NOHVCC Newsletter - January 2012 edition
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In this Issue:
Help shape the program for the International Trails Symposium
The American Trails International Trails Symposium (ITS) is being held at the Radisson on the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation near Fountain Hills, Mesa, and Scottsdale, Arizona in April 2013. The momentum in Arizona is already growing! We know that training and travel budgets are limited and want to make sure there will be content specific to what you need. Please take a few minutes to fill out this survey. Your answers will help shape the Symposium! Responses requested by February 3. Click here to take the survey...
Yamaha and Polaris Grants Fund Hundreds Of OHV Success Stories
by Dave Halsey, NOHVCC Contributing Writer
New trails, trailheads, kiosks, bridges, maps, signs and work vehicles. Enhanced safety training, law enforcement, lobbying efforts and access initiatives. The list of OHV-related projects and programs that have been funded with grants from Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. and Polaris Industries is long and commendable.
Over the past 6 years, Yamaha and Polaris have written grant checks totaling $3 million. They have funded over 270 OHV projects, in all 50 states, helping meet the needs of OHV clubs, coalitions and associations, as well as city, county, state and federal agencies.
Polaris introduced their grant program in 2006, Yamaha in 2008. The timing couldn’t have been better. Across the country, ATV registrations were increasing. Clubs were trying to maintain old trails and build new ones. Local, state and federal agencies were challenged to provide quality recreational opportunities for the growing numbers of riders. And OHV groups of all kinds were creating programs to promote safety and responsible riding, while at the same time rallying to save trails and preserve access as the U.S. Forests Service implemented its Travel Management Rule.
On their web sites, both Polaris and Yamaha state that the main objectives of their grants are promoting safe and responsible riding and preserving access. Those goals are reflected in the program titles.
The Polaris program is called T.R.A.I.L.S., 
an acronym that describes the projects it funds: T=Trail development, R=Responsible riding, A=Access, I=Initiatives, L=Lobbying, S=Safety. “Polaris created this program to give back to the people who are the heart and soul of this industry,” said Donna Beadle, Grants Administrator at Polaris. “We are thankful to those dedicated individuals who are creating, patrolling and maintaining trails, lobbying for the future of our sport and educating future generations to keep our industry safe and strong.”
Yamaha created an acronym to describe the purpose of its OHV Access Initiative. It provides GRANTs to deserving organizations to help further the program’s goal of Guaranteeing Responsible Access to our Nation’s Trails. “The money goes directly from Yamaha to the ground, to the clubs, agencies and associations,” said Steve Nessl, Yamaha ATV and SxS Marketing Manager. “We are proud of this program and of the people who have put the money to good use in their local areas.”
The amount of Polaris and Yamaha grants made available to organizations is based on OHV sales and changes annually. Polaris focuses its grants on projects and programs involving ATVs. It receives more grant requests than there are funds available, including many non-qualifying requests from fire and rescue groups. As stated on its web site, only those emergency services that are buying an ATV for the sole purpose of supporting an off-road area are considered.
Yamaha provides grants for ATV and motorcycle projects, and really likes to see proposals for multi-use areas. “Acess, trail renovation, trail creation, mapping, safety education, lobbying, there's a wide range of projects that we consider and fund” said Nessl.
By the way, if your OHV club publicly bashes other OHV vehicles with a different size or number of wheels, don’t bother applying for a grant. Yamaha does its research and will not fund your project.
Included with each check from Yamaha is a “Welcome Packet” designed to help grant recipients publicize their project. It includes marketing guidelines, a press release template, media alert/event notification template, and a letter to elected officials announcing the grant. “It’s a big packet of things to encourage them to publicize themselves,” Nessl said. “A core objective was to give them what they need to promote themselves and their project.”
Both companies receive a lot of positive responses from grant recipients. “There’s a lot of enthusiasm out there,” said Beadle. “We had one club that built this incredible bridge over a creek bed that was becoming eroded. One of the members was a bridge builder by trade and designed the whole thing. It was incredible workmanship.”
The Oregon Department of Forestry posted a YouTube video describing how they used a Yamaha grant to build bridges over fish-bearing streams. “This is a big deal for us, to have the money to put in these kinds of bridges,” said Larry Sprouse, Recreation Manager, on the video. “By putting in one bridge, we eliminated 3 or 4 crossings that were used in the past that were not beneficial to the stream course and riparian area.” To see the video, go to: http://youtu.be/CViKUzRY47s.
All the OHV issues listed at the top of this article continue today. After an economic downturn; lower budgets at all levels of government; and clubs with trails that still need saving, building or maintaining, the demand for outside funding is greater than ever. Polaris and Yamaha are glad to help.
“We want to encourage people to keep sending in qualified applications,” said Nessl.
