NOVA Funding Issues

[Grumpy]

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I was just notified tonight that Washingtion OHV Alliance (WOHVA) will be taking the lead in the "Recovery of the NOVA funds" - not the NMA. Will keep you posted - more information to follow as soon as the "kinks are worked out." Arlene Brooks

[Grumpy]

Also, it seems that Scott Sandsberry from the Yakima paper, after reading some of what we have on line, wants to do an article on this subject. Should hear from him this morning...

[Grumpy]

Subject: [WOHVAPoliticalAction] - Kristiansen Press Release



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE



May 26, 2009

NOVA account raid puts trail maintenance in jeopardy




By Rep. Dan Kristiansen
Special to Northwest Quad Association

During the 2009 legislative session majority party leaders crafted a nearly $35 billion state operating budget that was balanced by raiding numerous pots of money, including an important one to trail users -- the Nonhighway and Off-Road Vehicle Activities (NOVA) account.

NOVA was created by off-road vehicle (ORV) users to provide grants to develop, maintain and manage trails and nonhighway road systems. A fuel-use study in 1972 estimated 4.6 percent of the state fuel tax was generated by ORV use.. In lieu of receiving a fuel-tax refund, ORV users asked the Legislature in 1973 to put the money into this special account.

NOVA has been a great program for every type of trail user, including ORV'ers, mountain bikers, hikers and backcountry horsemen. More than $76 million has been provided through NOVA for over 1,000 projects throughout Washington. Grant recipients have also voluntarily contributed more than $27 million in matching resources.

ORV users voluntarily waived their rights to a fuel-tax refund so that they could benefit statewide from this program. Two years ago, they asked the Legislature to more than double ORV-use permit fees to supplement that fund. That's why many are angry that the Democrat operating budget empties $9.56 million from NOVA funds and appropriates that money "to the state Parks and Recreation Commission for maintenance and operation of parks and to improve accessibility for boaters and off-road vehicle users." (Language from House Bill 1244, operating budget)

Unfortunately, NOVA funds will be used to keep state parks open. As a result, no NOVA grants will be available for the coming two years.

My family and I are avid ORV recreationalists. I understand how important this fund is to the many people who enjoy the back trails of Washington. Raiding of NOVA money is one of the many reasons why I voted against the operating budget.

What affect will this transfer have? As one Eastern Washington newspaper reported, "Many of the state's trail systems may be lost to underbrush, overuse and, eventually, a chaos of downed trees. Lost too will be the majority of the seasonal trail-crew workers who keep this region's National Forest lands from falling into such disrepair."

There were better ways of saving state parks. I supported an amendment that would have transferred $25 million from the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program (WWRP) into parks operations. Most of WWRP funds go into land acquisition. I questioned why we were purchasing land for new parks when we cannot maintain existing ones. This amendment could have prevented the NOVA raid. Unfortunately, it failed.

So what's next?

The state Parks and Recreation Commission now has authority over these funds, which in HB 1244 is to be used partially "to improve accessibility for...off-road vehicle users." If we are to save Washington's ORV and horse trails, the commission must be made aware and held accountable. If you have concerns about the use of these funds, let the commissioners know. The commission is scheduled to meet June 12 in Wenatchee, Aug. 6 in the Tri-Cities, Oct. 1 in Spokane, and Dec. 3 in Centralia. More information is available at the commission's Web site at: http://www.parks.wa.gov/agency/commissionmeetings.

# # #

EDITOR'S NOTE: State Rep. Dan Kristiansen, R-Snohomish, represents the 39th Legislative District, and also serves as chairman of the Washington House Republican Caucus. He can be contacted at (360) 786-7967 or from his Web site at: www.houserepublicans.wa.gov/Kristiansen.

For more information, contact: John Sattgast, Senior Information Officer: (360) 786-7257
__________________

[Grumpy]

Happy trails on one hand, paths to ruin on the other

Yakima Herald-Republic




It's a time to celebrate and a time to mourn.

