Shutdown on San Diego Radio Show - Get in the Game, Arbitrary Closures, and Deal on Wed?

As Congress and the White House continue to battle over a resolution to the government shutdown, TPAC believes they will come to a short-term resolution (sometime on Wednesday).  Political pressure continues to mount from a public that is disgusted with the whole mess including families who have had to cancel vacations to lands managed by the FS, BLM, or NPS.

 

The San Diego-based Bike Week Radio interviewed me on October 13, 2013 regarding the shutdown’s impact to OHV recreation.   The show is hosted by icons of the motorcycle industry and having them set aside some time to discuss off-road politics highlights just how much of an impact this closure is having on the recreation electorate.

 

If you have time, TPAC encourages you to listen to the show as the following topics were discussed: arbitrary nature of closures, casual users impacted, lack of closure-related information from agencies, permitted events and volunteer cleanups cancelled or postponed, impacts also to non-motorized user groups, need for Congress to reform the Anti-Deficiency Act, and importance of OHV voters to get involved in the 2014 midterm election.

 

Don Amador Bike Week Radio (Show # 70) interview is from 27:51 – 35:03

http://www.bikeweekradioshow.com/sounds/BWRSwk70.html
 

For those of you who are new supporters of TPAC, we will include a link from a Cycle News article about why OHV recreationists need to “Get into the Game.”

 

Cycle News “Get into the Game” Article

 http://cyclenews.coverleaf.com/cyclenews/20111115#pg19

  

As we stated in the interview, the 2014 midterm elections are coming up next year and TPAC plans to continue our efforts to elect pro-trail candidates to the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.   If the shutdown cancelled your trip to an OHV event or impacted a family camping trip, feel free to make a “protest” donation to our 2014 midterm effort.

 

TPAC – Here is my “Protest” Donation

http://www.thetrailpac.com/donate.html

 

Thanks again for being engaged in the political process.

 

Don

 

Don Amador, Founder

The Trail PAC
www.thetrailpac.com







                                                __________________________________

Paid for and Authorized by The Trail PAC

 

 

 

White House Orders Closure of Privately Managed Parks

Gate Closed at OR Dunes NRA

 

The White House has validated TPAC’s motto that… “All Trail Decisions are Political Decisions” by issuing a precedent setting order directing federal agencies to close all parks that are managed by private management firms including the Arizona-based Recreation Resource Management Company.

Historically, these user-pay/user-benefit privately managed federal units have stayed open during government shutdowns including the 3 week shutdown in 1995.

Included below is an October 2, 2013 letter to Congress written by Recreation Resource Management’s owner, Warren Meyer.

 

October 2, 2013

 

Senator John McCain

Senator Jeff Flake

Representative David Schweikert

 

Help! Administration Orders Shut Down of Privately-Operated Parks in National Forest

Parks that require no Federal money, and actually pay rent to the Treasury, are being required to close

Sirs:

 

My company, based in North Phoenix, operates over 100 US Forest Service campgrounds and day use areas under concession contract. Yesterday, as in all past government shutdowns, the Department of Agriculture and US Forest Service confirmed we would stay open during the government shutdown. This makes total sense, since our operations are self-sufficient (we are fully funded by user fees at the gate), we get no federal funds, we employ no government workers on these sites, and we actually pay rent into the Treasury.

 

However, today, we have been told by senior member of the US Forest Service and Department of Agriculture that people “above the department”, which I presume means the White House, plan to order the Forest Service to needlessly and illegally close all private operations. I can only assume their intention is to artificially increase the cost of the shutdown as some sort of political ploy.

 

The point of the shutdown is to close non-essential operations that require Federal money and manpower to stay open. So why is the White House closing private operations that require no government money to keep open and actually pay a percentage of their gate revenues back to the Treasury? We are a tenant of the US Forest Service, and a tenant does not have to close his business just because his landlord goes on a vacation.

 

I urge you to help stop the Administration from lawlessly taking arbitrary and illegal actions to artificially worsen the shutdown by hurting innocent hikers and campers. I am not asking you to restore any funding, because no funding is required to keep these operations open. I am asking that the Administration be required to only close government services that actually require budget resources.

 

Sincerely,

Warren Meyer

 

 

In additions, confusion continues to plague the public since the Antideficiency Act, passed by Congress in 1870, prohibits the government from incurring any monetary obligation for which the Congress has not appropriated funds.   This precludes FS and BLM recreation staff from disseminating closure-related information to the public.

 

The Government Accountability Office states that employees who violate the Antideficiency Act may be subject to disciplinary action, suspension and even "fines, imprisonment, or both."

 

As hunters, off-roaders, fishermen, equestrians, and mountain-bikers prepare for this weekend’s adventure on federal lands, they can rest assured that closure signs await their arrival at many Forest Service, NPS, and BLM campgrounds, staging areas, and trailheads.

Govt. Shutdown - OHV Caught in DC Political Fight

TPAC Founder, Don Amador, at OR Dunes NRA 

This area is reported as being closed by the shutdown

Dear OHV Voter,

Throughout the West, federal land managers are announcing OHV related closures today in response to the government shutdown.

 

There does not appear to be any consistency between agencies and units on what recreation facilities and trails will be open.  

 

For example, the Cleveland National Forest in Southern California has closed the Corral Canyon OHV Area.  In Northern California, it appears the BLM's Ukiah Field Office will close the entrance gates to the South Cow Mountain OHV Recreation Area. 

 

Closure Sign at FS Staging Area at OR Dunes

*Photo thanks to Save the Riders Dunes

 

 

On the other hand in Colorado, it looks like public land trails on the White River National Forest and the BLM's Colorado River Valley Field Office will be open.

 

TPAC believes that Congress is acutely aware of the shutdown's impact to recreation activities via the House's introduction of a bill today to fund the National Park Service during the shutdown.

 

TPAC also believes the long lasting impact of the shutdown on multiple-use recreation is logarithmically related to the length of the impasse.

 

This is a massive political battle between opposing ideologies and public land recreation is but a small player on the scene.   TPAC urges recreationists to be advised their recreational experience may be severely impacted by the shutdown.

 

Best regards,

 

Don

 

Don Amador, Founder

The TrailPAC

www.thetrailpac.com