“We see a lot of repeat applicants and that’s okay, but we’d like to see more new applications. We want to make sure people know about it and keep it in mind.”
For additional information, deadlines and application forms, visit these web sites:
Yamaha GRANT program
Polaris TRAILS program
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Idaho Creates Trailblazing OHV Mapping System
by Dave Halsey, NOHVCC Contributing Writer
Riding in Idaho this year? Need a map? After reading this article, go to www.trails.idaho.gov and you’ll have everything you need.
That’s the website for the Idaho Department of Parks & Recreation (IDPR) Trail Mapping system. Click the link and on your computer screen will be a mapping application showing motorized routes on U.S. Forest Service and BLM lands across the state, where you can legally ride your motorcycle, ATV, Side x Side, highway-legal 4x4 truck or car.
You can search for trails by the nearest city, by a trail name or number, or just zoom in and out of areas in search of a new place to ride. You can find trails that suit the motorized needs of your riding group and their mix of off-highway vehicles.
You can choose the kind of map you want to view: topographic, terrain, road or hybrid. Click on “Distance,” plot points A and B, and you can view the shortest route or alternate routes, complete with a list of motorized uses allowed and the on-the-ground distance.
You can print maps up to 22” x 44” in size, export maps to open in Google Earth and view them in 3D, or send them to your GPS. Want to ride to a scenic area, then do some hiking? Non-motorized trails are included. You can even get the weather forecast.
Jeff Cook, Outdoor Recreation Analyst in the Recreation Bureau of IDPR, created the mapping application to meet the needs of OHV riders. It was funded by Idaho OHV registration fees, launched in August of 2010, and updated in September of 2011. “About 5 years ago, our board kept hearing that nagging question: Where can I ride?” said Cook. “There was a broad variety of maps out there. At the same time, we had the U.S. Forest Service Motor Vehicle Use Rule; it had been implemented fairly quickly in Idaho. We saw copies of those maps and realized they were good to show what routes are available, but if you try and use them to go riding, on the ground they’re really not of any use.”
While the Forest Service Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM) 
is a poor navigational tool for OHV riders, it contains the data framework necessary to create OHV mapping systems. “We got this information from the National Forest. We’re showing the same thing that’s on their MVUM, with the addition of non-motorized trails,” said Cook. “And it’s not just black and white, it’s in full color, and you’re able to select through the various maps offered through Esri®. We’ve got a street map, a hybrid which is an aerial image service, we have a topographic, and a terrain map, which is more of a relief layer.
“It’s been a good cooperative effort between the BLM, the Forest Service and the Idaho state lands,” said Cook. “We generally get the data for free, but we had to buy a server and do software development and so forth; it was approximately $300,000.”
Trying to show all the Forest Service roads in Idaho, including those that are decommissioned, would have made the mapping system unreadable, so Cook included only those trails and roads that are open to motor vehicles.
The online mapping system may look confusing at first, but the more you work with it the more intuitive it becomes. “For myself, I really like the topographic map because it combines both the relief and topographic lines,” said Cook. “Depending on the zoom level, I use the general street map to reach the area I’m looking for, then zoom into the area where I want to go and ride. I then click on the topographic and it gives me a better view. It’s giving people the ability to design their trip to the recreational experience they want to have. All the comments we get are that it’s been an absolutely fantastic application.”
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Youth + Mentors + Dirt Bikes = NYPUM Success Story
by Dave Halsey, NOHVCC Contributing Writer
Boy Scouts, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Big Brothers Big Sisters. The U.S. is rich with organizations using mentoring programs that inspire and enable youth to realize their full potential. One that you may or may not know about adds riding dirt bikes to the mix, and has been working with kids since 1969.
The National Youth Project Using Minibikes (NYPUM) combines the incentive of riding minibikes for youth between the ages of 10 and 18, with the support through relationships that develop between participants and their mentors.
Speaking at the 2011 NOHVCC conference in Minneapolis, Mark Speller, Director of Program Development and Operations, said NYPUM is an opportunity for youth to develop self-esteem, strong values and a sense of responsibility. But that’s just the beginning.
“The magical part is with the relationship between the adult and the youth as they ride the dirt bikes together and go on trails, learning how to take care of the bike and the environment that they use,” said Speller. “These things are incredible motivational tools, and in many cases provide youth, both young men and women, with rapid development. We see evidence of that almost everyday when we go out and visit these programs.”
Based in Boston, NYPUM is administered by the Robert F. Kennedy Children’s Action Corp and supported by American Honda. Currently, there are 42 programs in 28 states, hosted by a wide variety of well-respected non-profit or municipal agencies, including YMCA chapters, church outreach programs, law enforcement agencies and residential treatment programs.
