Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

Five OHV parks in California; agency wants user input By Gene Cone Department of Parks and Recreation The State of California has five vehicle recreation areas in opera tion, under construction , or in the acquisition process. TheDepart me:lt of Parks and Recr eation , whic h operates th ese state- owned facil it ies and provides grants fo r facilities operated by local agencies. wants to establish better cornrnu nication with off-highway veh icle owners - the people who pr ovide the money - to build and op era te th ese facilities by payment of registration fees , gas taxes, fines and forfeitures , a nd entry fees at the vehicular recreation areas. The five stale facilities are Hollister Hills , Pismo D unes . and O co tillo We lls SVRAs and the H ungry Valley and Carnegie projects. Hollister Hills SVRA. located eight miles south of Holl ister. contains 3,084 acres. It has 100 miles of trails which primarily serve motorcycles. Arrangements for 4-wheel drive, dune buggy , and motorcycle group use may be made by reservation . One hundred primitive camping sites are in the recreation area. Octoillo Wells SVRA is in San Diego County. More than 12,000 acres have been acquired . Much of this area is available for open use . However, there are trails, and there is a large, steep hill of blow sand. Psimo Dunes SVRA includes 840 acres presently acquired and in use . Thousands of dune buggies use this facility annually . The state is acquiring more than 1.000 additional acres for recreational use and about 650 acres of leased land which will be preserved as a buffer between an existing industrialized area and the active d unes used for OHV recreation . Developmen t of th e area with muchneeded overflow camping and day-use facilities off the beach , including 200 primitive campsites and a 100-ca r dayuse area , is tentatively scheduled for completion of cons truct ion in 1981. The combined a cq u isition and development costs of this addition will be about $6 m ill ion , and annu al operating cos ts will be about $250 ,000 . The Hungry Valley project in Los Angeles County. slated to be acquired at a total cost of about $14 mill ion , offers an excellent 15.000-acre site for an off-highway vehicle park where there is no existing facility of this size to meet th e needs of large numbers of recreationists. It is located near th e town of Gorman adjacent to Interstate 5. about one-half hour driving time from Los Angeles on the Ventura County line. The Carnegie Cycle Park project is located in Alameda and San J oaquin counties in the backcountry between Livermore and Isabel Valley in the lower elevations of the mountains that include Mt. Hamilton. Cost of acquisition and development at this 1.500-acre facility is estimated at $1.5 mill ion . The Department expects to open Carnegie in the fall of 1980 at the earliest. O nly th e acquisition plan has been approved at this time. Sta te Pa r k System projects and grants to local agencies have used all the money available from the OffHighway Vehicle Fund on a fairl y current basis . Almost $17.5 million has been appropriated in the years since the program started in 1972. Income this fiscal year is estimated at a bou t $15 million. The Department is very interested in hearing from veh icle users as to wh at should be done with these monies. The major cost of any State . Park System pr oject is land acquisition off-highway vehicl e p rojects re q ui re thousands of acres of lan d . Howev er. some off-high way vehicle mon ies may be used for facilities in National For est Service or Bu rea u of Land Management lands in the fu tu re, if joint sta te/federal projects ca n be esta blishe d . In this way, for relatively small COSt. t he public woul d have recreat ion op p ort u n ities increased . The high first cost of land acquisition would be avoided . The Department of Parks and Recreation, which is c ha rge d with planning OHV facilities , has identified federal lands where , for expenditures for facility im p rovement, maintenance. and repair oftrails only, OHV use areas could be established or enhanced. The Depa rtm ent is also planning to work int ensively on a p roposal that trans -California off-highway vehicle trails be established . Many people have expressed the need for trails from Mexico to Canada and from the ocean ' to t he Nevada /Arizona li ne. The Department of Parks and Recrea tion is proposing to study this possibility nex t year. Historically, the Department has felt a problem exists in communi cating to users of off-highway veh icles what the Department is doing in their behalf. We have heard complaints about the registrat ion program with its fees, land closures, conformance with procedures (such as .filing for events on public lands), increased demands for air pollution and sound level controls . helmet laws . and environmental concerns. What was once a relatively un conrolled activity now has all kinds of cont rols. We realize that there are problems, and that each person has a slightly different experience with those problems. The Depa rtm e n t of Pa rks and Recrea tion has been trying to provide . for the users through a program which will provide faci lities for the users, both state-opera ted faci lities and others acquired and operated by local agencies through state grants. . The enforcement ' role of the Department exists only within units of the State Park System . The Department does not and will not in the future provide enforcem ent of OHV registration law on a statewid e bas is other than within our own units. Howev er. an enforcement problem regarding OHV registration does exist . Registration is a key to success of th e entire program . . It is estimated that onl y one out of five vehicles subject to registration fees is registered. Something will have to be done. out of fairness to all users , to bring about compliance with the registration program . As increased enforcement takes place, availability of facilities will im prove. Communication is a two-way thing. The Department wants to get its message to the users, but it wants also to hear from the users . so we can learn from them. We are particularly int erested in things over which we have control : the State Park System and grants to local agencies. We cannot dea l effectively with complaints aga inst city, county or federa l actions. However , we sometimes can contact another ag ency on behalf of users. Off-highway vehicle users who hav e a com plain t. suggestion. or question may write to OHV Coordinator. P.O . Box 2390 , Sacramento. CA 95811. Your letter will be considered , appreciated , a nd answered . • (DeE PREP NO.5: ~ ; = U /' ~;- ... r ~ . . - ~ . .' - :1 _ . - ___ ... -:---...~ .: - -, _ - ~ -. , I -_ t -:........ -' I r: "' \ I" /: \~ "--/ '\ \ YOU WANT A HIGH V.I. FORK OIL I know tha t lubri-Tech High V.1. Fork O il ma inta ins for k perfo rma nce for longer thon ordinary fork oils. Hey. lubri-Tech invented fork oil for motorcycles almost ten years a go and they have kept up with the sport. Their higher viscosity index (V.I.) means that their oil reta ins consistent thickness through a broader range of temperatures. TREAT YOUR FORKSRIGHT I don 't take chances with my suspension. You ha ven 't been rac ing in the dirt very long if you do n't . inspect your forks regularly. Iffo rks a re leaking , the' seals are probably shot .. . and it might be caused by the oil you 're using.lubri-Tech keeps seals from dr ying out or swelling. Some other fo rk oils actually cause a swelling of the seals . I do n't want that, you don 't, and certa inly no manufacturer of quality for ks recommends d istorting the sea ls. "DIAL IN" A WINNINGFEEL If yo u know your bike like I do , you can play a round with va rious we ights of lu bri-Tech High V.1. Fork O il to ge t the feel a nd response you want. Blend lubri-Tech oils to get the viscosity yo u know you can win with. Chonge fork oil weight as trock cond itions requi re. But, remember to care for your forks. When I follow the lubri-Tech 12 step race prep and use lubri-Tech qua lity products , it reminds me to have my bike ree dy when it's time to race. When you're your own tuner , you need 011 the help you con get. the Serious No. 1 Always follow the recommendations of motorcycle and equ ipment mcnufccterers. Always use lu bri-Tech lubrica nts and perform ance che mical s as recommended. lubr i-Tech Products,, 1251 N . Kilborne R Gurnee ,ll60031. d., . 5

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