The celebration took place Wednesday in Richland, where dignitaries, including Sen. Maria Cantwell and U.S. Rep. Doc Hastings, applauded the passage of the Ice Age Floods Bill that will create a geologic trail from Montana to the Pacific Coast, with a portion of it snaking through the Tri-Cities.

The mourning follows the recent move by state lawmakers to take away substantial funds from trail maintenance and development in order to keep open Washington's network of parks.

While state park officials were voicing fears that its trail system, most of it through national forests, will suffer severe damage due to the cutbacks, federal lawmakers were clearly excited about the new geologic trail for which Congress carved out $12 million to get established and about $600,000 a year for maintenance and operation.

Cantwell first introduced the Ice Age Floods Bill in 2002. It quickly gained bipartisan support.

The legislation commemorates a geologic event that took place roughly 12,000 years ago when multiple floods during the end of the last ice age ripped through the landscape of Eastern and Central Washington.

One of the largest of these floods took place when a 1,000-foot-high ice dam on the Clark Fork River in Montana broke apart, unleashing 600 cubic miles of water that roared through our region and scoured the countryside.

The 400-foot-high cataract called Dry Falls, 20 miles southwest of Grand Coulee Dam, is a lasting testament to those massive floodwaters. So, too, is the Hanford Reach in the Tri-Cities.

The National Park Service will spend the next two years preparing a plan for the trail system, which will cover about 500 miles from Western Montana to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry in Portland. The trail will include interpretive centers, scenic overlooks and displays. It will also incorporate some high-tech wizardry -- webcasting, iPods and global positioning satellites to help enliven the experience for people driving along the trail.

This undertaking, no doubt, will bear fruit in terms of increased tourism to the region.

But what are we to make of the cutbacks in state funding for Washington's vast trail system? With one hand the feds giveth, with the other the state taketh away.

What's aggravating is that the money being siphoned off to help prop up the state parks system is specifically earmarked for trails. It's from off-road vehicle license fees and funds generated by the ORV portion of the state's gas tax.

Just two years ago, ORV enthusiasts asked the state to increase the tab fees so more money could be plowed into the maintenance program.

But with the state facing an unprecedented revenue shortfall of nearly $9 billion, that trail money became too attractive for lawmakers to ignore.

So here we are today, celebrating the creation of a new federal trail and bemoaning the loss of nearly $10 million to help maintain and develop others, many of which are in the Naches and Cle Elum ranger districts. Something is wrong with this picture.

We hope state lawmakers see the value in maintaining these trails and find a way, when the economy turns around, to return the funds to their rightful place in the budget. Then we can enjoy not only a geologic trail but a mountain path as well.



* Members of the Yakima Herald-Republic editorial board are Michael Shepard, Bob Crider, Spencer Hatton and Karen Troianello.

[Grumpy]

Hi Dave,



I’ve deleted the staffer’s name on this email – The information below comes from the House of Reps committee staffer and I’ve deleted her name for obvious reasons. (We don’t want the policy folks to get inundated with comments from all the constituents.) Pretty much what you already know.



Senator told me to forward this over to keep you in the loop.






Sent: Monday, June 22, 2009 3:15 PM
To: @HRC LA's
Subject: NOVA (Nonhighway and Offroad Vehicles Account) Budget Update



Hello everyone!



I’ve received several recent inquiries on the status of the NOVA account so I’m hoping this information will be helpful to you when responding to constituents.



Essentially, the Democratic operating budget raided over $11.6 million from NOVA funds and appropriated that money (presumably to help balance the budget) to the following agencies, most notably the State Parks and Recreation Commission at $9.56 million:



1. State Parks and Recreation Commission ($9,560,000.00);

2. Recreation and Conservation Funding Board ($1,062,000); and

3. Department of Natural Resources ($982,000);



Section 944, Subsection 4 of the operating budget (HB 1244, p. 241) states in part that the “excess fund balance in the NOVA accountâ€

[Grumpy]

WA DNR Cuts Services at Trailheads, Campgrounds

If you had a dollar for everyone who hiked at Tiger Mountain this year, you’d have more money than the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has to manage all of its trails and campgrounds. The agency is grappling with a 60 percent cut to their general fund budget and the diversion of $1.5 million in grants from the Non Highway and Off Road Vehicle Activities (NOVA) funds to Washington State Parks. That leaves them with a mere $200,000 a year to maintain 33 recreation facilities and 167 miles of trails.


