

Received this today in an email

Hi-
Friends of Stampede is a group that formed late last year, based along the Stampede Road outside Healy. We'd like to see lands along the Stampede Trail designated as a State Recreation Area, and thought you'd be interested in working with our group to support this. The idea was originally suggested by a borough Assembly member in 2007, and several members of your group testified in support at a Healy meeting. This borough resolution passed, and the state followed through with a bill during the same year. More recently, we have been working on getting current resolutions of support from borough government (2 resolutions were passed in January with unanimous support), and a few weeks ago Senator Thomas and Representative Guttenberg reintroduced bills (SB 60, HB 113) to create a State Recreation Area along the Stampede Trail. We feel that it's important to get all of the different users of the area on the same page, and would like to see your members get involved. We have a lot more information available...shoot me an email at friendsofstampede@gmail.com, or call me at 687-2403. I'd be happy to answer any questions, and could register on your site to answer them directly if you think it would be helpful.
Look forward to hearing from you!
Hannah Ragland, for Friends of Stampede

I know myself and a few others that aren't in the club anymore attended these meetings in Heely, actually Kevin may have attended one also. this is something we need to look into. Seems like a good job for our PR rep. but I know he is as busy if not more than the rest of us. I will do my best to talk to them but I have very little time during the day. If anyone else has time and can contact them to find out info let me know.

This can drastically effect us wheeling this area. I actually know we didn't testify on behalf of anything but our user group. We talked about how we still want to be able to use the area. They mentioned an are like the CHSR rec area and as many know our usergroup is not allowed in that area. so this is something we have to stay on top of. I will research the HB's and such to see what they say.

[ak_petey]

Im interested in attending meetings. supporting etc. I shot an email out requesting more information to get involved.

[akram]

Thanks Peter. I sent her an e-mail to let her know the club got the email and is interested in this. Like I said I will do a little research on the matter and see what all I can find out.

[AKMark]

I went to a meeting back in the day with Nate, Ron, TJ, Eric and Kevin. Maybe you were there too.

I'd be willing to assist if it's wanted.

[akram]

Here is a link to the senate bill
http://www.legis.state.ak.us/PDF/27/Bills/SB0060A.PDF

now I read this compared to the old HB 241 and it is the same. The same issue is brought up though that we brought up at the meeting and ever since.

I made some print bold for you to pay attention to. The All terrain vehicles does not include us. The other established motorized use can. When Sen. Thomas originally wrote to us about this in April 2007 he specifically mentioned our Club and our use of the area. It is definately worth getting a little more info on this matter and contacting you state rep for your deistrict and your state senator.

(d) The commissioner shall
6 (1) allow the Stampede State Recreation Area to be used for activities
7 compatible with the reasons for establishing the public recreation area in
8 AS 41.21.401, including hiking, bicycling, all-terrain vehicle use, watercraft use,
9 horseback riding, dog sledding, cross-country skiing, skijoring, snowmobiling,
10 camping, hunting, fishing, berry picking, wildlife viewing, and photography;
11 (2) recognize the traditional use of existing motorized and
12 nonmotorized uses in the area and conduct trail rehabilitation or reroute trails to

13 minimize damage and avoid sensitive habitats; and

Link to the house bill
http://www.legis.state.ak.us/PDF/27/Bills/HB0113A.PDF

link to a previous discussion about this
http://www.arcticoffroad.com/forum/threa...recreation

I think we need to establish the intent of the senator and rep. also the committee and commissioner. I'm not real sure who the commissioner is that would make all the decisions as to what is compatable and incompatable with the are.

[ak_petey]

definitely need to get ORV put in there![COLOR="Silver"]

---------- Post added at 08:15 pm ---------- Previous post was at 08:14 pm ----------

[/COLOR]I know I am a fairly new member, but isn't speaking out to elected officials and such (representing AO) supposed to be an official AO representative? I do not want to step over my boundaries as a member.

[akram]

Yes it is. we have a PR guy(s). One of which is deployed at the moment and one of which is severely busy with work, life and such. I as the president and going to do what I can to follow up on this with the help of the other officers. Writing emails, letters or phone calls from an individual is encouraged. An official representative of the club will contact them on behalf of the club.

