WOHVA board members are meeting with the DNR on 6/7/2007 to discuss the following.
Final WOHVA/DNR 6/7/07 meeting agenda;
#1 Item is DNR's plan for the ORV money appropriated by the 2007 Legislature from NOVA ORV funds.
Please help us understand - Who initiated the 2007 legislative proposal to take the ORV tag funds for unspecified use, i.e. not earmarked, by the DNR?
What did the DNR tell the Legislature they would accomplish for OHV recreation with these funds?
What does the DNR now understand the 2007 Legislature's issuance of our ORV tag funds is to be used for, i.e specifically what is to be acomplished?
Please provide a break down by dollars and project that the DNR intends to do using this money to promote or provide OHV Recreational opportunities.
If a detailed breakdown is not yet available, then - Is the DNR willing to put together a specific budget of line items/amounts with specific tasks that will be accomplished using the ORV tag money funding provided by the Legislature this year? If so, when will that be available?
What guarantee do the ORV tag fund providers have from the DNR that this money will be used to promote and provide for OHV recreation, not just more signs stating motorized vehicles are not allowed?
Why there is no "single" person responsible for the the OHV programs at DNR - or is there? Our sport have a single point of contatct inside the DNR - a person who "works" fo us and perhaps is even hired by us. We see the need for a person that will be a true ombudsman for the OHV user community - who pay millions into this organization (DNR). In the dictionary it states; 1. a public official, esp. in Scandinavian countries, who investigates complaints by private citzens against government agencies or officials. 2. a person who investigates and resolves complaints, as from employees or students 3. legal representative
When will the DNR begin the process to designate Reiter as an official OHV area?
#2 Item - General DNR financial questions regarding OHV interests -
Why hasn't the DNR ever provided specific accounting for what they have done with the approximately 40% they skim off the top of the NOVA fund as Doug Sutherland himself stated he would do after we met with him shortly after he was first elected? We have lots of prior DNR "reports" including fancy PowerPoint ones and they all stop at a level way higher than showing what the DNR actually did with the money on the ground!
An audit report (http://www.sao.wa.go...iles/ar6508.pdf) pointed out that charging of excessive overhead cost to restricted funds was sited as a concern for the years 2001 and 2002. Where are the numbers showing what was done to correct this?
Financial reports (http://www.sao.wa.go...uditSearch.asp). The reports available on the web do not include the financial reports, but hard copy financial reports are available upon request. Please provide us with a hard copy of the specific reports showing what funding the DNR received from NOVA for Capitol Forest, Tahuya, Green Mountain and Walker Valley, including the approximately 40% automatically issued off the top and all grant monies for FY 2005 and 2006.
We then need the specific financial reports showing how much of that money was spent specifically to promote and provide for motorized recreation in each of those areas.
#3 Item - DNR W.A.C Revision Process Status
What has happened to the all the specific input provided by the motorized user representatives to the DNR W.A.C. Revision committee?
Does a final W.A.C. Revision draft, taking those comments into consideration, now exist? If so, please provide us with a copy.
Has Doug Sutherland clearly directed his staff to rescind their proposed 2005 W.A.C. revision for all DNR Land to be Closed Unless Designated Open?
#4 Item - DNR Multiple Use Land Management
What percentage of DNR managed lands contain multiple-use trails open to all users?
What is being done to increase the percentage containing multipe-use trails open to all users?
Which DNR lands are being considered for the addition of multiple-use trails open to all users?
Who is the appropriate person within the DNR to talk with about future OHV issues and opportunities in Mason County?
Specifically who at the DNR has been responsible for reducing the amount of DNR managed land available for ORV recreation and concentrating ORV use into ever smaller areas, thereby creating overuse and unsafe conditions (collisions due to too much traffic) on the remaining DNR trails open to ORV use during Doug Sutherlands term in office?
Please explain to me how the DNR will close an ORV area (Pilchuck Forest) because there are not enough wardens to patrol it, then turn right around and take Nonhighway and Off-road Vehicle Account (NOVA) funding to hire two new wardens to patrol HIKING trails?
http://www.dnr.wa.go...s/nr06_013.html
This is just one example where our users feel that we are being robbed (NOVA funds) and lied to, when it comes to reasons the DNR uses to justify ORV area closures.
What is Doug Sutherland doing to direct his staff to re-open the P5000 road system to OHVs which was arbitrarily closed without any valid scientific data?
What is Doug Sutherland doing to re-open the Spada/Sultan Lakes Basin to OHV use?
All DNR roads were open to ORV tagged vehicles as part of the original ATV act that created NOVA and provided approximately 40% of the NOVA funding to the DNR right off the top. What RCW or WAC is the DNR using to justify signing DNR roads as closed to use by ORV tagged off road vehicles?
Please explain the difference between trust land and public land as per Doug Sutherland's personal email statement that "These lands belong to the trusts, not the public, however as noted earlier, the public may use them."
For more information regarding WOHVA. Go to www.wohva.org. If you become a member. Make sure that you mention Home Finance so that you can get 5 raffle tickets for the raffle on Sept 22nd.
Russ
