Illinois New Off-Road riding park near Mt. Sterling ILLINOIS

[motorhead404]

Sun, August 3rd

State OFF-Road park in danger!

We have a situation that needs your immediate attention:
The IDNR Sustainability Act ,that was passed in the 97th G.A., and was totally unfair with "Tax Stamps" on ALL off-road vehicles was re-negotiated in SB2633 this past year.
This bill removed some of the rules on Tax Stamps and did away with them in some cases and allowed family members to ride on their own property and regardless if you lived on it or not.
It also removed mandatory "Tax Stamps" from ohv's on privately owned parks.

This was negotiated with Illinois Dept. of Natural Resources (IDNR) Director Marc Miller and staff, Jay Hall of Halls Cycles in Springfield and AMA District 17 rep, and Assistant State Legislative Coordinator "Hunter" John Harris and myself with State Senator Dave Koehler mediating the process and filling a new bill for us.
The results of this became SB2633 which we lobbied and passed 56-0 in the Senate and 94-13 in the House.

We were also promised land to ride on and in the very near future. This land was 2200 acres in Brown County around the town of Buckhorn just east of Quincy.

Now the hunters and Sierra Club have gotten hold of this news and are out to stop us.
They don't want you to have any state owned property to ride on in Illinois.
We all need to make ph calls to the following people and demand that the state live up to their word and give us this park and the 2 other parks we were promised.

Senator John Sullivan (47)
Springfield office -  (217) 782-2479
Quincy office - (217) 222-2295
Macomb office - (309) 833-5687 Call all 3 offices, Overwhelm them

State Representative Norine Hammond (93)
Springfield office -  (217) 782-0416
Macomb office -  (309) 836-2707, Call both offices

Talking Points:
We negotiated in good faith with the state and we demand that they live up to their promises.
There are another 100,000 acres around this 2,200 acres that the hunters have for their recreation.
Once established, an Off-Road Park will generate tons of money for the IDNR and Brown County.
If not given our land we will fight to have the "Tax Stamp" requirement removed for any and all ohv's used for recreational riding.
 

IDNR Director Marc Miller's ph # is 217-785-0075
Call him and demand that the Illinois Department of Natural Resources live up to its word and give that park to us

Brown County
There will be a County Board Meeting at 7:00 pm at the Brown County Courthouse, Mt. Sterling. We need to overrun the seating and ask that the Board requests the IDNR to establish this park as planned.

Brown County Courthouse 217-773-3421  This was the only # I could find for the Board Members
Call those board members below and remind them of the money that Off-Road bikers can generate for the local economy

Board Members Chairman: David Ferrill

Vice-Chairman: Mike Yingling
County Clerk: Judy Ham -
County Treasurer: Candy Knight
John Salrin, Bob Hamilton, James Rensch, Corey Anderson, Jed Parn,
Jason Garthaus, and Daniel Sabo

MAKE THOSE CALLS PLEASE
Bob
 

[motorhead404]

Just heard about this at work today from an old Wapella Moto buddy. He claimed to learn of on Facebook.

My personal opposition to this "Dirt Bike Tax Stamp" is the state offers me and my family no state owned off road riding park to justify the fee, well, that and the fact that if I ride at a buddies place ( that he already pays taxes on)I'm required to purchase a sticker to be legal.

This is our chance to ensure a place for us and our kids to ride here in Illinois, instead of driving and spending our money in Missouri, or Indiana, or Michigan, or Wisconsin.

Word is there will be an AMA ACTION ALERT on this any day.

As of tonight the only info I could find was on ABATE OF ILLINOIS website.

ACT NOW, and plan to attend if you can.

[motorhead404]

Monday August 11

7:00 PM @ Brown county courthouse in Mt.Sterling

[motorhead404]

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Attend Monday, August 11th Meeting to Save Ilinois OHV Park Your Involvement Can Make The Difference

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The AMA thought you would want to know that the Brown County Board meeting this coming Monday will include public comment for and against an OHV park in Mt. Sterling, Illinois. 

Jay Hall with the AMA and Bob Myer with ABATE of Illinois lead a team of OHV advocates that worked hard together on legislation that supports establishment and operation of the first state-owned OHV Park in Illinois through OHV registrations.  Their efforts with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources resulted in the passage of Senate Bill 2633 on August 1^st, 2014 which:

Amends the Recreational Trails of Illinois Act; Provides that the fee for an Off-Highway Vehicle Usage Stamp for a vehicle with an engine capacity of over 75 cubic centimeters shall be $15 annually; Provides that the fee for an Off-Highway Vehicle Usage Stamp for a vehicle with an engine capacity of 75 cubic centimeters and below shall be $10 annually; Provides additional exemptions to the requirement of operators of an off-highway vehicle displaying an Off-Highway Vehicle Usage Stamp; Effective immediately.

The exemptions from usage stamps noted above include family members operating an OHV on their own land, whether or not it includes their primary residence, and those using an OHV on a privately owned OHV park.  Very importantly, the Recreational Trails of Illinois Act requires funds from Usage Stamps go toward OHV parks. 

