John Galbreath Jr.
38 Special & Solo Buggy
- Joined
- May 24, 2007
- Messages
- 8,613
- Reaction score
- 3
This is a recap for those of you who may not have been able to make it. Please disseminate this information to your club members ASAP!
SFWDA 1st Quarter Meeting - Recap
The 1st quarter meeting for the Southern Four Wheel Drive Association (SFWDA) was held in Sparta, TN this past weekend at Golden Mountain OHV park.
As you might imagine, the meeting focused on the fight we have on our hands in trying to rescue the Upper Tellico OHV trails.
The 1st quarter meeting is usually an election of officers meeting but this year that was postponed until the 2nd quarter meeting so that we could use all our time on the Rescue Tellico (RT) effort.
The meeting room was packed with around 100 people. Most of the representation came from the TN, GA and ALA clubs. As far as I know I was the only attendee from NC
After a brief overview of the history of the Upper Tellico OHV area, President Gary Parsons turned the meeting over to past President Jay Bird, the current head of the Resuce Tellico Committee.
Jay gave us the details of the Forest Service (FS) EA meeting last Friday, 2-27-09, and then briefed us on the RT Coalition battle plan for the next three weeks. (The first week of our 4 week comment period has already passed!)
The Forest Service is focusing on two points in their decision to close the trails at Tellico. #1, the FS contends that their science, turbidity testing, shows that the streams and rivers of the Upper Tellico OHV area fail North Carolina Department Of Water Quality (NCDWQ) standards. #2, The calculated miles of trails per square mile of area, trail density, exceed the Forest Service Management Plan specifications for trail density.
Based on the FS data on these two issues we have no leg to stand on. However, the SFWDA initiated study conducted by Caliber Engineering of Atlanta, GA as well as a 2007 FS initiated study done by the FS's own Trails Unlimited tell an entirely different story!
Jay likened our effort to a 4x4 vehicle's attempt to conquer an obstacle on the trail. The rig needs all four wheels pulling together to make it to the top. Our effort has four wheels as well. SFWDA, the United Four Wheel Drive Association (UFWDA), the Blue Ribbon Coalition (BRC) and YOU! Without all four wheels pulling together we probably won't succeed!
SFWDA is mobilizing individuals in a phone and letter campaign as well as funding the scientific studies and lawyers for our fight. UFWDA brings is own cadre of legal experts and it's worldwide prescence and BRC brings it's legal expertise and political contacts. The fourth wheel is YOU, and your job is to contact your elected officials, especially U.S. Senators and Congressmen, and the U.S. Forest Service.
At the end of the meeting we all participated in Ten Minutes For Tellico, an idea by one of the Rock City Rockcrawlers, where clubs or organizations spend 10 minutes during a meeting writing letters in support of keeping the trails open. Pencils, paper, and envelopes were provided and stamps were donated by RT committee member Dave Logan of Rock Solid 4x4 club.
With all of the official business done it was time to test out some of the trails at Golden Mountain. About half of the attendees brought their trail rigs and we split off to enjoy a beautiful afternoon in the central TN hills.
The 2nd quarter convention, meeting, election and ride, hosted by the Southeast Tennessee Land Cruiser Association (STLCA) is scheduled for June 12-14 at Crawford's Camp outside of the Tellico OHV area. Hope to see you there!
SFWDA 1st Quarter Meeting - Recap
The 1st quarter meeting for the Southern Four Wheel Drive Association (SFWDA) was held in Sparta, TN this past weekend at Golden Mountain OHV park.
As you might imagine, the meeting focused on the fight we have on our hands in trying to rescue the Upper Tellico OHV trails.
The 1st quarter meeting is usually an election of officers meeting but this year that was postponed until the 2nd quarter meeting so that we could use all our time on the Rescue Tellico (RT) effort.
The meeting room was packed with around 100 people. Most of the representation came from the TN, GA and ALA clubs. As far as I know I was the only attendee from NC
After a brief overview of the history of the Upper Tellico OHV area, President Gary Parsons turned the meeting over to past President Jay Bird, the current head of the Resuce Tellico Committee.
Jay gave us the details of the Forest Service (FS) EA meeting last Friday, 2-27-09, and then briefed us on the RT Coalition battle plan for the next three weeks. (The first week of our 4 week comment period has already passed!)
The Forest Service is focusing on two points in their decision to close the trails at Tellico. #1, the FS contends that their science, turbidity testing, shows that the streams and rivers of the Upper Tellico OHV area fail North Carolina Department Of Water Quality (NCDWQ) standards. #2, The calculated miles of trails per square mile of area, trail density, exceed the Forest Service Management Plan specifications for trail density.
Based on the FS data on these two issues we have no leg to stand on. However, the SFWDA initiated study conducted by Caliber Engineering of Atlanta, GA as well as a 2007 FS initiated study done by the FS's own Trails Unlimited tell an entirely different story!
Jay likened our effort to a 4x4 vehicle's attempt to conquer an obstacle on the trail. The rig needs all four wheels pulling together to make it to the top. Our effort has four wheels as well. SFWDA, the United Four Wheel Drive Association (UFWDA), the Blue Ribbon Coalition (BRC) and YOU! Without all four wheels pulling together we probably won't succeed!
SFWDA is mobilizing individuals in a phone and letter campaign as well as funding the scientific studies and lawyers for our fight. UFWDA brings is own cadre of legal experts and it's worldwide prescence and BRC brings it's legal expertise and political contacts. The fourth wheel is YOU, and your job is to contact your elected officials, especially U.S. Senators and Congressmen, and the U.S. Forest Service.
At the end of the meeting we all participated in Ten Minutes For Tellico, an idea by one of the Rock City Rockcrawlers, where clubs or organizations spend 10 minutes during a meeting writing letters in support of keeping the trails open. Pencils, paper, and envelopes were provided and stamps were donated by RT committee member Dave Logan of Rock Solid 4x4 club.
With all of the official business done it was time to test out some of the trails at Golden Mountain. About half of the attendees brought their trail rigs and we split off to enjoy a beautiful afternoon in the central TN hills.
The 2nd quarter convention, meeting, election and ride, hosted by the Southeast Tennessee Land Cruiser Association (STLCA) is scheduled for June 12-14 at Crawford's Camp outside of the Tellico OHV area. Hope to see you there!
