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

 

 

 

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

 

 

Political Earthquake in MT Rocks 2014 Political Landscape

A 9.0 political earthquake rocked the national electoral landscape yesterday when MT Governor, Brian Schweitzer, announced he would not run in 2014 to replace Senator Max Caucus who is retiring from the U.S. Senate.

 

The Red/Blue State Map had not felt such a violent force since the 2010 elections when Chip Cravaack unseated Jim Oberstar (MN-CD8).

 

TPAC believes the departure of Schweitzer from the MT senate race assures that contest will be one of the most intensely watched races in 2014.  It also increases the odds for a pro-trail and pro-regulatory reform majority to take control of the U.S. Senate in the 2014 midterms.

 

TPAC will also be monitoring KEY senate contests in Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Dakota, and West Virginia.  We plan to be actively engaged in most, if not all, of those races.

 

Be assured our political opponents will be out there in 2014 smearing any of our candidates who want to champion common sense regulatory reforms that impact our recreational activities on lands managed by the Forest Service, BLM, and National Park Service.  In 2012, TPAC supported senate candidate, Denny Rehberg, was narrowly defeated by Jon (I love closure legislation) Tester.   If grassroots trail voters had been more engaged, TPAC believes our pro-trail candidate would have won.

 

TPAC was created to give OHV enthusiasts a seat at the federal political table.  By nationalizing our efforts, trail voters in congressional districts or senate races where it is almost impossible to unseat the anti-OHV incumbent, can still impact the 2014 midterms by helping TPAC support races where our candidate has a better chance of winning.    

 

DONATE $25, $50, $100, $200, $500 - $5,000 TO HELP TPAC SEND PRO-TRAIL CANDIDATES TO THE U.S. SENATE

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

Thanks for being engaged in the 2014 midterms.

 

Don Amador, Founder

The Trail PAC
www.thetrailpac.com

 

 

 

 

THANK YOU! - OHV Growing Factor in D.C. Political Landscape

Dear Trail Voter,

              

The Trail PAC wants to thank the donors who participated in our 1-day "Be a Trail Hero" fundraiser to help restock our political war chest for the 2014 midterm elections.

 

TPAC is excited about the opportunity for summer motorized trail enthusiasts to support pro-trail candidates regardless of party affiliation in the upcoming election.   With your continued financial support, TPAC will also work hard to send additional pro-trail candidates to the House and Senate. Those new Members of Congress will help support the ongoing work of pro-trail politicians already there.

 

* Some of those members have an OHV racing background and/or currently ride OHVs or dual-sport motorcycles as their preferred forms of recreation.

 

That aforementioned work includes holding oversight hearings on excessive cost-recovery fees for OHV permitted events, streamlining of the NEPA process for OHV-related projects, tort reform, and new 21st Century legislation that gives long-term statutory protection for motorized recreation on public lands.

 

With your support in the 2014 midterms, TPAC will continue to be the counterweight for our targeted pro-trail candidates against the anti-access political machine of the League of Conservation Voters, Earth Justice, Earth First!, and the Sierra Club.

 

Thanks again to the following trail voters who supported this fundraiser.  

 

Trail Champion - $200 to $499

 

John - Lakeside, CA

Jerry - Oakdale, CA
Kane - Soquel, CA

 

 

Trail Advocate - $100 - $199

 

Kirk - San Ramon, CA

Jesse - Fallon, NV

Clark - Pocatello, ID

Tony - Bayside, CA

Karl - Crescent City, CA
Scott - Murrieta, CA
Jody - North Bend, OR
Paul - Santa Clara, CA

 

 

 

Trail Supporter - $25 - $99

 

Scott - Saint David, AZ

Scott - Mount Shasta, CA

Thomas - Oakley, CA

Dick - Rancho Cucamonga, CA

Greg - Saint David, AZ
Don - Fountain Hills, AZ
Erik - Hayward, CA
Eric - San Rafael, CA
Geoff - Concord, CA
Lance - Florence, OR
Barbara - Florence, OR
Scott - Longmont, CO
Bruce - Madison, SD

 

 

For those who missed out on this fundraiser and want to donate anyway, please go to the link below and donate from $10 - $5K.  Be sure and fill out the donor qualification as well.

 

Donate Here

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

 

 

Thanks again for donating to our kickoff of the 2014 midterm election cycle!

 

 

Don Amador, Founder

The Trail PAC

www.thetrailpac.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

REI CEO to Head Department of Interior

TPAC wants to share this "trail news" regarding President Obama's recent naming of Sally Jewell as the Secretary of the Interior.

 

Sally Jewell has been associated with two very active anti-OHV entities. Those include the National Park Conservation Association (NPCA) where she has served as a board member since 2004 and REI where she serves as their CEO.

