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4th ANNUAL COHVCO OHV MANAGEMENT WORKSHOP
A BIG SUCCESS
Nearly 100 participants spend four days in
beautiful Grand Lake, Colorado
Riding skill
instruction for both dirt bike and ATVs was available from
the Motorcycle Safety Foundation
and the ATV Safety Institute.
Nearly 100 attendees participated in
the fourth annual COHVCO Off Highway Vehicle Management
Workshop, July 7th through July 10th, 2004, in and around
beautiful Grand Lake, Colorado, in the Sulphur Ranger
District. The COHVCO OHV Workshop provides a collaborative
opportunity in education, safety, and user information
during a 4 day training conference on OHV Management of
Public Lands. Tom Crimmins, Trails Consultant and NOHVCC
Advisor, provided input in planning and also served as
facilitator for the workshop.
The cadre of speakers consisted of
some of the most experienced OHV managers in the nation.
Most importantly, this workshop is an ideal time for land
managers and OHV enthusiasts to discuss issues in a relaxed
manner.
COMBINED AUDIENCE
The workshop agenda is designed for a
combined audience of volunteer user organizations and
recreational enthusiasts, coupled with programs for land
management agency personnel to interact closely in
discussions designed to promote and educate toward a high
level of individual user stewardship, responsibility and
proper management techniques. The value of the workshop is
demonstrated by having attendees include OHV Enthusiasts
from all over Colorado and employees from Colorado State
Parks, the BLM, and the USFS, some from as far away as
California and Florida!
AWARD NOMINATION
Corey Corbett, the Colorado Alternate
Partner for NOHVCC and Vice Chairman of COHVCO was recently
nominated by the Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado for the
“Colorado Land Stewardship Award” primarily for his role
overseeing and coordinating this huge undertaking.
"This workshop has proved to encourage responsible use of
public lands through education and has helped to develop a
sense of pride in ownership and stewardship of protected
lands and natural resources," reported Corbett at the
conclusion of the event.
COHVCO’s vision for this workshop
included presentations following an agenda geared toward the
active care and management of resources with the goal of
improving and maintaining ecological health and promoting
conservation and sustainability of trail design and travel
management techniques, while meeting the recreational
expectations of motorized users. Participants were given
information, tools, and techniques to help with OHV and
multiple use management, trail design, construction,
maintenance and guided to develop an awareness of the
general principles of balanced use management
MANY RESOURCES
A large part of the success of this
workshop was based on the creation and development of
partnerships with a variety of resources. The organizers of
the workshop were instrumental in arranging a broad scope of
instructors in different disciplines and seeing that they
were well represented such as wildlife, air quality, soils,
riparian and cultural resources. The coordination of these
resources required input from the USFS, BLM, State Parks,
National Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation Council, Division
of Wildlife, BlueRibbon Coalition, Tread Lightly! and a
variety of local OHV groups and their members.
Other organizations that supported
this project and provided certification training and
instruction were: The Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) and
the ATV Safety Institute (ASI). Local business and local
government agencies have provided evidence of support or
other commitments for this project as well.
For more information on the COHVCO
OHV Workshop, or how NOHVCC can help your club, contact:
Corey Corbett, Vice Chairman of COHVCO and Alternate State
Representative for NOHVCC at
corbett@cohvco.org
The Colorado Off-Highway Vehicle Coalition is
a non-profit organization who’s mission is to represent,
assist, educate, and empower Off Highway Vehicle (OHV)
recreationists in the protection and promotion of
off-highway motorized recreation throughout Colorado. COHVCO
is an environmental organization that advocates and promotes
motorized recreation with responsible use and conservation
of our public lands and natural resources to preserve their
aesthetic and recreational qualities for future generations.
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