USFS - San Bernardino National Forest

I have attended two public comment meetings with SBNF and am very pleased with their due diligence and preparedness in submitting this grant. The funding they are asking for will greatly enhance the OHV areas. Lynn Crawford - 3/11/16

Please delete all requested funding (contract 65K) to grade FS roads. Why is the OHV user paying 100% to maintain the roads in the forest. i can see no tie in with the project. Joe Rose – 3/19/16

I see that within this O&M Grant, the SBNF is asking for $68,541 for an Assistant OHV Program Manager with a $20,460 'match' from USFS Federal Fund. This brings this person's salary up to $89,001 which is absurdly high when compared to the salary being some $20,000 more than the actual presiding OHV Program Manager. Why so much for an assistant position? In years past, the applicant asked for just about $65,000 for the main OHV manager. Again, I have to ask why an assistant position? Is this person a Nobel Laureate and demands compensation for their accomplishments? OR is this another attempt at what has become much too common within the OHV Grant Program - Ask for waaayyy too much and hope for half of that? Accountability should be paramount as I can see no reason an assistant position would demand such a exhorbanant salary! In fact, I don't even see a request for ANY salary for the presiding OHV Program Manager. Is he retiring and this so-called assistant will be replacing him? Even if that was the case, no reason can be logically reach for a $20,000 pay increase when less than that had been just fine for the last 5+ years. $20,000 for yet ANOTHER Polaris RZR UTV. There are already two (2) within the fleet which I have yet to see even once on the forest. This amount of $$$ could easily fund two ATVs or maybe even three motorcycles. Why do the FPOs and LEOs need to travel in such extravagant comfort? A rite of passage, perhaps? If so, not at the expense of OUR green sticker funds. Road Maintenance Contractor (for green sticker routes) to the tune of $65,000... WOW!!! The Adopt-A-Trail Program has over 48 active clubs with over 3000 active members with each club adopting a trail within the forest and THEY claim to be routinely doing MOST of the trail maintenance on their prospective trails. "These volunteers perform trail monitoring & maintenance (hand work) on Green Sticker routes and notify staff where mechanized work is necessary". 12,000 hours claimed last year at a proposed value of over $322,000 (real dollars, not monopoly money). SO... Why the need to pay an outside (or inside) contractor? Have the Adopt-A-Trail clubs and their respective volunteers not been carrying their own weight lately? If so, no need for $90,000 to fund an assistant OHV Program Manager to manage the AAT volunteers when this forest says a route maintenance contractor is required to, let's say "take up the slack"! Money better spent on another deserving forest - spread the wealth - but not like Bernie Sanders proposes! Now, I see that $10,000 is being requested for MC/ATV/Excavator Maintenance. This looks to be ONLY for service costs incurred by taking these vehicles to a dealership. This forest HAD at least one competent, manufacturer-certified mechanic who volunteered their time to the AAT program AND to SCMF diligently and selflessly for over 6 years. The SBNF squandered and exploited this resource and NOW has repeatedly requested for this towering amount of funds for simple, routine maintenance... much of which can be completed 'in house' by one of the thousands of capable VOLUNTEERS at their disposal. Or maybe they've just 'scared' off the capable ones and are left to ask for OUR funds. I say cut this amount in HALF and utilize their considerable volunteer base for routine maintenance. Drew A. – 4/4/16