Here is a link to the denali borough resolution
http://www.denaliborough.govoffice.com/v...896%7D.PDF

[ak_petey]

*ORHV
edit

[akram]

The problem with it is the state's definition of it. ATV is defined as 1500lbs or less I believe for Alaska. I don't know what the definition of an ORV, OHV is or is they even have one.

[78calico]

OHV as defined by state of alaska is 10,000 or less GVW and are legal anywhere in AK on state land not specifically designated non-motorized or 1500lb or less. BUT the tricky part is that it is as long as they are not damaging the ground. Now we all know that a certain portion of the population will scream bloody murder against mother earth if you can see as much as a tread imprint. The law is vague and open to interpretation.
So yeah, we all need to make our voices heard so that our user group is SPECIFICALLY included in the allowed uses or someone is going to have to get busted and go to court to have the traditional uses under the RS2477 upheld.

[MudBuggy]

Looks like we need to be heard both as a club and individuals. It is important that we are not left out of the bill. I believe it is 1500lbs or less for ATVs which would be a stripped CJ with no cargo max.

[78calico]

I just read the entire bill and the part that Mel posted up is the only part that leaves us with a chance at still having access.
Specifically :
Sec.41.21.403 Incompatable uses.
(a) Except as provided in this section, the commissioner may prohibit or restrict uses determined to be incompatable with the purpose of the Stampede Recreation Area under AS 41.21.401 within the state-owned land and water described in AS41.21.405
(d) The commissioner shall
(2) recognize the traditional use of existing motorized and non motorized uses in the area and conduct trail rehabilitation or reroute trails to minimize damage and avoid senesitive habitats.

Unfortunately there are several other parts of the bill that I could see green activists turning into loopholes to exclude us and possibly even atv's.
If the commissioner ends up being anti-OHV with the bill as is, I see nothing other than a courtcase that would really reassure our rights to use the area. RS2477 law would be the only thing we would have to claim traditional use. Careful here though. The rex trail is right across the highway. It is an RS2477 and was closed to OHV use. You can bet the same people who pushed for it's closure will be eyeballing the Stampede.

[ak_petey]

Ole is right. I will personally make an effort to be included and include myself in attempts to keeping this area open.

---------- Post added at 10:42 pm ---------- Previous post was at 10:42 pm ----------

Just let me know if there is anything I can do to help AO on this one- Reps, and Mel.

---------- Post added at 11:01 pm ---------- Previous post was at 10:42 pm ----------

10 (b) The director of the division in the department that is responsible for state
11 parks shall appoint a citizens advisory board for the Stampede State Recreation Area,
12 with the majority of the board members residing in the Denali Borough. After
13 adequate public hearings and in consultation with the citizens advisory board and the
14 Denali Borough Assembly, the commissioner may designate incompatible uses and
15 shall adopt and may revise a management plan for the Stampede State Recreation
16 Area.

This is where people in the Denali area are going to really be important in this area being apart of OHV having access.
Are there any clubs down there that we are communicating with?

---------- Post added at 11:06 pm ---------- Previous post was at 11:01 pm ----------

and yes, the commisioner is going to play a HUGE role in this being a successful area to be obtained for use.
Do we still want to get involved as an organization if OHV are discluded? I can see it being beneficial in the eyes of the public and getting support, but it could be a waste of time- I say any land use gain is better than nothing.

[RedneckYankee]

man I am so sick of seeing OHV closures around the U.S.

[Zukman]

The big reason the REX trail was closed was from trail braiding from ATV users. There are people who live out there that complained about the trail
getting trashed from people not staying on the trail.

[ak_petey]

hey, i have an idea.
the locals know more about what activity was actually going on. how do we get that side of the story out in the open where a "commissioner" may re- evaluate land right useage? I have heard lots about the rex trail and how fun it can be because of all the twists and turns.

[78calico]

The big reason the REX trail was closed was from trail braiding from ATV users. There are people who live out there that complained about the trail
getting trashed from people not staying on the trail.