 

The NPCA has been very active in the legal arena where they have filed at least one lawsuit to ban or severely restrict ATV use at Big Cypress National Preserve in Florida.

 

REI has corporately aligned itself with the non-motorized Wilderness agenda of groups such as the Sierra Club, the Wilderness Society, and the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. Like NPCA, those groups are actively engaged in lawsuits to ban or restrict OHV recreation on public lands.  

 

However last summer, Jewell as part of an outdoor industry coalition - which included representatives from the powersports industry - helped launch the Western Governor's Association's report on the economic impact of outdoor recreation.

 

June 2012 Recreation Report News Release (link to study included in Release)

http://www.westgov.org/news/261-news-2012/401-outdoor-recreation-a-646-billion-industry

 

 

TPAC will be watching the senate confirmation hearings to see if she indicates a willingness to continue working in a collaborative manner with both motorized and non-motorized recreationists or if she will use her new position to support the anti-OHV agenda of the groups she has been associated with.
 

Best regards,

 

Don

 

The TrailPAC

www.thetrailpac.com
 

Timber, Trails, and Election 2012 - Keep OHV Off ESA List

With just four weeks left in this election cycle before Nov. 6, TPAC and trail voters are entering a critical phase in our effort to elect a pro-trail and pro-EPA reform majority to the U.S. Senate and to keep our access majority in the House. 

As you know the pro-trail majority in the House of Representatives has worked hard on our behalf.  However, the anti-access majority in the U.S. Senate has stymied efforts by pro-access Senators to hold the White House, regulators, and land-agencies accountable on issues such as Forest Service Travel Management, Presidential National Monument Designations, OHV event cost-recovery reform, EPA’s politically motivated anti-OHV regulatory agenda, and taxpayer-funded environmental lawsuits.

Several decades ago, the green lobby decided to put the timber industry out-of-business on federal lands. To successfully accomplish that goal they helped elect their candidates to Congress and the White House.  Today, the federal timber program has functionally gone extinct.

Those same groups now have painted a political target on the back of the OHV community and are using the political and judicial process to accomplish a similar goal.   Our fate does not have to be the same as federal timber operators. We have the power in this election to change the political structure in Washington D.C. 

 

Your support is already making a difference.  Our 7 targeted key Senate candidates and 5 targeted key House races know that off-roaders are supporting and defending them as they battle their League of Conservation Voters or CREDO SuperPAC-supported opponents.

 

New polling data has come in which shows the FL, OH, and Connecticut senate races have become virtual ties and are contests that TPAC should be getting into.  Remember, trail voters need a net gain of four senate seats (3 senate seats if Romney/Ryan win) to achieve our goal of electing a pro-access majority to that body.

 

This week is fish or cut bait time for trail voters in Election 2012.  TPAC and our team of political analysts will be reviewing new polling data and races nationwide this week so that our fiscal resources can be directed to campaigns where those funds will have the most impact. 

 

Federal election law allows you to donate up to $5,000 dollars to TPAC to help our effort.  Don’t sit on the sidelines in this election – it’s too important.  Don’t expect other trail voters to carry the load by themselves.  Join with us in this effort to promote and protect responsible OHV recreation on public and private lands via the electoral process.

 

DONATE $25, $50, $100, $250, $500, up to $5000 TO KEEP OHV OFF THE ENDANGERED SPECIES LIST

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

 

 

Thanks for your continued support!

 

Don Amador, Founder

The Trail PAC
www.thetrailpac.com

 

Pro-Trail House Whip Endorses Romney

TPAC believes Congressman Kevin McCarthy’s recent endorsement of Mitt Romney could elevate public land access issues in Presidential politics for the 2012 election.

McCarthy’s Endorsement of Mitt Romney

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2012/03/26/2005773/kevin-mccarthy-endorses-mitt-romney.html

California Congressman Kevin McCarthy and other pro-trail legislators in the House are promoting the Wilderness and Roadless Area Release Act.  That bill would basically invalidate the 2001 Clinton/Gore Roadless Rule.

As you know, McCarthy’s bill, along with other pro-trail House legislation, is DOA in the Senate under the current leadership.  TPAC is working hard this election cycle to support key senate candidates so pro-trail legislation can be voted on in that chamber.

TPAC is already supporting pro-access senate candidate champions in NV, MT, and VA.  With your continued support we can direct important resources to other key senate races in AZ, NM, UT, WI, MI, etc.

Donate $25, $50, $100, $250 up to $5,000 today at:

http://thetrailpac.com/donate.html

Thanks in advance for your continued support!

Don Amador

The TrailPAC

www.thetrailpac.com