November 9, 2009 Yakima Herald Article

November 9, 2009 by Scott Sandsberry

Filed under All, Outdoors

YAKIMA, Wash. — Faced with the possibility of the Department of Natural Resources closing its five Sno-Parks this winter over lack of the money to provide “oversight” and minimize vandalism, the Yakima Ski Benders and other snowmobile enthusiasts responded.
The group’s fundraising campaign raised enough money to offset the DNR’s $25,000 budgetary shortfall in such short order this autumn that, last week, the DNR announced that those five Sno-Parks (Ahtanum Meadows, Ahtanum Guard Station, Rattlesnake, Manashtash and Lily Lake near Wenatchee) would be open.
“As with anything new and unsettling, it certainly was frustrating at the beginning, but we pulled up our bootstraps and made it happen,” said Carl Denton, the Ski Benders’ first-year president. “Everybody was understanding of the situation — there was nothing else we could do, otherwise we wouldn’t have a place to park.”
It was a moment for the snowmobile community to breathe deeply, pat itself on the back and celebrate that their season — at least at those popular local areas — would not be erased.
The sobering side to this celebratory feeling, though, is that the issue is likely to arise again next year.
This winter is the first of the state’s two-year budget biennial budget process, and that means next year will have the same $25,000 shortfall resulting from the DNR’s recreation budget being slashed from $1.2 million per biennium to $440,000.
“Next year we’ll be in the same boat, pretty much,” said Mike Williams, recreation manager for the DNR’s Ellensburg-based southeast region. “We’re looking at other avenues for funding, but not having a lot of success yet. We’ll be pursuing grants, and we’re just not sure what’s out there yet.”
Williams said that, should the agency have to come with its hands out to the snowmobile community once more, “Hopefully some of the other clubs will pony up more money rather than have the Ski Benders having to carry so much of the load.”
The Ski Benders spearheaded this autumn’s fundraising campaign that has already generated more than $25,000 in pledges, with $21,900 of that already collected in cash. The club presented a $10,000 check last week to the DNR as the first installment, guaranteeing that the Sno-Parks would be open for the start of the state’s grooming season.
The snowmobilers have what amounts to an ally in their campaign for continued trail funding — the four-wheelers and motorcyclists who use the trails in the non-snow months.
Last spring, state legislators passed House Bill 1244, which swept $9.56 million into the general fund from the Nonhighway and Off-Road Vehicle Activities (NOVA) Fund. State officials said the move was necessary to prevent the closure of as many as 40 state parks, but it left NOVA with no operating funds for the biennium — money that is typically issued in grants by the state’s Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO) to public and private entities for trail-maintenance and improvement projects.
Because NOVA money is derived from off-road vehicle license tab fees and recreationists’ portion of gas-tax funds, trail-use groups were up in arms. Dave Walters, land-use coordinator for a Tri-Cities-based off-road group called the Peak Putters, called the legislators’ move “an illegal taking” of the NOVA money.
Last week, the Washington Off Highway Vehicle Alliance and the Northwest Motorcycle Association joined forces to file a lawsuit against the state to block the transfer of NOVA funds to Washington State Parks.
Should that suit be successful and NOVA money be returned, the DNR would be one of the numerous groups lining up to apply for grants through the RCO.
“Hopefully the NOVA funds will come back and we’ll be able to apply for grants that way,” Williams said, adding that obtaining money would still be difficult. “We saw a ahuge jump in the number of grant proposals to the RCO this year.”

"Got Snow"