Sign at Tiger Mountain, on Washington State Department of Natural Resources Land. DNR has proposed cuts in services to campgrounds and trailheads in an effort to deal with a 60 percent cut in its annual budget.

Yesterday, DNR released a list of service reductions intended to address that budget shortfall. Through a combination of facility closures (toilets, picnic tables and garbage cans), seasonal closures and reduced maintenance at a number of sites, DNR hopes to keep their recreation program in the black, although they warn that further cuts are likely.

Unfortunately, it’s the landscape that will suffer. One result of these closures will be resource damage. As we’ve seen in the Reiter foothills—DNR land in Snohomish County—leaving forests open to recreation without attendant management can lead to serious damage and law enforcement problems, including deeply silted streams, rutted off-trail routes, debarked trees and extensive dumping. In the case of Reiter, these abuses have bled into surrounding public lands as ORV users have ridden in adjacent State Parks.

All this tells us that the legislature must do for DNR what they did for State Parks—find dedicated, reliable funding so that this agency does not have to go begging year after year. And one major component of any stable funding system is a diversity of revenue sources. NOVA funds must be restored in the next biennial budget, so that agencies like DNR can add those grants back to their funding mix. And, while we understand that State Parks may need these funds for the short term, if the new opt-in fee brings in sufficient revenue, the NOVA program should be restored during the next legislative session.

For more information on DNR funding and how you can help influence your state legislator, contact Jonathan Guzzo at (206)625-1367 or by e-mail at jonathan@wta.org.

_________________
Courtesy Clay Graham/EWOR

[Grumpy]

How's this for backtracking Of course, WTA will never admit they shot themselves in the foot...

[Grumpy]

The following news release along with a direct communication line to Attorney James Buchal was available during the annual Washington OHV Alliance (WOHVA) membership meeting yesterday, October 4th. AB

For Immediate Release: Olympia, Washington - 5 October 2009

Washington Off Highway Vehicle Alliance files lawsuit to block transfer of ORV funds to State Parks.

The Washington Off Highway Vehicle Alliance has teamed up with the Northwest Motorcycle Association to file a lawsuit against the State of Washington to block the transfer of over 9.5 million dollars in offfroad vehicle funds from the Nonhighway and Offroad Vehicle Activities (NOVA) account to State Parks. Attorney James Buchal will be representing both organizations.

This spring the Legislature passed House Bill 1244, which transferred the money out of the NOVA account. The NOVA account money comes from the gas tax paid by offroad vehicle users and the license tab fees on offroad vehicles (ORV).

According to the Washington State Constitution gas tax collected must be used only for roads. To comply with that the state allows refunds on gas tax paid for other uses.

In 1972 the offroad vehicle community supported passage of legislation that waived their right to a direct refund of the taxes they paid for ORV fuel in exchanged for having those same funds "refunded" into a dedicated account to promote and protect their sport. Later on, their ORV license tab money was added to this account too. The NOVA program was established to administer these funds.

Now that all the money is going to State Parks and State Parks is not going to spend the money on offroad vehicle recreation, this is no longer a legitimate refund for the benefit of these taxpayers.

The NOVA funding is normally distributed by the State Recreation and Conservation Board in the form of grants. These grants are awarded to governmental agencies such as the United States Forest Service, the Washington Department of Natural Resources and various counties. It is the primary source of funding for offroad vehicle recreation and for law enforcement on public lands in Washington.

If this funding is not returned to benefit the taxpayers that paid for it, families and their children throughout the State of Washington will lose the healthy, outdoor recreational opportunities they were promised and for which they paid their taxes and ORV tab fees, as the trails they have enjoyed together are closed. And public employees throughout Washington who maintain and patrol those trails will lose their jobs.

