Author Archives: Bill McGibbon

New to District 36 – Cross County Racers Can Register Their Sponsors

Racers, you can now register your sponsor so they will display on the Cross Country results pages next to your name.  Give the credit deserved to those sponsors that support you!  Use the “sign up” button and get registered!

✪ Please Support Your Sponsors That Support You ✪

Dirt Track and Enduro riders list your sponsors on your meet entry form.

 The 2019 Prairie City Grand Prix 
Coming January 19th & 20th.
A Mojo Motosport Championship Cross Country Series.
A Western Hare Scrambles Championship Series

This is Round 1 of the District 36 – SRT Adult Championship Cross Country Series presented by SpecBolt , and Round 1 of the District 36 – Motion Pro Youth Cross Country Championship Series presented by Honda, Kawasaki, KTM of Modesto. 

Beat the Rush at the race to get entered  Enter now online

Stuff To Know……….

You MUST have:

• Current AMA Membership Card**
• Current District 36 Membership Card** (only if you’re racing for District 36 points)
• Scoring transponder compatible with D36 scoring equipment (available at signups)
• USFS approved spark arrestor
• Correct number plate and number-letter colors for your class on front and side plates
• Correct numbers and letter sizes required (see D36 Operations Manual Section 3.2.2 for youth and section 6.14 thru 6.17.2 for adults)
• Riding numbers on both sides of Helmet below the helmet strap.

AMA and District 36 Rules apply

Racing starts at:  8 am on Saturday and 8 am on Sunday

See flyer for more details

Pre-Enter Online

PCGP Flyer

Map to the PCGP

 

 

✪ Please support our sponsors that support you ✪

D36 can be proud of its ongoing partnership with other OHV organizations in defense of OHV permitted events.

“A nice Christmas present for D36 members.

— Don Amador, Govt. Affairs, AMA D36

MEDIA RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   Contact: Paul Turcke Phone: (208) 331-1800 Date: December 20, 2018 RENO, NV (December 20, 2018) — Recreational organizations today filed a lawsuit challenging restrictions on permits for motorcycle and other vehicle events within the range of the Bi State sage grouse. The grouse is a “distinct population segment” within the larger range of the Greater sage grouse, an iconic bird of the high desert lately distinguished by high controversy over its status and continuing management.   The lawsuit focuses on changes made by the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest as part of a settlement with special interest led by the Center for Biological Diversity. Under the settlement, the Forest Service agreed that motorcycle or other off-road vehicle events would not be authorized on routes passing within 4 miles of grouse breeding sites at any time of day between March 1 and June 30. The lands affected by the event stipulations are in extreme northeastern California and northwestern Nevada. The Plaintiffs in the lawsuit are the Sierra Trail Dogs Motorcycle and Recreation Club, the Pine Nut Mountains Trails Association, the American Motorcyclist Association District 36, California Four Wheel Drive Association and the BlueRibbon Coalition. “Riding on existing dirt roads and single-track trails was acknowledged to be no more than a tertiary threat to grouse, even during the height of Obama ‘Grouseketeer’ planning,” observed Jim Fulling, planner for the Trail Dog’s annual Mystery 250 motorcycle event. “The Forest’s initial plan would have imposed 3 mile buffers around grouse breeding grounds between March 1 and May 15 prior to 10 a.m., when there was at least a rational possibility that birds were on the leks. We would have lived with those requirements, but the Forest sadly caved to the arbitrary restrictions demanded by deep-pocketed preservationists with a proclivity toward litigation. We may be a peashooter to their bazooka, but we see little option but to enter this fray,” Fulling concluded. The case was filed in the U.S. District of Nevada, Reno Division. The recreational plaintiffs are represented by Paul Turcke of Boise, Idaho, and John Boyden of Reno, Nevada. A copy of the complaint can be viewed here. ### The Pine Nut Mountains Trails Association – PNMTA – is a non-profit organization that formed in 1998 in response to threat of losing access to our public lands in the Carson Valley. The PNMTA is represents all types of recreational users.  Our members include bicyclists, OHV users, Equestrians, Hunters, and any person that is interested in preserving public lands. http://pnmta.org/ District 36   Motorcycle Sports Committee, Inc. An American Motorcyclist Association Recognized and Chartered District Organization Founded in 1955 District 36 is a volunteer-based non-profit organization of motorcyclists and like-minded enthusiasts who organize and enhance responsible family recreation and exercise environmental conservation for the purpose of promoting today’s activities and protecting our sport for the future. https://ama-d36.org/ California Four Wheel Drive Association, Inc. Since 1959, our non-profit organization has actively promoted the advancement of vehicle oriented outdoor recreation. Today, the association represents over 8,000 members and 160 member clubs. We are the largest organization of this type in California and represent owners of all makes and models of 4WD vehicles, as well as non-owners who support responsible vehicle-oriented recreation. https://cal4wheel.com/ Sharetrails/BlueRibbon Coalition (BRC) is a national non-profit organization that champions responsible recreation and encourages a strong conservation ethic and individual stewardship, while providing leadership in efforts to keep outdoor recreation alive and well — all sports; all trails. With members in all 50 states, Sharetrails/BRC is focused on building enthusiast involvement with organizational efforts through membership, outreach, education and collaboration among recreationists. – http://sharetrails.org.

