Carnegie expansion is under attack too!

[budman]

About Carnegie

Carnegie was originally a private motorcycle park. It was purchased by the state for $1.2 million in 1979, according to a Parks Department report.

The purchase was made with money from the Off Highway Vehicle Trust Fund. The OHV Trust fund obtain a large percentage of it $$$ from gasoline taxes and about 1/5th from off-highway vehicle registration fees.

The assembly is now proposing to cut that funding to a point where the system could be in major jeopardy within a couple of years. See more on that here:

Planned Carnegie Expansion
You can find the plans and info on this site.
http://carnegiegeneralplan.com/
There are links there where you can voice your opinion. I urge you to share your opinion there.

The basic story is the area purchased was to specifically expand the Carnegie Off Road Vehicle Area and the new "Nature Site Proposed for Carnegie Off-Road Vehicle Area" could stifle that even though the area has never been officially designated a nature area.


The Press in action
Here is an article that has link to voice your opinion as well. (thanks bluenoser!)

Off-Road Vehicle Park Proposed For Tesla Nature Site

The Patch has done a much better job in writing a non-biased article on this issue than the article below. :thumbup Let's flood the comments section with pro-moto replies! Share your positive experiences with Carnegie (or even riding in any other OHV areas), and help promote the sport!
It only takes a second to vote in their poll!

Here is a pretty biased article on the issue. The press can manipulate these things to suit there goals and that kind of journalism is a tool that the Government can latch onto to make justifications.
Group Moves to Protect Historical Site

Summary
Sharing the land resources in California and the Country is a difficult task for OHV users as we are commonly seen as abusers of these resources. The reality is by having specific locations to use that include protecting and restoring the land is a superior way to go about things for everyone.

For decades the OHV community did what they wanted and for the most part wherever. That has changed and the OHV users help keep other areas clear of that abuse, by registering their vehicles and using designated area appropriately. Further more the OHV gas tax revenues provide grants back to various agencies for restoration and enforcement to keep potential abusers out. The $$ grab of those funds will have an impact on that effort.

This website shows what we are facing.
http://www.teslapark.org/?author=3

Getting involved is our responsibility. The General Public is not going to help us!
If we don't we may not have places to ride in the future.

 

[budman]

http://carnegiegeneralplan.com/

They are looking for commentary.. please pop in and do so! :thumbup

 

[Lucky Jones]

Here's the latest:

News from Carnegie Forever, Inc. Board of Directors



You MUST HELP with the new Carnegie General Plan Comments Site

Here are two links to the OHV Division website that give us all a chance to communicate our ideas for the future of Carnegie. You must understand that the enemies of OHV will flood these sites with negative comments. We have to stand up and register our votes for the expansion. On site 1 there are only 6 items needing a comment (check the box stuff)- I did the survey in 3 minutes. Site 2 gives you a chance to make your personal thoughts known to the OHV Division.

Carnegie Forever has established a record for the number of our people who comment, email, and phone when needed, for major issues in OHV. The motorcycle leadership organizations and the OHV Division in Sacramento always call us to request help with generating support for our sport and facilities. We have set the bar and you can all be proud of your record, stamina and fortitude.

Log onto the sites below and start clicking!!!

http://www.carnegiegeneralplan.com/surveys/1/responses/new

http://www.carnegiegeneralplan.com/contact-us

The second link is a place to leave additional expanded comments – tell them your history and experience. The people doing this survey are not from our background.

NEWS FLASH

JUST IN - NEWS FLASH - $10,000,000.00 TAKEN/STOLEN FROM OHV “TRUST FUND”

http://thegeneralsrecreationden.blogspot.com/2012/05/dark-days-ahead-for-ca-ohv-program.html

More News

We sincerely appreciate your continued interest in Carnegie. We want to keep you updated with some of the major events of the past 4 months and a major event taking place right now.

Since the attempted closure of the park in 2009 a lot of progress has been made. The OHV Division is now aware of the impact that 13,000 www.CarnegieForever.org, site members have on outcomes related to “our park”. Being a non-profit corporation (501 c3) has given us professional standing when we are communicating with agencies and cycle leadership organizations.

Here is a series of actions we were involved with recently and sponsored:

February 24, 2012: Our board members attended a park tour that gave OHV Commission Members, local residents, cycle organizations and OHV officials a tour of Carnegie that highlighted park improvements. FYI – among the tour members were the plaintiffs in the lawsuit that tried to close the park. They were there to find out all they could to continue their never-ending campaign to harass and mitigate our OHV family recreation. Also, I’m amazed at the attention the Corral Hollow Creek receives. I’m not sure if the completely dry creek bed was noticed by anyone on the tour.

February 25, 2012: The OHV Commission finally had a meeting in our area. We had asked for this venue for the last three years. Besides the usual business of the commission, Carnegie Staff again gave a presentation. CF Inc, board members gave talks about the park in reply to the items on the agenda. A significant connection was made with the Executive Director of the California Water Boards (attending) who said we were welcome to have a meeting with them in the future regarding the Carnegie Water Management Plan. Attending the meeting were our adversaries, who will do anything to impede the growth of OHV recreation and expansion of our park. Their anger was displayed in a comment by a local rancher who said that the water problems at the park are a result of dirt bikes ONLY and that other areas nearby (including an EPA Super Fund Site) have no effect on water quality and erosion.


April 17, 2012: We sponsored a meeting with the Executive Director of the California Water Boards and her technical staff. Also invited and attending was AMA D36 President Dave Pickett, Don Amador of the BRC, Jerry Fouts our AMA Congressman, Phil Jenkins the OHV Division Chief and Carnegie Superintendent Joe Ramos and his key staff. Backing up our Carnegie regulars was Jonathan Bailey, a civil engineer who specializes in water management issues. He is helping us try to understand and solve the problems associated with the new water rules. His professional opinion about the lawsuit is a balancing factor with our common sense attitude about the creek. We now have the opportunity to continue meeting with the Water Boards to present our interests.

May 12, 2012: State Parks OHV Division made a public presentation (scoping meeting) at the Double Tree Inn in Livermore. The purpose of the meeting was to give park users and the general public an update on the development of a new Carnegie Master Plan. There was hardly any time to ask all but a few questions. Perhaps the plan was to delete this discourse. There were a series of tables set up in the conference room that gave details of the Division’s ideas. We were supposed to move from one table to another and make comments. I personally never had a chance since I was “collared” by two separate people from the “other side” who wanted to hear my ideas. I may have made a few conversions. I was sorry that the meeting could not hear from the people there on both sides – there was not even a concession made to have people seated during a brief talk about the evening by the moderator. Once again our local adversary rancher was attending with about 30 others against the park expansion. One of them angrily shouted out “not with my tax dollars you won’t expand”. I wish someone could have told him that the OHV system in CA is supported by a Trust Fund generated by the users and does not require any other tax revenue from the General Fund, etc.

With appreciation from,

Carnegie Forever, Inc. Board of Directors
Diane Tweedy, Mark Speed, Mark Martinez, Pete Krunich and Dave Duffin