Mendocino National Forest, Upper Lake District, Mason Trail Connector Work Weekends

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

CHECK-IN: Volunteer Check in 9am, Saturday, USFS Middle Creek Campground, Mendocino National Forest, 8 miles north of Upper Lake on County Road 301 (Forest Road M-1).

CAMP: camping available on site with toilets and water; trailers/RVs ok.

JOBS:  will include hand tool work, cutting and moving cut tree limbs, and other trail repair and restoration work.

FOOD: Bring your own lunch/food (unless we get a sponsor/donor) and hydration fluids.

GEAR: Bring personal protective gear if you have it; some will be available on-site.

DATES: work is scheduled to take place the 2^nd Saturday of each month of January, February, March, April, May, June (nothing in July – September), October, November, and December.

VOLUNTEER: Post up here if you can make it.

BACKGROUND:  PWORA is working with the Mendocino National Forest, Upper Lake District to build new trails and restore fire-damaged trails. The Mason Trail Connector is a conversion to OHV use of approximately 1.3 miles of the abandoned logging road and will provide a connection between two existing Mendocino National Forest OHV trails. The trail was partially constructed by the Mendo NF and improved with 3 other culverts in locations along with the trailbed but lacked a sustainable all-season creek crossing in one location. PWORA constructed a multiplate culvert to provide an all season, sustainable and fire-resistant creek crossing to complete the new trail. Final preparations and arrangements are being made by PWORA and Mendo NF to prepare for an official opening of the trail in 2023.

NEWS RELEASE - Comment on PWORA's OHV Grant Applications

NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date: March 2, 2020

Contact: Don Amador, President, damador@pwora.org

               Eric Lueder, Grant Administrator, elueder@pwora.org

Phone: 925.783.1834           

          COMMENT ON PWORA'S OHV GRANT APPLICATIONS     

      OAKLEY, CA (March 2) -  On March 2, 2020, the Post Wildfire OHV Recovery Alliance (PWORA) submitted OHV grant proposals to the California State Parks Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation (OHMVR) Division for areas on the Mendocino National Forest that were impacted by the 2018 Ranch Fire.

     PWORA submitted the following two grant applications; a restoration grant (G19-04-28-R01) to replace barriers on St.  John’s Mountain; and a ground operations grant (G19-04-28-G01) to construct drainage improvements on the Mason Connector Trail.

NEXT STEPS:  Public Review Process

     PWORA’s preliminary grant applications will be available for public review from March 3, 2020 to May 4, 2020 on the OHMVR Division’s website.   PWORA encourages public comments and feedback on our grant applications.  Comments must be received no later than 5:00pm (PST) on Monday, May 4, 2020.

     All comments must be submitted via the OHMVR website  or mailed to the OHMVR Division. Comments received during the public review period will be addressed in the final application submission.  PWORA will submit the final applications by June 1, 2020 after all public comments have been addressed.

CLICK ON LINK BELOW to be directed to the State Parks OHMVR Division for instructions on how to view and comment on the preliminary application.

OHMVR DIVISION GRANT WEBSITE

https://ohv.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=1164

     PWORA is a national non-profit 501(c)(3) organization founded to protect and restore sustainable OHV recreation from the devastating effects of intense wildfires and other natural disasters. PWORA will collaborate with a diverse array of multi-interest strategic partners to mobilize volunteers and deploy resources to mitigate post-disaster impacts to recreation areas.  Website: www.pwora.org

# # #

Volunteer Appreciation Weekend at Stonyford OHV Area – January 18-19, 2020

Volunteers at 2019 Summit Valley Post Ranch Fire Restoration Project

The Post Wildfire OHV Recovery Alliance (PWORA) is proud to be an official partner of the volunteer appreciation event at the Stonyford OHV Area on the Mendocino National Forest.  PWORA will be helping support the celebration including the dinner on Saturday night to honor all those who have worked hard to recover and reopen OHV trails damaged by the 2018 Ranch Fire.