Well well it looks like we finally got snow! As i woke up this morning to read the newspaper I see Chinook Pass is closed because of 2 foot of new snow. I'm certain DOT will get it open again for the short term or at least until we have complete access from our direction, but as usual will close for the winter later in the season.
Actually with all the comotion we have been involved with regarding DNR and the snow show and club activities readying for the crab feed and poker run i've almost forgotten that I have snowmobiles! What a pressure release it will be to actually get on one and ride it.
Now for a few updates.
I've posted on my blog's the simple details regarding our donation requirements to DNR and hope everyone can see that they have been good to there word. Although we have have all agreed this is not the road we want to go down on an annual basis, it is however what we are stuck with for this bienium. The Skibenders has agreed to support DNR with the 25K donation this season. We are however still short funds to complete the agreement, but have commitments to fulfill it, I'm certain we'll be on track by the end of November. I don't think we should let up on our collection efforts with the fact we may need to help into the following season to complete the bienium funding shortfall. I have directed our treasurer to open a seperate account for any carry over from this initial 2009/2010 fund @ $25 K and name it Ahtanum fund 2010/2011, in order to maintain a good record keeping status. During our conversations with DNR they are also looking into other avenues for grant money and ways to fund the following year, i'll be working closely with them to help keep everyone informed.
I will be riding with Mike Williams and Donn Rasmussen Tuesday the 10th to Wenatchee to visit with Apple Country Snowmobile club for there monthly meeting. The reason for this visit will be to inform them were we are at and try to make a plan for the future. Any one interested in coming along please let me know. Apple Country Snowmobile club mainly uses the Lily Lake Snow Park in that area and also holds the grooming contract as well.  Just to let you know they have donated considerably to our fund.
While i'm there as a gesture of good will and common bond i will be signing up as a member of there club and hopefully they will reciprocate. There President has expressed sincere interest in scheduling some ride time with us in our areas as well as I certainly would enjoy riding in there areas to see what they have.
By the way, anyone that is interested in seeing an accounting of donations please feel free to ask. We will set up an appointment to do so. At this time we do not feel we should publish names and amounts as some people have asked us not to do so due to the extreme amount donated.
One other item before I go. DNR and WSFS has asked the Yakima Ski Benders to participated in a program called "Forest Watch-Eyes and ears of the Forest". Currently we have 10 volunteers signed up to participate for this program. We will be attending two 3 hour training sessions starting Monday November 16th and ending on November17th. This training includes, safe riding, first aid, documentation, conflict solutions, law enforcement communications and many other responsibilites. All hours involved during this program will be used as volunteer hours the same as our trail cleanup.
We'll see everyone at the Crab Feed!

Article from Word Press- WA State Ear to the Ground 10-30-09

Snowmobilers help rescue winter recreation


By Ear to the Ground
Members of the Yakima Ski Benders meet with DNR staff to sign an agreement for winter recreation services. From left to right: Ronna Younie, Yakima Ski Benders (YSB); Mike Van Amburg, YSB; Devon Dekker, YSB vice-president; Carl Denton, YSB president; Robert Dengel, DNR; Mike Williams, DNR; and Paul Younie, YSB. Photo: Liz Van Amburg/YSB
Things were looking pretty bleak for snowmobilers who love to ride the dry winter powder on state trust lands near Yakima and Ellensburg.
Due to budget cuts earlier this year by the Legislature, DNR was planning to suspend its winter recreation program at five snow parks this season. Concerned about the possibility of not having access to their favorite winter recreation sites , the snowmobiling community decided to get proactive.
In a short few weeks, members of the Yakima Ski Benders collected the $25,000 necessary to keep the program alive.
Earlier today, members of the Ski Benders handed over a first-installment check of $10,000 to Mike Williams, DNR’s recreation program manager for the Southeast Region.
Carl Denton, president of the Yakima Ski Benders, said that nearly 120 people and businesses donated enough money to fund DNR’s management of the winter recreation program. Average donations were about $100, with some individuals and businesses contributing $1,000 or more.
All parties—snowmobilers and DNR staff—agree that resorting to collecting donations was not the ideal way to resolve the issue. But the effort demonstrates how a group of determined citizens worked together with DNR staff to find a short-term solution.
“We’re hoping we don’t have to this every year or biennium,” Denton says.
Instead, Denton and his group will be looking at new ways to fund winter recreation.
“I’m glad we could work together to get through this challenging time,” added Mike Williams, recreation program manager with DNR’s Southeast Region.
Thanks to the generous donations from the snowmobiling community, the following DNR-managed areas will open for winter recreation: Manashtash, southwest of Ellensburg; and Ahtanum Meadows, Ahtanum Guard Station, Rattlesnake, and Lily Lake, near Yakima.
Next step: Pray for snow!

It's Official

10-30-2009
We have officially signed and documented our donation agreement with D.N.R. I f anyone has any questions please feel free to call Devin, Mike, Liz, Paul, Ronna or I. Thanks for everyones support and we will be sending letters with the information soon.

