Sutherland OHV Park Sutherland Nebraska

Question: Dear NOHVA

I'm a new NOHVA member writing you with concerns for the possible loss of the Sutherland riding area. I've lived in Nebraska for several years now and am very aware of the lack of riding areas in this state. I've recently returned to OHV riding, full swing, and have spent a lot of money on machines and equipment ,in large part due to the availability of the Sutherland riding area.

I've been told that due to a lack of members, the Sutherland track will lose it's NOHVA backing and the track will ultimately be closed.
This track is not in a national forest such as Bessey or Mckelvie, which are constantly in fear of being closed to all ATV traffic. It is not close to a bunch of noise intolerant neighbors such as the recently closed MX track in Lincoln. It is in fact NPPD donated land, located next to a reservoir with some free camping.

To let this track close due to loss of nohva backing would be a large let down to ALL current, and prospective nohva members. One more lost riding area, not to government control, not to whining neighbors, but to lack of help from the one organization that was designed to fight for the off-road enthusiast in Nebraska.

I was told the deadline for a minimum of 50 flatrock/nohva memberships was December 2004, and with the weather cooling off rapidly I don't foresee sufficient membership by that time.

If what I've been told is false, please set me straight! If it is, in fact, true I ask you to stand behind the flatrock club and help keep the track open. I myself have seen enough different riders at the track to fulfill the minimum membership quota, so I know it is possible.

If nohva is planning on disconnecting from the Sutherland riding area, could you please post your intentions in the "atv/dirtbike news" ,and your news publication so other nohva members can have a chance to voice themselves also.

Thank you, NOHVA Member

Thanks for your email. I have posted the article on the web site for all to see. I should have had it up earlier, but I've been swamped here. There has been an increase in NOHVA members from the North Platte area in the last couple of months and I don't know exactly where we are as far as numbers go. But we will be looking at this prior to our annual meeting this winter in February 2005.

When we originally set out on this project, we told the riders that they needed to support us in order for us to help them. We also said that much of the memberships fee's they paid would be used for the area.

This year, we found out that there were actually two clubs there, a chapter of our organization who are NOHVA members and a separate club who do not want to join NOHVA. The separate club has many more members than our NOHVA chapter. Unfortunately, if there is ever a lawsuit, who is going to get caught paying for it? NOHVA will. If the area get's closed, NOHVA's going to get blamed for it even though the people who use the area are to blame.

People also ask us to represent them while riding on the river which is private land. They say they will join NOHVA - AFTER we can get permission from land owners to let them to continue to ride there. We don't have the money and time to do that. People at Lake Mac want us to become involved in opening the beaches there, but they don't want to support us. We will offer advice and point people in the right direction on new riding areas, but we cannot use our membership funded treasury to pay for projects that people do not want to support us on. There just is not enough money to do that and it's not fair to our members.

There is not many days that goes by where someone calls me and wants riding area information AND maps of places to ride in Nebraska sent to them free. I tell them that we only send it our to our members, and I end up sending them a membership application. We are lucky to get one in twenty back as a membership. We simply cannot afford to send out trail info that cost us $3 a pop to send.

The Sutherland project is not the only area we name in our insurance. Other areas we cover include the Headworks OHV Park near Genoa and the Nebraska National Forest. About 25% of the riders at Headworks support us, and about 5% or 10% of the riders at Halsey support us.

Concerning the Nebraska National Forest near Halsey, we have been hammering on riders to support us for years. The trails that exist now are due to plans that I started in 1990. We may have at best 175 members out of 1400 who joined NOHVA to support our efforts there. We spent about $5700 there last year (2003) and about $2000 there on trail related costs this year. I know riders are going to be VERY disappointed when maybe 3/4's of the trails will close next year because riders REFUSE to become involved in trails or even support our efforts.

It's not fair to ask our members who ride at the Headworks OHV Park to subsidize the Sutherland and Halsey trails when they never ride there. Our organization does not receive any funding from any government agency, from dealers or the manufacturers. Our general liability insurance bill for this year alone is $2800. We pay another $3000 for the Headworks OHV Park events.

I would love to have a dollar for everyone I've talked to asking for support (a voluntary membership) who have a new quad or dirtbike on their new truck. They can shell out $5000 or $50,000, but cannot or will not afford a $25 voluntary single membership.

Particularly in the North Platte area, the three main dealers seem un-concerned about Sutherland, or if or where people ride the products they sell. While not all dealers are like this. it seems all they are concerned about is moving units out the door. You have NO IDEA how this attitude has hurt recreational riders at Sutherland and at Halsey. If it were not for Kearney Yamaha, we would not have a donated rescue machine for use at Halsey. People like Roger Blackford at Heartland ATV in Kearney help out also. The manufactures don't help any recreational riders in Nebraska and have chosen not to support us. The state of Nebraska is one of the most anti-motorized recreation governments in the nation and that's not going to change because it's going to take BIG bucks to convince state legislators and officials to become involved. Federal officials are under pressure to close the rivers to riders and trails at Halsey from local land owners, farmers, ranchers and environmentalists.

So if these areas get closed, who is going to get the blame? Your's truly and our organization, and that's just the way it is, goes with the territory. I and we will survive. People have no idea the amount of resources we've put into Halsey and Sutherland. We can't continue to do it without the financial support and involvement of the riders. In other state's, state and federal gasoline taxes we pay on these machines are allowed to be used for trails. Not in Nebraska. So NOHVA bears the burden of trying to find funds for these projects and we are not getting a lot of support from the riders, dealers and manufacturers.

I'm sorry if I give the impression that all is lost here. It's not. Our organization does have the right to spell out the facts to our members and other riders, and ask them to support our efforts and explain the possible results.