And those same people will be the ones that push to get the Stampede closed.
There are quite a few locals who don't like outsiders in the area. That stupid movie didn't help matters.

[akram]

Correct Ole. The locals can and are one of our biggest opponents in this. Most of them wanted to shut the area down so the wildlife could flourish. A lot don't even like the dog mushers back in there much less us.

[ak_petey]

Doh. Looks like a legal fight to me

[ChevyKev]

I actually didn't go down for that meeting, as it was on a Wednesday and I work Wednesday evenings. I will be making my voice heard on this. OHV would be a good addition. I also think that our going out in the Winter only (so far) will be a benefit to our voice being heard. We could go out during other times of year, but choose to go in winter so that we don't damage the trail. This shows our land-friendliness. Not that I would specificall want to be limited to winter only - I do know some folks last year that went out in early summer. Also, our use of a trail groomer will also be important to bring up.

[akram]

I want to encourage each of you to please write, email, call, fax or whatever you local representative and senate. There is a thread under land use with their information for quick reference. If it is wrong please let me know so I can fix it. When writing these folks be professional and courteous. Be precise about why you are writing them and the desired outcome you wish to see from your correspondence to them. I can tell you from experience that sometimes when you write these people it can be the first time they really know anything about it. Or know that the people they represent are concerned with the matter. But every person who contacts them opens their eyes a little more. One thing we want to stress to them is our wish to keep this are open to the current use of our usergroup. Also rewording of the bills to include OHV, ORV or whatever official term they use for our rigs. Not just ATV's amd remiond them we are not ATV's. As of right now there are no trails in the state parks system that our usergroup is allowed on. This is what happened in the Chena Hotsprings road Rec area. The trails got closed down to us due to lack of representation and lack of people standing up for us and our interests. Let's make sure this doesn't happen again.

[ak_petey]

ELECTED OFFICIALS THREAD:
http://www.arcticoffroad.com/forum/threa...-Officials

[akram]

Received in a reply to an email

Howdy-
Thanks for your interest in the Stampede! Apologies that it took a few days to get back to you! It sounded like you had similar interests, and I thought I could address them at once. I see from the Arctic Offroad forum online that there has been quite a bit of discussion-it's good to get the information on the table, and out for discussion! We contacted Arctic Offroad because of your interest in the Borough resolution passed in 2007. It was this resolution that initiated the rec area bills introduced by Senator Thomas and Representative Guttenberg.

I noticed on the Arctic Offroads website that there was quite a bit of discussion about the terminology used (ATV vs ORV). I can tell you that our groups' work to establish a State Recreation Area along Stampede was NOT initiated by locals that wanted to close out a particular user group, but rather, we are concerned with the number of development proposals over the years (ranging from highways west to railroads), and also the growing number of people using the area (poop alongside the trail, trail damage). As I'm sure is true with you, we would like to see the area designated in some way that will allow for long-term planning, so that traditional use of the area can be continued. As I understand, the specific activities listed in the bill are not meant to be all-inclusive. Some SRA bills don't include any list at all. The wide variety of uses was listed to show that there are a wide variety of users in the area that can benefit from preserving recreational access.

The details about recreation and use would be hashed out through the creation of a management plan for the area. The management plan that would be designed for Stampede would be created through an advisory board specific to this area, giving user groups a strong voice in developing the plan so that it addresses our needs. The off-roading community would certainly be part of that process. We are working on contacting groups such as yours, and other users (like hunters, berry pickers, etc), so that we can work on this alongside others that also use this area. Our vision for the Stampede is that people can work together towards something, rather than against. We'd like to see your groups be part of that process.

Please give a call, or email with more specific questions, and I hope that I can answer them. We have been working with Grier Hopkins, Senator Thomas' aide, and one of the staff who worked on the original Stampede SRA bill. He's been very helpful, and I'm sure could answer your questions. He can be reached at grier_hopkins@legis.state.ak.us. We have meetings about once a month here on Stampede, and if any one from your group is interested in calling in or coming down for one, it would be great to involve you in our discussions.