Speller reports that, in 2009, there were 1,200 kids participating. Of those, 87% had problematic behaviors. And of that group, 85% showed significant improvement in behavior after just 1 year in the program. “One of the most interesting things we see with kids in residential treatment, as they are the most often stigmatized, is that when they first kick over a bike they forget about what trouble they got into and focus completely on trying to understand what this thing is about,” said Speller. “Over time, they get into the habit of working with the adult and understanding what trail riding is about, and what a dirt bike does and that relationship with the bike, the environment and the adult.
“We see really incredibly rapid development in what you might call troubled kids. Truancy, disrespect, even some smaller crimes that kids get involved in, turn out to be the past once they get involved in this program.”
A key component to NYPUM's model is to create personal accountability in youth, who work toward improving riding skills while creating and achieving specific personal goals, guided and supported by their NYPUM mentor, parents or guardians, and teachers. These goals speak to each youth's unique challenges and help create opportunities for success. Youth also get involved in environmental and community service projects such as cleaning riding trails.
The beauty of NYPUM is in its simplicity, says Larry Brank, a 
National Program Consultant with NYPUM. “I’ve been working with kids and families for a long time. This is the most simple approach you can have with kids,” said Brank. “I think we tend to overanalyze kids. With something as simple as this dirt bike, you can imagine the kind of aura that this has with a kid who might be in trouble. And you tell that kid he’s going to get to do this program, and it helps him stay in school and stay out of trouble. It’s simple and it works. That’s why the program has been around for a long time.
“These kids are reaching out to us now on Facebook, years later, telling us that this program made them what they are today. I wish we had one in every state.”
For more information on this outstanding mentoring program, visit www.nypum.org.
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“Developing OHV Leaders of the Future - Fifth in a Series
by Dave Halsey, NOHVCC Contributing Writer
Across the country, clubs of all kinds that involve outdoor activities -- OHV riding, hunting, fishing, snowmobiling, hiking, camping -- are faced with a similar challenge: how to get more youth involved. OHV clubs that invest in youth programs are more apt to have that younger base of support when it’s needed.
We’d like to hear what your club is doing to develop and mentor the OHV leaders and volunteers of tomorrow who will be needed to carry on your work. Send us a note on the projects, programs and unique ideas your club uses to get kids, teens and young adults involved in your OHV club or organization. We’ll share them in this newsletter. Email them to trailhead@nohvcc.org.
“Safe Kids At Rock Run” Trains Youth To Handle OHV Emergencies
Two teenagers lay on the ground, motionless, near an ATV. A doctor kneels beside them as other kids gather around. A short distance away, a helicopter is standing by. The youths listen attentively as the doctor speaks to them...and instructs them on what to do if this had been an actual crash scene.
The teenagers and doctor were role playing. The mock accident was part of a unique OHV safety training event held last May at the Rock Run Recreation Area in Patton, Pennsylvania. It was called “Safe Kids at Rock Run: Emergency and First Aid Training Day.
Jackie Hockenberry, an ATV safety trainer at Rock Run, helped organize the event. She sees it as a step beyond ordinary OHV safety training, and something other trainers should consider adding to their courses. “There is a lot of ATV safety training, but training is lacking when it comes to helping kids know how to react in case of an accident,” said Hockenberry. “In this class, none of the kids had a clue how to read a map. I had one girl say to me, ‘I don’t need a map, I know where I ride.’ But how do you explain to somebody, if you’re injured, how to get to you? How do you describe your location to emergency personnel?”
Designed for youths ages 8 to 16, the all-day course was 
the first of its kind at Rock Run. In the morning, classroom instruction provided the young riders with map reading skills, and how to use them to quickly communicate their location and other vital details to 911 operators and first responders. They also learned basic first aid, how an ATV works and the importance of wearing proper safety gear.
After lunch, the youths rode their ATVs and dirt bikes on the trails at Rock Run to one of two mock accident sites, where doctors helped them put to work what they had learned that morning, and respond as if they were at an actual crash scene.
Melissa Bird, Community Connection Coordinator with Somerset Hospital, spearheaded the event, in cooperation with doctors, emergency response teams and the local chapter of Safe Kids, a national organization that works to prevent unintentional childhood injury. She obtained a $3,150 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Health to help cover expenses.
Youths participating in Safe Kids at Rock Run pre-registered online, using a web site set up for the event. While registering, they were asked to complete a short survey about their riding habits and if they had ever suffered an injury while riding. Following the course, they answered a second, written survey, giving organizers a way to measure class success. “The children walked away with a ton of knowledge. They were able to identify basic first aid and what to look for if they came upon a crashed rider,” said Bird. “Going into the training, very few of the participants knew what to share with 911, and 100% of them, walking away, were comfortable with sharing that information. And in the post test, all students said they would wear all of the safety gear that was recommended.”