See Mendocino National Forest News Release about the event below:

WILLOWS, Calif. – Nov. 21, 2019  – The Grindstone Ranger District off-highway vehicle (OHV) staff is hosting a volunteer appreciation weekend at the Fouts Campground Complex in Stonyford, Calif. January 18-19, 2020. This will be a fun-filled weekend (rain or shine) with special guests, motorcycle demonstrations and food.

The 2018 Ranch Fire burned approximately 288,000 acres on the southern portion of the Mendocino National Forest and became the largest wildfire in California history. The fire adversely impacted the entire OHV trail system on the Forest.

In 2019, numerous volunteers committed to post-fire recovery of the OHV areas and accomplished various tasks such as removing and installing new barriers to keep users on designated routes, replacing dozens of signs and trail markers, removing trees, repairing facilities, removing truckloads of rebar and brushing trails.

In addition, volunteers organized a work weekend to protect the Summit Valley Meadow from OHV intrusion and attended CPR and First Aid training to maintain chainsaw certifications. The volunteers helped restore 100s of miles of trails and contributed 1,078 hours, which surpassed our 2019 goal of 430 volunteer hours. 

Our volunteers go above and beyond to help sustain our forests to meet the needs of present and future generations. This is our opportunity to give back to our volunteers – past, present and new. Join the Grindstone Ranger District OHV staff to thank our volunteers for a job well done.

For more information about the volunteer appreciation weekend, please contact Recreation Technician Paige Makowski at 530-963-1328 or paige.makowski@usda.gov

# # #

                                               

PWORA is looking forward to this important celebration.  Please RSVP to: damador@pwora.org

to let us know if you plan to attend and/or if you want to help sponsor the event.  

Post-Fire Project to Protect Summit Valley Wildlife Area

Summit Valley Meadow

Grindstone Ranger District - Mendocino National Forest

The recent post and cable armoring project at Summit Valley is a great example of how non-profit partners and volunteers can bring much needed resources to assist the Forest Service in their long-term post-wildfire rehabilitation program.

Summit Valley is a beautiful meadow complex located on the east side of the Mendocino National Forest in California and the designated parking area has been a highly popular picnic stop for OHV enthusiasts.

    

Pre-Project View of Burned Post and Cable Barrier

Post-Project View of New Post and Cable Barrier

       

   
The 2018 Ranch Fire, part of the Mendocino Complex Fire, destroyed most of the post and cable delineators which prevented vehicle incursions into the sensitive meadow area.

Summit Valley Project Volunteers

On October 4-6, 2019, staff and volunteers from the Post Wildfire OHV Recovery Alliance (PWORA), Overland Bound, and the Forest Service removed burnt out posts and replaced them with new 6-inch round peeler cores.  Most of the existing cable was reused and restrung through the new posts.

Pre-Staging of Project Materials

Under Forest Service supervision, project leads used the Recreation Incident Command System (RICS) to help plan for and guide the volunteer work event.   Use of RICS and pre-event project evaluation and staging of materials led to a successful completion of the outlined task.

The Stonyford OHV Area on the Grindstone Ranger District is well known as a destination recreation area for sustainable motorized activities.  It also provides important motorized access to non-motorized recreation pursuits such as hiking, fishing, hunting, and wildlife viewing.

Project Volunteer Cleaning Out Pre-Existing Post Hole 

for Placement of New Post

Post-wildfire recovery and rehabilitation of recreation sites that occur in a timely manner are key factors in the reopening process.  PWORA believes that non-profit partners will have an ever increasingly important role as a force multiplier in helping federal agencies with post natural disaster repair of roads, trails, and campgrounds.

The Summit Valley project also highlights the role that non-profit organizations have in reestablishing travel management structures that protect wildlife areas and/or cultural resources.

