Center for Sierra Nevada Conservation

This application should be denied. The applicants focus is on closing trails and opportunities for the public to access our forest. Grant money is generated by license fees and should not be used against the very people that pay those fees. Marc Sobel - 3/10/16

I do not believe this grant should be funded as it provides funding for future undescribed possible damage?? Edward Mann – 3/16/16

This application should be denied. There is nothing positive in this application. The money collected by the green sticker fees are to be used to provide for the public use and advancement not to close trails and minimize the use of trails. We pay for this and the money should be used to improve, educate and correct the problems. N. Connor – 3/16/16

Please deny this grant request. This organization is opposed to recreational uses on public lands moreover, if the use involves a motor. A grant request from the Center for Sierra Nevada Conservation should be considered when the staff is comprised of OHV users, only. William Lithgow – 3/17/16

Work outlined by this group would seem better suited to NF staff or contractor. The project seems to be a justification of high salaries for the lead individuals and creating a new private company. The daily pay rates exceed any of the volunteer proposals I have seen. The number of estimated work day seems aimed at creating full time jobs paid by the OHV fund. Are these individuals trained for this kind of work? Are they physically able to perform 200 days a year of manual labor? Will this work be overseen and managed by the forest service as other volunteers are? CSNC has demonstrated to exist as an extremest special interest group with a goal to completely eliminate OHV use on any and all public lands. This is not in line with management of OHV recreation. Christopher Methot – 3/20/16

They are asking the OHV Commission to fund their corporation and pay them full time expensive salaries. The interest of the CSNC and Karen Schambach over the last 30yrs has been to eliminate and/or reduce OHV use in California. They have a history of using public grant money to fund lawsuits against public agencies. In other words, using tax payer money to sue taxpayers. Funding this agency is a conflict of interest for OHV users. Dave Pisano – 3/22/16

I'm writing to voice my support for CSNC's grant to continue their restoration projects. How anyone could oppose this amazes me, but I understand this is the case. This group repairs trails, eases erosion sites, cleans public areas, etc., which, of course, you know. These projects used to be handled by Forest Service employees. As such, they must have been considered as valuable by same. Has that changed? That they are now being done principally by volunteers does not alter their value. Please lend your support to the CSNC work by backing their request for a grant. Yours truly, Jane Reed – 3/22/16

I write in SUPPORT of the OHV restoration grant applied for by CSNC. Just as wild pigs wreak havoc on the landscape with their rooting behaviors, similarly does the off-road motorcycle crowd despoil the landscape in some very sensitive areas. I am in favor of using public money to ameliorate some of this damage. CSNC has the resources to accomplish this type of work, and is worthy of a grant to do so. Alan Lubanes – 3/22/16

I am apposed to the use of any of my tax dollars and/or funds I have contributed via the OHV program to fund any program by the Center for Sierra Nevada Conservation. The Center for Sierra Nevada Conservation has consistently worked against a broad spectrum of our population that wishes to use and share our public lands in a responsible manner. It is incredibly inappropriate to fund this organization that does not have the best interest of the public, the actual users, or the forest in mind. The Center for Sierra Nevada Conservation has no expertise or successful long term experience managing, repairing, or protecting public lands. It does however have plenty of experience pushing for the closure of public lands to the public without compromise. Closing public lands is not managing, repairing, or protecting it. CJ Johnson – 3/22/16

Applicant fails to show where matching funds will come from. According to their IRS tax exempt filing, CSNC has no assets, income, or revenue. EIN 680108508. Bruce Brazil - 3/22/16

Please find attached our letter of support for the Center for Sierra Nevada Conservation's grant application. Thank you, Melinda Frost-Hurzel – 3/22/16

Friends of Hope Valley is a non-profit, grass roots organization dedicated to the preservation of the scenic, recreational and historical use of Hope Valley and Alpine County's eastern slope. We support the Center for Sierra Nevada Conservation's (CSNC) grant application. The restoration work the group has complete has made positive impact in fragile areas. CSNC has many valuable on going projects, the grant will help keep the program alive. Thank you, Debbi Waldear – 3/23/16

The Desert Protective Council supports the Center for Sierra Nevada's (CSNC) grant application. CSNC has had well-documented success with prior restoration projects funded by the OHV Grants and Cooperative Agreements Program. CSNC has created projects that have protected sensitive stream habitat and important wetlands, With OHV Restoration Grant funding, CSNC has hired enthusiastic and hardworking Americorps people. These employees have been instrumental in protecting sensitive archaeological sites and populations of sensitive native plant species. CSNC has been remarkably successful in building a reliable base of volunteers, thereby awakening local community interest and increasing participation in the work of protecting the beautiful stream networks, wetlands and unique plant and animal communities in the local forests. Funding for this project should be continued. The positive outcomes of CSNC's previous and ongoing restoration grants are a model of effective management and use of OHV funding. Terry Weiner – 3/23/16

The Center for Sierra Nevada Conservation has applied for an OVH restoration grant. Our prior grants have enabled trails in the El Dorado Forest that have had to be closed because they went through sensitive areas to be restored. I worked as volunteer with the paid workers from CSNC to help restore some of these trails. The forest service with continuing cuts to their funds are trying their best to keep the forest sustainable and at the same time provide for all those of us who want to use it, such as hikers, bird-watchers, campers, off-road vehicles riders. Our paid workers work under the supervision of the National Forest Staff. There are new trails provided to replace the ones that had to be closed. I truly admire and appreciate the work of the National Forest Staff that does its very best to meet all the needs and desires of those of us who use our forests and to insure our that National Forests will be sustained into the future for all who will also want to use them. CSNC workers and we volunteers are needed to stretch the limited budget of the National Forest to get it all done. Mae Harms – 3/25/16

I strongly oppose this grant application because there is no provision made for sections E. List of Reports and F. Goals, Objectives and Methodology/Peer Reviews. While it seems the CSNC has taken great care in detailing their "proposed restoration," this proposal lacks transparency because they will not publish any reports and do not have clearly stated objectives. In other words, it would be difficult to monitor the work being done and verify it accomplishes anything worthwhile. These grants should not be free money. Behzad Mohebbi – 3/26/16

I strongly oppose this grant application. There are no provisions made for sections E. List of Reports and F. Goals, Objectives and Methodology/Peer Reviews. These grants should not be handouts to whomever for whatever. Dennis Kobza – 3/27/16

Please do not provide any funding to the Center for Sierra Nevada Conservation. This organization does not support OHV use. Giving them any of my green sticker funds is counter productive. Their efforts are counter to the intent of the green sticker funds. Thank you, John Seymour – 3/27/16

I strongly oppose funding the this organization. Their proposed activity is biased by their agenda to eliminate OHV recreation. This is not what these grants are intended for. I feel this funding should support organizations that benefit the public and OHV . Chris Gallop – 4/2/16