Carl

Update

Well as all of you know by now our club is knee deep in fundraising to help keep our most favorite snow parks open. This weekend presents a perfect oppurtunity to spread the word while at the WSSA Snow Show and swap meet at Puyallup, WA Fairgrounds "October 17th & 18th" please feel free to drop by and chat for a bit. VanAmburg Enterprises has been so kind to allow us to be with them at there booth to help spread the word and Mark Mauren from D.N.R. has voluntered his time to come and answer any questions that people may have regarding this issue. Not in my wildest dreams did I think taking on the presidents position for the Ski Benders that we would move so fast into a political arena such as this, especially during the times of economic hardships that are upon us. One thing i'm certain of is my confidence in our fellow snomobilers is strong with the unity and belief that we can adapt and overcome these obstacles, Although we may not like the situation and have voiced our opinions strongly we are being very proactive above and beyond the call of duty and want to thank everyone invoved for there efforts and support.
Also another contributor to our fund has been from the Apple Country Snomobile Club in Wenatchee, they have asked me to let everyone know they are having there own annual swap meet October 24th at the Fred Meyer parking lot in Wenatchee and to please come if you have an oppurtunity.
As for now i'll close and hope to see most of you in Puyallup this weekend,; if not i'll certainly update as soon as I return.

A quick update for everyone. As most of you have heard by now we are wrestling with Olympia and DNR once again to keep our snow parks open and trails groomed for this season and seasons to come. Please see Snow West, go to the Forum then to Riding Areas and click on Washington and Mr. Deckers statement of the meeting held a couple of weeks ago at the West Valley Fire Station will be at the top of the page. The possibility for closures of the Ahtanum, Rattlesnake, Lily Lake and Manastash Sno-Parks seem very real unless some action is taken and taken very soon. As of now there is no funding available to provide oversight "management" of the plowing and other managerial duties involved for these sno-parks due to a cut in funding to DNR and unless a resolve or help in funding "donations" can be obtained within the next 3 weeks we risk the possible closure of the parks, not to mention grooming funds for the season. At the moment we have started a collection campaign "fund raiser" to help initiate this funding, although we do not condone funding the government more than we already do, I do not see an alternative. We can deal with this further and by other means when our state legislature reconvenes. Although there are people that don't agree with what we are trying to do and has gone as far as calling us an impromptu group, I would have to disagree at this point. I personally feel we are doing the right thing to support our community by going forward with this fund raising drive and keeping the doors open. Everyone that is donating will be issued a receipt and the funds are put into a seperate account at US Bank for Ahtanum Fund 2009. All donations are tax deductible and should by chance we end up being refunded or not have to pay, all donations will be returned.
If you have more interest in this, please come to our meeting Tuesday October 6th at 6pm at the El Rincon on 40th and Fruitvale in Yakima.