 

Below is a letter to the California Air Resources Board Sent by Don Amador, District 36 Government Affairs Representative and President of Quiet Warrior Racing/Consulting.  If you like to ride, this is a must read to see what the Air Resources Board’s proposed regulations can do to thwart OHV’s.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Scott Monday
Staff Air Pollution Specialist
California Air Resources Board

RE: Red Sticker Proposal Workshop

Dear Mr. Monday:

Please accept my comments on behalf of AMA District 36 (D36) in regards to proposals from the California Air Resources Board (ARB) Red Sticker Program that were presented on October 23, 2018 in El Monte, California. This document shall not supplant the rights of other D36 agents and organizational or individual members from submitting their own comments and the agency should consider and appropriately respond to all comments received.

I have over 28 years of experience in recreation management which includes serving on the California Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Commission, CA OHV Stakeholders group, CA OHV Sound Working group, AMA National Sound Working Group, and Senior Policy Advisor for the BlueRibbon Coalition.

I currently serve as President of Quiet Warrior Racing/Consulting, Government Affairs Representative for AMA District 36, Core-Team Lead for FireScape Mendocino, and President of the Post Wildfire OHV Recovery Alliance.

I appreciate ARB’s collaborative efforts over the last 5 years to engage the OHV community, OHMVR Division, Industry, OHV Dealers, and other related stakeholders in this rulemaking process.

OVERVIEW

The presentation and subsequent comments made by attendees at the meeting on October 23 reminded me of an earlier and well intentioned (late 2000s-era) health-related regulatory effort by the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) that resulted in a functional ban of youth off-road motorcycles and ATVs.

The CPSC based their “ead ban” initiative on what finally was acknowledged by the agency as poor or inaccurate data and assumptions. The fiscal impacts and resultant functional ban of youth OHVs kicked- off a national firestorm of opposition from parents, OHV dealers, and recreation organizations.

In fact, Malcolm Smith, an internationally recognized off-road racer and member of the Motorcycle Hall of Fame, hosted a media event at Malcolm Smith Motorsports to highlight the unjust nature of the CPSC regulation.

Finally, it took a bipartisan legislative effort in Congress to correct that ill-advised and unwarranted regulation. That legislation was signed into law by President Obama in 2011.

Unfortunately, the youth OHV marketplace never fully recovered from that debacle and its affects are still being felt today.

Further, the perception of well intentioned but ill-informed governmental actions can have long standing negative effect upon the acceptance of cooperation between users , manufacturers, and public agencies.

DISCUSSION

I strongly believe ARB continues to rely on inaccurate assumptions upon which it proposes a regulatory structure to “solve” the Red Sticker issue. Here are a few of my remaining post-meeting concerns if the current proposals are enacted.

* Unrealistic timeline for model certification and related implementation

* Riding a 2021 or later model year Red Sticker (vehicle) on public lands in CA on public lands will be prohibited

* Race bikes will not be able to practice on public lands

* Racers will have to sell their race bike to out-of-state buyers. If race bikes do not have a VIN number they may not be sellable, insurable, financeable, or trackable, and NOT legal for competition as sporting regulations often require VINs, proof of ownership and registration

* Dealers will have to divine selling red sticker bikes to customers who think they can ride them anyplace

* High performance Youth models would most likely disappear with NO suitable replacement currently available, NO youth or adult sporting regulations that currently allow e-vehicles in non- professional race series, and NO youth Trailbike classes exist for closed course Motocross style events

* End of off-road/trail oriented 2-Strokes

* Prolonged regulatory application processes will make it impossible for companies to certify compliant replacement products. Often these products are minimal CA volume, specific application products.

* Every replacement part application needs cost prohibitive testing, not just the design and it must have a long warranty and then the record keeping of failures and individual component registration become a paperwork nightmare if a manufacturer does go thru the certification process

* Prolonged regulatory process for motorcycle aftermarket components to be approved

* Unwarranted and unenforceable regulatory burden for state and federal law enforcement officers. Often FS/BLM law enforcement officials have up to a million acres – PER FIELD OFFICER – to patrol by themselves

* E-Vehicles cannot be effectively recharged in ANY State or Federal OHV area

RECOMMENDATION

“Lessons learned” from the ill-fated CPSC regulatory process strongly suggests that ARB should consider empowering a substantive collaborative process that includes representatives from the OEMs, aftermarket, dealers, state/federal land managers, law enforcement, and OHV organizations.

A similar collaborative process (CA OHV Sound Stakeholder Group) resulted in passage of the CA 96dBA Sound Law in 2003.

Results from a collaborative ARB/OHV stakeholder process could result in an amended proposal or alternative that is realistic, enforceable, and does not place an undue burden on riders, dealers, land agencies, and the industry.

I urge ARB to continue on its path of inclusion so that a final rule will reflect real “on-the-ground” usage patterns, related data, and factual emission impacts to the environment.

D36 looks forward to its continued involvement in this planning process.

Respectfully submitted,

Don Amador
Government Affairs
AMA District 36