The Washington Off Highway Alliance and the Northwest Motorcycle Association are nonprofit organizations dedicated to protecting and promoting off highway vehicle and offroad motorcycle recreation.

Tod Peterson
Political Action Committee Chairman - Washington Off Highway Vehicle Alliance
Legislative/Land Use Coordinator - Northwest Motorcycle Association
P.O. Box 61161
Seattle, WA 98141
tod@aol.com
www.wohva.org
www.nmaoffroad.org

[Grumpy]

The following is an article by Brian Everstine; published in the Olympian newspaper October 6th; in regards to yesterday's news release by WOHVA. AB

OFF-ROADING GROUPS SUE STATE OVER $9.5 MILLION BUDGET TWIST

Off-roading organizations are suing the state to block the transfer to state parks of more than $9.5 million that originally was meant for off-road recreation.
The Washington Off Highway Vehicle Alliance and the Northwest Motorcycle Association said Monday that using money from the Nonhighway and Offroad Vehicle Acitivities budget to fund state parks violates the 1972 law that created the state's off-roading program.
The program was set up to use off-road vehicle taxes, from fuel and licenses, to "promote and protect" the sport, according to the organizations.
In the spring, the Legislature approved the funds transfer as part of an appropriations bill.
"Now that all the money is going to state parks and state parks is not going to spend the money on off-road vehicle recreation, this is no longer a legitimate refund to the benefit of these taxpayers," the groups said in a statement.
The organizations allege that if the off-roading program loses funding, then the state's off-road trails no longer will be maintained and state workers will lose their jobs. The groups' lawsuit is one of seven related to the state's 2009 budget. All together, the suits have a potential annual impact of more than $115 million.

[Grumpy]

Two pieces of info I picked up while rambling around the intardnet:

1 - Have been told by Sen. Delvin's staff that the Attorney General's office says they haven't seen anything on the NOVA suit yet. This as of Tuesday.

2 - A rumor floating around is that State Parks is using the NOVA funding for payroll, and actually hired staff. I'm waiting for any more on this bit of info. If true, as far as I'm concerned, they're really stepping in it!

[Grumpy]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:





WASHINGTON OFF HIGHWAY VEHICLE ALLIANCE FILES LAWSUIT TO BLOCK TRANSFER OF ORV

FUNDS TO STATE PARKS



Olympia, Washington – 5 October 2009



The Washington Off Highway Vehicle Alliance has teamed up with the Northwest Motorcycle Association to file a lawsuit against the State of Washington to block the transfer of over 9.5 million dollars in offroad vehicle funds from the Nonhighway and Offroad Vehicle Activities (NOVA) account to State Parks. Attorney James Buchal will be representing both organizations.



This spring the Legislature passed House Bill 1244, which transferred the money out of the NOVA

account. The NOVA account money comes from the gas tax paid by offroad vehicle users and the

license tab fees on offroad vehicles (ORV).



According to the Washington State Constitution gas tax collected must be used only for roads. To comply with that the state allows refunds on gas tax paid for other uses.



In 1972 the offroad vehicle community supported passage of legislation that waived their right to a direct refund of the taxes they paid for ORV fuel in exchanged for having those same funds “refundedâ€

[Grumpy]

No details at this time, but I have a bit of info indicating the court ruled against WOHVA on their suit

[iaccocca]

No details at this time, but I have a bit of info indicating the court ruled against WOHVA on their suit

You have got to be Freaking kidding me!!! :

(Note editing software not working. Had to self edit freaking.)

[Grumpy]

Nope. Got it on NW-W and PNW now. Need to contact Angie to see if she has a copy of the judge's "decision".

[Grumpy]

Per Angie Marek, new PNW President, the B.O.D. of WOHVA has approved filing an appeal on the lawsuit. I believe this will continue to keep the money tied up so that it can't be used...

[Grumpy]

Appeal has been started. A 38 page brief has been filed.