[redcj3a]

I want to thank all who have read this thread and contributed in some manner.

I am relatively new to this hobby and have already been impacted by public trail closures. Specifically the vacating of public roads Vinton County that provided four wheeling opportunities in the Richland Furnace area. I am under the impression OMTA helped with the legal expenses to oppose this action by the Township Trustees. (Blazerbrad may be able to correct me if I am wrong.) This is when I first became aware of the organization.

My offroading activities since the vacating of roads listed above, have been limited to private property developed for four wheeling purposes. Haspin, Lost Valley and the Ranch in French Lick, Indiana where the Jeep Jamboree was held. I appreciated these property owners' efforts to develop their property for this purpose and gladly paid the entry fees for these areas. I hope to visit some of these properties again this year along with other locations. Hopefully, even a CORE trip.

I have also read of successful efforts to open public ground in Indiana for the purpose of offroad vehicle recreation. It appears there are successful models to follow in developing public access trails in Ohio.

The OMTA is the only organization I have found in Ohio that has made any progress towards getting public land for offroad vehicles like ours. These few, dedicated, OMTA volunteers have forged personal relationships with some of the appropriate state officials. Hopefully, we can stoke these relationships and eventually have an opportunity to enjoy offroading on public land here in Ohio. I believe our best chance for success in Ohio is through the OMTA.

If there are other groups working for this same purpose in Ohio, that includes full size 4x4 vehicles, please let me know of them also.

Blazerbrad, thank you for passing the concerns of this group on for better answers.

John