General Project Descriptions

Facility Operations and Maintenance (FO&M) Request: This request includes funding facility maintenance for the infrastructure supporting the forest's world-class OHV program. Work covers a variety of routine cleaning, maintenance, and scheduled contracts for potable drinking water testing, vault toilet pumping, and garbage collection, needed to provide base-level service for health and safety. During routine facility maintenance and patrol, OHV and recreation technicians will provide public service, information and education, and hazard reduction work. Professionally designed signs and bulletin boards will be located at various sites to provide up-to-date self service public information. Estimated Total Cost: $85,000

Facility Operations and Maintenance Project Costs/Deliverables

Forest-wide Law Enforcement Request: This funding request is for one year of law enforcement (LE) funding assistance to supplement ongoing OHV management operations. The Forest is requesting funding for salary assistance for forest protection officers (FPOs) with citation authority and some equipment needs. Activities include providing public information, education and enforcement, resource monitoring, protection patrols, crime prevention, restitution, signing and barrier installation. We hope, with State OHV assistance, to provide a stronger law enforcement presence to reduce the occurrence of illegal off-route travel and eliminate any new user created trails. An interim forest order prohibiting motorized travel and inventoried routes is in effect. Currently, we are in the process of developing an environmental impact statement for route designation on the southern portion of the forest that is not within the Giant Sequoia National Monument. Estimated Total Cost: $300,000

Forest-Wide Law Enforcement Request Project Costs/Deliverables

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Forest-wide Trail Maintenance Request: This request for State OHV funding assistance will enable us to provide two years of base-level OHV trail maintenance. We have over 200 miles of routes for OHV trails and roads. "Level-2" forest roads are open and available for mixed use (both street legal and green/red sticker) vehicle access. Estimated Total Cost: $200,000

Forest-Wide Trail Maintenance Request Costs/Deliverables

Forest-wide Conservation Request: The Sequoia National Forest is requesting two years of State OHV assistance funds to continue and expand the forest program of monitoring and protecting natural and cultural resources, as well as the development and/or implementation of soil conservation standards and the Wildlife and Plant Habitat Protection Plan (WHPP)/Habitat Management Program (HMP) for existing OHV routes. The cultural resource portion of the grant proposal would focus on known areas of conflict to develop mitigation/reroutes, as needed. This would include approximately 50 miles per year of reconnaissance for cultural resources along trails with known or high potential for conflicts. Estimate Total Cost: $100,000

Forest-Wide Conservation Request Costs/Deliverables

Forest-wide Planning Projects Request:

OHV Safety and/or Education Program Projects Request: This project requests State OHV funding to build and implement a quality OHV safety/education outreach program that emphasizes land ethics, safety, interpretive educational information and environmental stewardship to all public land visitors with a primary focus on motorized recreation users. Estimate Total Cost: $20,000

OHV Safety and/or Education Program Costs/Deliverables

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Description of Past Accomplishments

OHV Education and Information: State Off-Highway Vehicle funds have been used to provide education and informational materials for OHV users. Funds have been used to develop and print the popular Off-Highway Vehicle Guide map and brochure for OHV trails/roads on the Kern River and Hume Lake Ranger Districts.

Trail Maintenance: The Kern River Ranger District OHV trail crew has historically maintained approximately 60 miles of OHV trails on the Kern Plateau and 40 miles on the Greenhorn/Breckenridge and Piute Mountains with State OHV grant funding in the past.

Prior to opening District OHV trails, Forest Service employees and volunteers remove trees, clear debris and open nearly 200 miles of OHV system trails each spring. The Sequoia National Forest has a long and successful history working with a variety of partners including forest recreation users, and organizations and clubs, representing OHV, mountain biking, equestrian and hiking. Under the Adopt-A-Trail volunteer program, there are numerous clubs and organizations that maintain the designated travel routes. They include:

Forest-wide Law Enforcement: Four OHV patrols have been funded for 10 pay periods each for a total of 40 pay periods in the last three years to support information, education, and enforcement related to forest-wide OHV management. 40 feet of wood barriers and 80 feet of metal barriers were installed to protect soils and natural resources at Cyrus Canyon OHV track. The Kern River District has replaced and installed 8 OHV rules and regulation signs regarding green stickers, spark arrestors, and noise restrictions; 10 regulatory signs, and 16 directional signs. 25 directional information signs were installed on the following 4WD trails: Black Gulch, Borderline, Brown's Mill, Bradshaw Creek, Sherman Pass, and North Meadow; signs were also installed on the following OHV trails: Kern River, Kern Canyon, Oak Flat Lookout, Brown's Mill, Badger Gap, Rincon, Cedar Canyon, Rattlesnake, and Potato Patch. 200 regulatory signs were installed to help designate legal OHV routes, identify and protect sensitive or rehabilitated areas and to explain seasonal restrictions affecting vehicle travel. OHV patrols installed 10 informational signs to identify maintenance level II roads.