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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSnowmobile Assn LtrPosition Paper of: Oregon State Snowmobile Association Moon Country Snowmobile Club Tumalo Langlauf Club CENTURY DRIVE WINTER RECREATION May 22, 2008 PURPOSE AND REQUEST Oregon State Snowmobile Association, Moon Country Snowmobile Club, and Tumalo Langlauf (XC Ski) Club have come together in order to identify shared issues and to meet jointly developed goals in regards to recreation and forest use in the Deschutes National Forest, specifically in the Century Drive corridor. As a first step, our organizations have produced a position paper to request the active support of Central Oregon communities, local governments, and organizations for our shared goals and values for the Century Drive recreation corridor. Since your organization's interests dovetail with our goals, we would like to request your support by having you sign our position paper. Overview We represent nearly thousands of individuals who snowmobile, cross country ski, snowshoe, and backcountry ski from parking areas and sno-parks along Century Drive. We agree that the following principles should govern the management of the Century Drive corridor: • Accessibility: the Century Drive corridor offers diverse recreation experiences. • Low Cost: Recreation opportunities should be available at low or no cost to residents and visitors alike. • Provide sufficient parking and facilities for winter recreation experience: Sufficient parking and associated improvements allow outdoor recreation close to town. • Risk of catastrophic fire: The golden goose we have along Century Drive and at Mt. Bachelor is one unlucky, dry year away from a catastrophic forest fire that could dramatically change the character of that area. The community has much at stake, and much to lose, if action is not taken. Agenda of the snowmobile community: I. Provide the originally envisioned improvements at Kapka Butte Snow Park, within the original time frame. 2. Provide 388 miles of trail grooming for all winter recreation users on a volunteer basis. Agenda of the cross country ski community: I. Provide 25 kilometers of XC ski grooming on a volunteer basis at Virginia Meissner Snow Park. 2. Raise community awareness of Tumalo Langlauf Club and the groomed act ski trails at Virginia Meissner Sno-Park, along with the fact that we rely on donation and grants to perform grooming. Shared Agendas of the snowmobile and the cross country ski community: I. Support the development of Kapka Butte and Virginia Meissner Snow Parks, most importantly providing the originally proposed number of 70 parking spaces. 2. Develop a shared grooming hotline providing grooming reports and trail conditions on aII winter recreation routes. We support this joint effort. (Date) Oregon State Snowmobile Association Moon Country Sno-mobilers PO Box 435 PO Box 7156 La Pine, Oregon 97739 Bend, Oregon 97708 May 31, 2008 Deschutes County Board of Commissioners 1300 NW Wall Street Bend, Oregon 97701 Re: Support for Meissner and Kapka Sno-parks Tumalo Lanlauf Club 2322 NW Marken St Bend, Oregon 97701 Attached is a position paper jointly written by Oregon State Snowmobile Association., Moon Country Sno-mobilers, and Tumalo Langlauf XC Ski Club. Our organizations have come together to work on shared issues and goals, and as you can see from the attached, there are many issues critical to the forest and recreation in Central Oregon which will benefit from our shared interests and concerns. As a stakeholder in Central Oregon recreation and forest use issues, we are asking for your assistance in publicizing and working on these issues. You can help us by signing the attached position paper and returning it to our organization. With your support/signature, you'll join with many other public and private entities who want to assist us in providing recreation and forest health not only for the present, but for many generations to come. We will be presenting the signed position papers to our Oregon Congressional delegation: Representative Peter DeFazio, Representative Darlene Hooley, Representative Earl Blumenauer, Representative David Wu, Representative Greg Walden, Senator Ron Wyden and Senator Gordon Smith. Please return one signed original to Peggy Spieger, Oregon State Snowmobile Association, PO Box 435, La Pine, Oregon 97739. Fax 541-536-4099, email psbieaer@orecionsnow.,orct. We thank you in advance for your consideration, interest and support. Si9cerety,) Peggy g�r, Exedutiv 'rector Oregon State Snowmobile Association Lar y iser, President Moon Country Sno-mobilers Xe4 11iI4fl Ken Roadman, Board Member Tumalo Langlauf Club