THANK YOU for Supporting Del Albright's Facebook Fundraiser for PWORA

THANK YOU - A big thanks to all of you who donated to Del Albright’s Birthday FB Fundraiser for PWORA!  PWORA received a $372.00 check from the Network for Good.  This is the organization that manages the charity fundraisers on FB.

PWORA Board Member and Volunteer Lead, Del Albright,

This is PWORA’s first FB fundraiser and it marks another milestone in our history as we continue to get agency agreements finalized and official training modules launched.

PWORA is also a registered charity at Amazon Smiles so feel free to list us as your charity of choice when you make Amazon purchases.

For those who want to make a tax-deductible online donation to help cover our ongoing start-up costs for insurance, communications, etc. you can donate at the PWORA website listed below:

PWORA Website

www.pwora.org

PWORA looks forward to working with our agency and non-agency partners and volunteers as we help recover and reopen recreation areas damaged by wildfires.

Sincerely,

Don Amador, President/CEO

Post Wildfire OHV Recovery Alliance

Email: Damador@pwora.org

Website: www.pwora.org

COW MOUNTAIN REOPENING CELEBRATION HIGHLIGHTS PRIVATE/PUBLIC PARTNERSHIP

Matt Mattison, 707 Trail Riders Founder, Speaks to Celebration Attendees

BLM Cow Mountain OHV Area - Ukiah Field Office

Over 60 trail volunteers, outdoor recreation enthusiasts, non-profit representatives, and agency leads participated in a public event to celebrate the timely reopening of the BLM’s Cow Mountain OHV Recreation Area on June 3, 2019. The event was held on July 27, 2019 at the Red Mountain Campground and Staging Area and was hosted by the 707 Trail Riders.

June 3, 2019 Official Reopening of Cow Mountain OHV Area

The free event was open to the general public and featured a number of post-wildfire recovery and trail education booths where attendees could visit with organization representatives and agency recreation leads from the BLM’s Ukiah Field Office and California State Office.

Visitors were also treated to a gourmet BBQ with all the fixings.  The celebratory feast was made possible by generous donations from the 707 Trail Riders, club partners, powersports dealerships, OHV aftermarket companies, and local businesses.

BLM Recreation Leads Sign in Volunteers for June 2019 Work Party

The grand finale was a free raffle where participates won some highly sought after prizes that were donated by a long list of OHV industry sponsors who wanted to express their gratitude to all those who volunteered their time on the post River Fire recovery efforts.

Don Amador, President of the Post Wildfire OHV Recovery Alliance, states, “I believe the OHV community, agency, and partners have reason to celebrate the June 3, 2019 reopening of the Cow Mountain OHV Area after many months of post River Fire recovery efforts which included numerous meetings and work parties.”

Volunteers Install New Route Markers

“This celebration honors that substantive private/public collaboration and highlights the important role that clubs, volunteers, non-profits, grant partners, and federal disaster relief aid had in the delivery and implementation of post-fire mitigation efforts,” Amador continues.

Some of those post fire recovery efforts at Cow Mountain include the following:  installing trail delineators or barriers, replacing travel management or resource protection signs, cleaning or replacing culverts, repair/replace damaged campground infrastructure, recon/report damage to routes, bucking trees off of trails, felling hazard trees, brushing routes, repairing damage to trails from dozer lines or heavy water flows, and being a support for the local communities and agency staff impacted by catastrophic wildfires or other natural disasters.

“The OHV community can be proud of their response to the River Fire here at Cow Mountain.  It serves as an outstanding template for recovering OHV recreation areas damaged by intense wildfires,” Amador concludes.

# # #

 Post Wildfire OHV Recovery Alliance (PWORA) is a national 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization founded to protect and restore sustainable OHV recreation from the devastating effects of intense wildfires and other natural disasters. PWORA will collaborate with a diverse array of multi-interest strategic partners to mobilize volunteers and deploy resources to mitigate post-disaster impacts to recreation areas.  You may contact PWORA president, Don Amador via email at: damador@pwora.org