I will add the three of you to our email list, and if you know of any other folks that are interested, please pass along our contact info! Thanks again for your interest, hope this helped!
Hannah Ragland, for Friends of Stampede
907-687-2403 (evenings are good for calls if you want to chat)

I will try to find out when the next meeting is and see if folks have time ti attend it.

[akram]

It is good to know that this isn't the group that wanted to shut us out.

[big_bad_jeep]

i dont know if this helps but i have a really really good friend that was elected here recently she has a good voice its tammy wilson.. im really good friends with the family.

[akram]

Wayne of course it will help. In the aspect that we need to write the senators and reps to voice our concern. If they know our concern and where we stand it helps. We don't want to be left out that is for sure.

Received this today

Friends-
January has been a month of milestones for the Stampede State Recreation Area (SSRA) proposal! Friends of Stampede members (myself and Susan Braun) presented to the Denali Borough Assembly and Planning Commission to give background and voice support for the SSRA idea. Resolutions of support were introduced and passed in both bodies of our local government at the January meetings! Thanks to all of the Friends involved in preparing the presentation and voicing your support! With Borough support, Senator Joe Thomas and Representative David Guttenberg have both introduced SSRA bills in the state legislature during the session's opening week (SB 60 and HB 113, introduced January 21st). Read more about recent actions at the Denali Citizens Council website: http://www.denalicitizens.org/2011/01/st.../#more-974.

We have successfully worked to show support within the local government, and it is now time to expand support for the idea with our friends and interested organizations throughout the state. You can help us move forward!

1. Write a letter to show your support. Specifically state your support for SB 60 and HB 113. Introduce yourself and your relationship to the area. Explain how you use of the area and why it is important to you to see the area become a State Recreation Area (i.e. continued traditional use, harvest of wildlife or berries, recreation, etc). Send to senator_joe_thomas@legis.state.ak.us and representative_david_guttenberg@legis.state.ak.us. Cc their staff joe_hardenbrook@legis.state.ak.us, grier_hopkins@legis.state.ak.us, and jay_hardenbrook@legis.state.ak.us and friendsofstampede@gmail.com. See the attached summary of support for the Stampede State Recreation Area for points that can be helpful for a letter of support.

2. Add your name to the list of supporters. Over 100 people signed a petition supporting previous Stampede State Recreation Area proposals. Friends of Stampede has created an online petition to support the current proposal (SB 60 and HB 113). We hope to match the number of supporters from the previous petition, expand upon that number. You can help by signing the petition at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/frien...mpede_sra/.

3. Forward this email to an individual or group that you think would be interested in voicing their support. There are many Alaskan residents and organizations from outside the Denali Borough that use this area. If you know of an individual or organization that may be interested in support the SSRA, forward this email and spread the word! Any interested individuals or groups can sign up for more information by emailing us at friendsofstampede@gmail.com.

4. Reply to this email if you have time, energy or ideas to support Friends of Stampede in any way! Besides the Recreation Area, we have discussed organizing community events, roadside garbage clean-ups, and support the installation of signs, garbage cans or outhouses. As a grassroots movement, your involvement will make a difference!


A strong showing of support for the SSRA is critical to show that a variety of Alaskan residents, businesses, visitors, property owners and organizations value this area. A recent bill regarding the Goldstream Public Use Area in Fairbanks gathered over 100 letters of support. While our population base is somewhat smaller than Fairbanks, there have been well over 100 people who have attended meetings and/or voiced support for the SSRA in the past several years, and residents from all over the state have visited the area or use it regularly. If every person on our email list wrote a personal letter of support, we would be well on our way to matching support for the Goldstream area! Letters sent to Senator Thomas and Representative Guttenberg will provide evidence of support for the bills as they move through the Senate and House. Some of you have already written letters or contacted members of the state or borough government this year. Many of you have signed petitions, written letters, or testified in support of the SSRA during previous proposals. Please take action on two or more of the points above to support Friends of Stampede and the Stampede State Recreation Area proposal!
Hannah Ragland, for Friends of Stampede

I am also attaching their purpose statement.

  Friends of Stampede.pdf (Size: 98.44 KB / Downloads: 4)