I received an " E " mail from Sandy McCullen ASA4WDC Association stating the closure of Martinez Canyon..We need to help to mantain this great trail open at any cost..Here is the letter...


___________________________________________
Fellow OHV recreationist........
Below is a sample letter to the Tucson BLM Field Office regarding their intended closure of Martinez Canyon. It's IMPORTANT we deliver HUNDREDS of letters on their desks in the next couple of days. Francisco's agenda has been to close this canyon for several years so this has finally given him the ability to do so.

An EMERGENCY CLOSURE does not require public scoping.

PLEASE use this letter or write your own and delete parts that don't apply to you, but if we want to keep Martinez Canyon open to our use we need to take the bull by the horns and send your letter NOW. Don't let "the other guy do it". YOUR letter will count! BE PRECISE BUT PLEASE BE POLITE.

Please do not just "forward"............ Send as an independent letter. Cut and paste into another email but don't show "where you received the sample" or "who forwarded the information to you" etc.

We CAN make a difference. Please forward this to everyone you know…….

Sandee

Francisco_Mendoza@blm.gov Tucson Planner
Patrick_Madigan@blm.gov Tucson Field Manager
Bill_Gibson@blm.gov State OHV Coordinator
Julie_Decker@blm.gov State Resources Coordinator
Mike_Taylor@blm.gov State Resources Deputy Director
Bill_Civish@blm.gov Tucson District Manager
Anna_Atkinson@blm.gov D.C. OHV Coordinator



August _____, 2006



Bureau of Land Management
Tucson Field Office
12661 E. Broadway
Tucson, AZ 85748-7208

ATTENTION: Mr. Patrick Madigan, Field Manager

Dear Mr. Madigan,

I am a member of __________________________ (AZOHVC; club; group etc) representing _______________ (number of members.. AZOHVC is now over 11,000.)

I have been recreating, hunting, camping and enjoying our backcountry for ______ years and the Martinez Canyon area is important to me and my family in both recreation opportunities and history of our state.

I am writing this in response to a recent notice involving Martinez Canyon. I was dismayed to hear of the damage done to the Cabins but was equally dismayed to hear BLM is strongly considering an “emergency closure” as a result.

“Emergency Closures” tend to become permanent. I am requesting some mitigation steps be considered before closure.

The BLM Volunteer “Red Shirts” have offered numerous solutions in the past and I would hope these steps be considered again. 5-6 Years ago BLM was offered the services, at no cost to BLM, of a structural engineer to evaluate the stabilization of the cabin and the OHV community offered to supply the workers and materials to do what was needed. It was also felt that interpretative signs telling the history of the canyon would bring “responsibility and ownership” from the users. None of this was ever accepted by BLM. We are now in a situation that OHV are paying the penalty for damage by other than OHV. Because of the intimation of the OHV being to blame for the destruction certainly doesn’t lend itself to partnerships between BLM and the OHV community. This area has been a local party spot (RAVE parties and drugs) for several years. The defacing of the historical cabin was not done by OHV. The bold writing on every wall in the cabin was done by an environmental “BLM Volunteer”. Your office staff know of this incident………… has he been banned?

The “BLM Red Shirt Volunteers” are those that do clean-ups; install kiosks and signs; obtain and offer these materials to BLM at no cost; we offer to Adopt trails and help with monitoring and maintenance; many of our OHV folks are now Site Stewards……… we do this and still are the only recreationists denied access to a beautiful canyon because of our choice of transportation or recreation?

I believe gating and permits for access to this canyon was recommended some time ago. I’m assuming if this canyon is closed to motorized use it will be gated at the entrance. Why could this not be a gate allowing for permitted access only. This would give BLM knowledge of who and when there is access to the canyon; it would turn the party crowd away and allow time to join together and evaluate the cabins and hopefully do stabilization work and put together a “history story” of the area. Closing access to OHV is certainly not a way to build collaborative partnerships nor trust between BLM and the OHV Community.

It is respectfully requested BLM meet with the OHV Community leaders to discuss reaching an acceptable approach to this problem before decision of closure is made.

Thank you for your consideration.

*Name
*Address
Phone
Email

Will do, but I've got to say someone is going to mess this part up...

quote:

Please do not just "forward"............ Send as an independent letter. Cut and paste into another email but don't show "where you received the sample" or "who forwarded the information to you" etc.

Done.

So is a letter that is mailed directly to Patrick Madigan better than an email to him. If we send a letter then we cannot copy the others menntioned. Or is an email fine with those others copied?

I also worry that someone will copy the entire message and not just the letter, but I will do my part.

Thanks for posting this.

I copied the letter into a word document. Made the changes needed and then copied it into email.

I customized mine a bit and sent it via email.

Thanks guys. I really don't want to see this trail closed...it's probably my favorite trail in the area. A lot of the 'vandalism' was done by a screwball BLM 'volunteer' - all the wall writing, etc. I've met that guy out there and I should have chucked him down the sistern before they capped it off.

The BLM turns down offers to help preserve this stuff and would rather just close it off. The BLM is also responsible for handing over hundreds of acres of land in the Table Mesa area to the city of Phoenix for planned expansion. Phoenix has to stop growing in this manner, and agencies like the BLM need to be consistent....they'll sell out some of their land while restricting other parts. It's not consistent, and as an OHV enthusiast, their policies are difficult to justify.

I hope there's a redshirt meeting scheduled for this...I'll do what I can to attend.

Wear the redshirt I PM'ed you

quote:

posed by "Hackle" on VJC(Virtual Jeep Club):
Don't ever let someone tell you that your time sending a letter is wasted!

Sandee just called me after leaving a meeting at Tucson BLM. Per Patrick Martinez Canyon will not be closed to OHV use. We will need volunteers in the near future to help stabilize the Cabins and fence them off. We will also set up a kiosk of sorts to show the history of the area. Bottom line is the trail will stay open.
Good work to everyone that got invovled and sent letters.
Jim F.

Now that is some good news.I bet there will be a traffic jam of people out there trying to help with the cabins and all that.Me included...

I passed it along to others and I know of atleast 10 people that emailed letters...

The title made me pee myself, then I read Goat's post and see that my urine was in fact wasted. Would be there in full force, but the distance thing...

I've met and talked with Francisco Mendoza about the Martinez Canyon and the current state of the cabins. He did not mention anything about closing down the canyon. On the contrary, he is looking to rebuild the stone cabin that is currently in very bad shape. Because of its historical significance, he wants to save the cabin so future generations can see it.

I volunteer with the OHV Ambassadors group. We will be helping Francisco rebuild the stone cabin. When I asked him if other (non-Ambassadors) could participate in the restoration, he was receptive to the idea. The restoration is going to happen this year, and might possibly take place as early as May.