After extensive efforts to find a suitable location for Illinois’ first state owned OHV park, news of the park plan & location on 2,200 acres in Mt Sterling was released unofficially by the IDNR before intended, and before pro-OHV leaders were told to notify their memberships.  The natural result is that the anti-OHV community is well aware of the meeting and expected to attend in large numbers. 

It is our hope that responsible OHV enthusiasts and advocates from Illinois and surrounding states will show up in at least equally large numbers to make the case for the Mt. Sterling Park as a sorely needed resource that will bring tourist dollars for fuel, supplies, lodging and food. 

If you can, please attend or have a local friend do so, and provide clear descriptions of your needing places to ride legally and the dollars you spend in local communities when you do.  This proposed park is well placed relative to other recreation uses and residential areas and critically important to the future of OHV riding in Illinois. 

DATE & TIME: Monday, August 11^th @ 7pm.

LOCATION: Brown County Courthouse, 200 Court St., Mt. Sterling, IL 62353

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Call the courthouse: (217) 773-2011

Now more than ever, it is crucial that you and your riding friends become members of the AMA to help us protect our riding freedoms. More members mean more clout against the opponents of motorcycling, and your support will help the AMA fight for your rights – on the road, trail, racetrack, and in the halls of government. To join, go to AmericanMotorcyclist.com/membership/join.

 

 

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[Reefs]

Any news on this, wish I had know about it would have been there to voice my support!

[sparky601]

Also did not know about this info prior to the. Meeting. Could this be posted in a more general forum as well or an email thread started

[motorhead404]

My son and I attended, little over two hour drive for us but I'm glad I went. Not sure what to make of the outcome, the meeting ended kind of early as one of the county board members (a hunter by his garb) got pretty pissy with an ABATE guy then the board moved on to other business. There were two reps. from the IDNR for a slide presentation on why this site was at top of their list, And to explain the positive economic impact this would have on Brown County, And how the park would be laid out in regards to noise and interaction with other's.I thought they did a good job explaining everything to the board. Questions and objections seemed to stem from the people on the board who had camo hats or hunting shirts. Here's a few

Questions/concerns over soil impact-IDNR had already done soil survey, but the guy speaking for the board had a few more questions

How many officers the DNR would employ

Who is responsible for plowing roads to park

Is Deer hunting planned to share with ATV'rs? Yes DNR said, it works in other places. They (hunters on board)didn't seem to like that.

What kind of burdon this will put on local EMS service.

Will riding be allowed year round?

And of course, the big one. NOISE.

My gut feeling is these people have a preconceived notion of the hells angels overcoming the community on four wheelers and dirt bikes, which we all know couldn't be farther from the truth.

It's up to us to inform them of the truth.

[motorhead404]

Spoke with Amy Madigan today, She is the greenways and trails outreach coordinator for the IDNR, And the person who lead the presentation at the Brown County courthouse.

She recommended going to Facebook and doing a search for "IDNR Buckhorn ATV Park Support Group" and voicing your approval of the proposed OHV Park there.

It was brought up at the presentation that when the Buckhorn unit opened hunter participation was above 3,000, now down to 1,900. Amy told me in the short time since her presentation the Facebook page has over 1,300 members. So almost as many people interested in off road recreation at this site in a little over a week as hunters have been using the park! If you would like to have an OHV park here in Illinois please take a minute to leave some positive comments regarding responsible OHV park use with family and friends.

[Guest]

I guess I am a little behind the  times on this one. Is there a park there already or are they still in process of tryin to get one open? 

 

[motorhead404]

Tentative open date of 2016

Looked like great terrain around that area when we drove over for meeting, just west and a little south from where I used to Moto at Rushville back in the 80's. Should make for killer trails, super stoked to get in there and ride some buff singletrack before the quadtards hog it all out. Ask Jay Hall from Hall's Cycles about it next time you see him, he has been working on this with ABATE for awhile now he said.

Finally a real off-road park in Illinois to ride. SWEET! Now they need to get working on the other two proposed sites.

[sparky601]

Two other sites proposed where?

[motorhead404]

@Sparky601

The list shown at the meeting had proposed sites from all over state, as of then sounds like buckhorn was only one so far that met IDNR criteria. I heard they also looked at some landfill property in Fulton county that didn't make it, seems to me that would be perfect for us. The ABATE Rep. said they were promised THREE state riding areas for supporting this OHV sticker tax.

Time will tell

[motorhead404]

Did some checking.

Primary first tier sites (in no particular order)

Snakeden hollow SFWA

Kickapoo state park Dynegy unit

Siloam springs buckhorn unit

Sahara woods SFWA

[sparky601]

Been a while since on the site. Snake Den would be a good location. The Dynegy site would be good for the east side where I currently live and there are others ib the area a looking for places to go. Anyone hearing any grunt?

[OLHILLBILLY]

Out of curiosity, how much do the tax stamps cost?

[Guest]

Just got the February edition of the American Motorcyclists magazine. Says there is a new OHV park opening in Nebo Illinois. At a place called Harpoles Heartland Resort. Is this a different location than what has been talked about? Works good for me, my mother in law lives 3 miles out of town in Nebo. I hate going down there to visit, but now I have a reason and place to bring the bike. I got to ride at the place Rockport a couple times before they closed it down. Is the MT Sterling place done or is it still in the works?

 

[Katzat]

I wish they'd open one of those near Chicago.