Ohio Motorized Trails Assn (OMTA)

[KennyTJ]

Originally Posted by carwash

"Honestly, does anybody on this board really know anything about public land-use in the state of Ohio for motorized use besides the 2 minutes of glancing over some posts?"

yer hitting the nail on the head there man...

Actually the Pres. for the OMTA was trying to get the MB's club into the organization, gave a presentation at one of the meetings last fall. I sat and discussed what they were doing for about an hour afterward 1on1, and the info I got from him caused my concerns. The cost was for "trail development" on public lands, that did not include any park infrastructure. I also did not like how they already have a "construction contractor" on board to do said work, getting paid for it of course. I just belive you can tap into labor resources in clubs like CORE that would be willing to do alot of this trail development for free, truly volunteering. They were NOT talking buying land from the state, but getting state funding to develop trails as part of the deal.... seems like a long put getting that kind of tax dollars with the current budget limitations with the state.

[blazerbrad]

Originally Posted by KennyTJ

Actually the Pres. for the OMTA was trying to get the MB's club into the organization, gave a presentation at one of the meetings last fall. I sat and discussed what they were doing for about an hour afterward 1on1, and the info I got from him caused my concerns. The cost was for "trail development" on public lands, that did not include any park infrastructure. I also did not like how they already have a "construction contractor" on board to do said work, getting paid for it of course. I just belive you can tap into labor resources in clubs like CORE that would be willing to do alot of this trail development for free, truly volunteering. They were NOT talking buying land from the state, but getting state funding to develop trails as part of the deal.... seems like a long put getting that kind of tax dollars with the current budget limitations with the state.

I agree with the concerns you state above and will send an e-mail to my friend today to follow up. When it comes to dealing with any government organization there is always red tape and fluff involved.

Correct as there is no intention for OMTA to buy land from the state. The land would be owned by the state but it is likely that the state would have to somehow acquire land.........they are not going to open up existing state park land to fourwheeling.........

[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

[GPER]

I know there was a good chunk of land donated to the parks a few years back that is untouched. I think the land is there it would just be the matter of getting the approval for the trails around the state.

It would also be nice to get the atv trails opened up to sxs's that are over 50 inches.

[94Dodge Truggy]

It would also be nice to get the atv trails opened up to sxs's that are over 50 inches.[/QUOTE]

I like your thinking! Been wanting to go to wayne national forest orv park or monday creek and sinking springs but not 50".

[GPER]

Originally Posted by 94Dodge Truggy

It would also be nice to get the atv trails opened up to sxs's that are over 50 inches.

I like your thinking! Been wanting to go to wayne national forest orv park or monday creek and sinking springs but not 50".[/QUOTE]

I have had the CJ at Richland Furnace and was thinking about staying on the furnace side, I haven't been there in a few years. There is 100 acre park past Hillsboro by Sinking springs and 150 out in Xenia Township, no Jeeps at either place.

[blazerbrad]

Originally Posted by GPER

I have had the CJ at Richland Furnace and was thinking about staying on the furnace side, I haven't been there in a few years.

All the talk above about closing roads and paying attorney fees was about this area. This area is no longer "open" to the public. The township roads that criss-crossed the land have been officially vacated (i.e. no longer a legal public road), and gates have been put up to keep people out.

OMTA had been in discussion with the previous landowner about acquiring the land through state grants over a couple year period and he was interested, however he passed away before a deal could be struck and his kids who inherited the land just wanted a quick buck and didn't want to wait for the grants to come through (there is a lot more to the story, but you get the idea).

The land was bought by a lumber company that was completely opposed to any off-roading activity in the area, and therefore petitioned the local government to go through the legal process of officialling vacating the roads. OMTA coordinated the legal opposition to this.

Unfortunately this area was a great place to ride, plus when it was open there were two areas within 10 minutes of a nice campground to go wheelin' so you could make it a long weekend.

[blazerbrad]

Originally Posted by redcj3a

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.

OMTA coordinated all of the legal efforts and with the money coming from donations to OMTA. Basically, many seperate off-road clubs (Jeep, 4x4, ATV, bike) and other organizations donated money directly to a "legal defense fund" of OMTA that was then used to pay an attorney. I think there was around $9,000 spent on this, with the Ohio 4x4 Trailriders out of Columbus donating a large portion of that.