The course fee was $20, which included admission to the park, training, lunch, a first aid kit, flashlight, T-shirt and class certificate. All participants had to bring their own ATV or dirt bike and wear full safety gear and proper clothing. Parents signed a waiver. Other medical personnel were on hand in addition to two doctors who provided instruction. The youths also were able to go inside a lifeline helicopter, and an emergency trauma van where they made a mock 911 call.
“The parents thought it was a great idea,” said Hockenberry. “The kids had a great day, they really enjoyed themselves, things went along very smoothly. The most excited age group was 8 to 12 year olds.
“The nice thing about this course was that it reached out to the dirt bike community. That’s what drove me to do this, because there’s really not a whole lot out there for dirt bikes. Quads and dirt bikes react differently in accidents. The doctors would talk to the kids and help them figure out how they would proceed in different situations, how to stabilize someone, and in each event whether to move them or not. We also talked about what to do if you’re by yourself, which you should never be, or if there are two people or multiple people on the ride.”
Hockenberry hopes to hold another emergency training class in the future. In the meantime, wherever she goes, she stresses to young riders the importance of getting traditional OHV safety training. I always tell them, “I don’t care if you do anything else today, but when you ride you always put your helmet on.”
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New Children’s “Adventure Trail Activity Book” Available From NOHVCC
by Dave Halsey, NOHVCC Contributing Writer
Editor's note: This is the copy of an article which is going into the American Trails newsletter (www.americantrails.org). It is written for an audience that is not familiar with either NOHVCC or the Adventure Trail series; and the article introduces both. It is included in this newsletter article as well as a story that may be of interest to your local clubs, associations, newspapers, etc. Feel free to send this article on. - Karen
Rascal the raccoon is geared up and ready to take children on a 20-page educational ride in the new “Adventure Trail Activity Book,” now available from the National Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation Council (NOHVCC).
Filled with illustrations of animals, and families enjoying off-highway vehicle (OHV) recreation, the activity book features a dozen pages for children to color, each with a different message about safe and responsible use of ATVs and dirt bikes. It also includes a variety of safety-related word searches, word scrambles, coded messages and a maze called The A-Mazing Trail. The new edition replaces the original activity book, published in 2004 and was well received by the public as a way to help kids think about OHV recreation safety at an early age. Close to one half million of the first Adventure Trail books were distributed by NOHVCC and utilized throughout the U.S. and Canada by OHV clubs and associations, schools, and government agencies.
“The updated version changes the colored pages to coloring pages, giving kids more fun and longer use of this educational activity book,” said Karen Umphress, IT and Project Manager with NOHVCC. “A four-pack of Adventure Trail crayons is also available, so kids can begin using the activity book right when they receive it.” The crayons are labeled Stop Sign Red, Trailhead Green, Bridge Water Blue and Safety Gear Yellow.
The new activity book is part of a larger Adventure Trails 
safety campaign produced by NOHVCC. It includes 12 posters with key safety messages for young riders and their parents, such as wearing proper protective gear, riding the appropriate sized vehicle and always staying on the trail when riding ATVs, dirt bikes and 2-passenger Side x Sides. Another part of the program is a CD that contains the Adventure Trail story plus online games kids can play on their computers.
In addition, NOHVCC has transferred to its web site the story of Rascal and friends Penny and A.T. that was part of the first activity book, as well as all of the coloring pages and activities included in both books. All pages are available for downloading. There is also a Facebook Adventure Trail fan page
On the new activity book’s back cover, NOHVCC thanks the many sponsors that provided assistance with printing and distribution: American Motorcyclist Association, Bureau of Land Management, Central Lakes ATV Club, Federal Highway Administration, Idaho State Parks and Recreation, Minnesota DNR, Montana State Parks, Motorcycle Industry Council, North Dakota Parks & Recreation, Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle Association, Polaris Industries, Specialty Vehicle Institute of America, U.S. Forest Service, Vermont All-Terrain Vehicles Sportsman’s Association, and Wyoming State Parks, Historic Sites & Trails.
All of the Adventure Trail series materials are available to interested groups for just the cost of shipping the quantities ordered. For additional information, see the Adventure Trails page of the NOHVCC web site. To order activity books, crayons, posters and CDs, contact NOHVCC by calling 800-348-6487, or sending an email to trailhead@nohvcc.org.
NOHVCC, as a national body of OHV recreation enthusiasts, develops and provides a wide spectrum of programs, materials and information to individuals, clubs, associations and agencies in order to further a positive future for responsible OHV recreation.
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Looking Forward
NOHVCC Webinars January 10 - February 29
NOHVCC Conference August 21 - 25
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