NEWS RELEASE - POST WILDFIRE OHV RECOVERY ALLIANCE (PWORA) ELECTS NEW PRESIDENT/CEO

Ted Cabral at BLM's South Cow Mountain OHV Recreation Area

NEWS RELEASE

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Contact: Ted Cabral

Email: tedcabral@gmail.com

Date: 11/14/2022

  

POST WILDFIRE OHV RECOVERY ALLIANCE (PWORA) ELECTS NEW PRESIDENT/CEO

  

COTTONWOOD, CA (Nov. 14) - The Post Wildfire OHV Recovery Alliance (PWORA) board elected Ted Cabral as the organization’s new President and CEO. The vote was taken at the 2022 Board Meeting held on November 10 in Cottonwood, CA.

 

Ted Cabral will replace Don Amador who served from 2018 to 2022 as the organization’s first president who stepped down from his current position but will, however, remain on the board.

 

Don Amador, past president of PWORA, states, “I am proud of what PWORA has accomplished over the last 4 years where it collaborated with a diverse array of multi-interest strategic partners to mobilize volunteers and deploy resources on projects to mitigate post-disaster impacts to recreation areas on public lands managed by the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management in California.”

 

“PWORA’s significant achievements since the organization’s founding include signing a Master Participating Agreement (MPA) with the USDA, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Region (R5) located in Vallejo, California, completion of numerous volunteer and contract post fire recovery projects, and successful fundraising efforts,” Amador continues.

 

“I know the organization under Ted’s leadership with continue to build capacity to help our agency partners plan for and implement important post wildfire recovery projects,” Amador concludes. 

 

Ted Cabral, former three term commissioner for the Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division of California State Parks, has a long track record of collaboration with the government agencies that manage OHV recreation on public lands in California. “I am looking forward to building on the incredible foundation that Don and the PWORA board of directors have built.” Cabral stated. “My vision is to build our alliance by developing deep ties with local clubs and volunteer organizations. Those organizations would be able to leverage our relationship to streamline their volunteer efforts by taking advantage of PWORA’s MPA to better support the Forest Service and other agencies during recovery operations.”

 

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Post Wildfire OHV Recovery Alliance (PWORA) is a national non-profit organization founded to protect and restore sustainable OHV recreation from the devastating effects of intense wildfires and other natural disasters. PWORA collaborates with a diverse array of multi-interest strategic partners to mobilize volunteers and deploy resources to mitigate post-disaster impacts to recreation areas 

NEWS RELEASE - PWORA Seeking Comments for OHV Grant Applications

NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date: February 18, 2020

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

               Eric Lueder, Grant Administrator, elueder@pwora.org

Phone: 925.783.1834

                                      PWORA Seeking Comments for OHV Grant Applications

     OAKLEY, CA  (Feb. 18) –  The Post Wildfire OHV Recovery Alliance (PWORA) is asking for public input for potential OHV grants 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 is considering applying for the following grants; a restoration grant to replace barriers on St.  John’s Mountain; and a ground operations grant to construct drainage improvements on the Mason Connector Trail.

     The OHMVR Grants and Cooperative Agreements Program supports well-managed off-highway vehicle recreation in California by distributing more than $35 million annually collected from gas tax, entrance fees and OHV sticker registrations. Cities, counties, districts, federal and state agencies, educational institutions, federally recognized Native American Tribes and non-profit entities can apply for funds to develop, maintain and restore trails; provide law enforcement; and offer safety and training for riders.

     The public is invited send comments and ideas to the PWORA Grant Administrator, Eric Lueder, to provide ideas for projects and opportunities that could be incorporated into the grant applications.

Send comments Eric Lueder at: elueder@pwora.org

     Preliminary grant applications will be submitted to the OHMVR Division by March 2. The public will then be able to comment on the preliminary applications from March 3 to May 4. Final applications must be submitted by June 1. For more information about the state grant process and requirements, visit the OHMVR Division website at www.ohv.parks.ca.gov.

     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

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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

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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.