DNR/Ahtanum Meeting

Here is some information from Devin D. posted on SnoWest:
The Washington State DNR has announced that, unless a funding source is found, there will be no supervisory position that oversees the sno-park plowing and grooming (ie, they then will not allow it) from the above south central WA areas. A much more complete analysis/thread is available on the Washington State riding area section of this forum.
DNR CLOSURES OF AHTANUM (2), RATTLESNAKE, LILY LAKE, AND MANASHTASH SNO-PARKS AND GROOMING CONNECTIONS TO THOSE SNO-PARKS.As some of you may be aware, the DNR's budget cuts have put popular grooming programs in the Yakima and Ellensburg areas in doubt for the 2009-2010 season.AS OF NOW, there is NOT funding available to provide oversight of the plowing of the above sno-parks and grooming on DNR lands in those areas. State Parks provides the actual funding for the plowing and grooming, what is in question here is the funding for the "oversight" of these programs on DNR property. DNR spokespeople are stating that they do not have the 25K to fund this position. The reality is, if you divide the 25k over the 5 areas, the $6250.00 per area is costing us (using the Ahtanum's 08-09 figures as an example) around $71,000.00 in grooming for that area. In other words, 9% of the funding is costing us 91% of the total. Unfortunately, our Olympia bureacracy makes them unable to walk across the government campus and sort this out. This only affects DNR sno-parks, no state park or USFS parking or grooming programs. This will also not stop grooming that is based on other sno-parks that cross DNR land. These areas will not be closed to riding, but there will be no parking, except along side the existing county roads (this probably will result in other problems from the county law enforcement areas). This dilemma alone will result in huge traffic jams in some of these areas, especially the North Fork Rd. that serves the Ahtanum sno-park.If you frequent these areas, you realize the huge impacts this will have on snowmobiling in the south-central Washington Area. The Ahtanum area alone is fairly extensive, with 2 sno-parks. It is also the highest elevation area south of I-5.DNR is asking for donations to help fund this position for this season. Although it is easy to blow this off and say "I've already paid my taxes" or to blame DNR employees, this will not solve the problem for this upcoming season. Our local DNR employees are NOT the problem in the big picture (even though I don't totally agree with them, they had a few incorrect statements/assumptions last night), so berating them will not help our cause. Our problem is at the state level. Like it or not, the states current budget fiasco had to hit us sooner or later. It will simply cost us more to do the sport that we love and live for.SOME SOLUTIONS to make plowing and grooming of these areas take place this winter season (realizing that we are on a tight time schedule to get funds in before grooming contracts go out). -Contributions to a fund to pay for this position; DNR is working this out and hope to have system in by next week to collect DEDICATED FUNDS for this purpose. There have been donations already started by WSSA or various local clubs, I or somebody else will post this direct information later. As a starter example, my family is donating 100 per sled as a start, for me it is a small annual cost to ride the Ahtanum, and I will save that in gas money by having to travel to other areas. -Contributions of like kind to defer future expenses; This would include such things as facilities maintenance, road work, etc. I realize that not everybody can do these things, but every little bit helps.-Contact your local representatives; They are elected to serve our interests, and we are lucky to have generally good representation in the Yakima / Kittitas areas concerning snowmobiling issues. Give them a call / email and let them know what the effects are of these closures.-Contact your local business's that will be affected by these closures, they can also contact thier representatives. -Make sure our local dealerships are aware of these actions. It is easier to sell sleds when there are adequate areas to use them.-Contact DNR is a polite way, if possible, preferebly by email, and keep a record of the email so they/ourselves can keep a tally of the consequences of these actions. Large numbers of contacts only help our cause.-Get involved and keep involved; Via a club, WSSA, SAWS, appointed land use committees, etc. We will continue to have problems every year with our public lands. We must work to keep our public lands public. Waiting for someone else to take the lead will result in our long term loss of use for snowmobilers, this is not an option.WE need to take action promptly; I (and many others, I'm sure) will post more information as it comes up. I know that many local snowmobile clubs will have their first meetings soon, with the Ski-Benders the First Tuesday of October (the 6th) at El Rincon. I am positive this will the a main subject of discussion.I have hopefully gave as much information as possible, but I am sure that I have left out some points or explanations. I am still in the harvest season, but will try to post more information as I have time to do (legislative info, etc). I have written this mostly from the viewpoint as an Ahtanum rider, as I am in close proximity to that area. I do not mean that the other areas are any less important.Thank you for your time, and I know as a group we can get this done for this season in the short term, and start to implement a more satisfactory long term solution to have in place for the 2010-2011 and beyond seasons.Devin Dekkeraka Tampico :
The above post on Snow west is from Devin D.

Bottom Line: The Ski Benders has made a decision to open a trust account and proceed in requesting donations for anyone willing to support this years access to the Ahtanum Snow Parks. All proceeds will be gathered for 3 weeks and then we we'll make them available to the responsible entities to allow us to go forward with this seasons snow mobiling. If we do not do this now and i mean their needs to be a sense of urgency going forward, we stand to lose our groomers contracts and the money supplied for the contracts, approximatley $200,000.00 will revert back to the state for other usage. I will personally donate $1000.00 from my own pocket and we have commitments from two other people for $2000.00 plus any other donations we can come up with, also this will be amajor topic at our first meeting of the Year October 6th at the ElRincon. Non member are more than welcome to join us in this discussion, as it is time to unite for our favorite sport. It is too late to argue or proceed this year with any legal or senate action, but we must preserve our usage or my experience is that once you lose any funding from the goverment it takes many years to get it back, if you can. We can sort this all out as the season goes on and make a stand for the upcoming year. Why we are going with a trust fund is so that everyone is guaranteed a return of their money should we fail to procure the $25,000.00 needed for this seasons management. Anything will help $50, $10, whatever you feel a seasons riding is worth. Please feel free to contact me 509-949-9005 or Paul 952-9478 or Mike V. @225-6681 for contribution to this fund raiser.
I will post the Bank and account information if you prefer to deposit it direct.
All help will be appreciated.

Thanks

Carl