The Picket Line. Presidents Page OVCBCHW.COM

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1 The Picket Line Friday, April 17, 2015 Volume 29, Number 4 Ted Sharr Editor Presidents Page OVCBCHW.COM Inside this issue: Volume 29, Number 4 Presidents page 1 Director Report 2-3 Trail Boss Report 4 Legislative Report 5 Yearly calendar 6 Ride directioms 7 Rondy 8 Cart mt ride 9 Chapter President : Stan Kvistad Well gang, is spring really here? The job was rained out yesterday and the snow line was right down on top of us and a dang good chill in the air today! You might wonder why the newsletter has been late, well Teddy had his eyes operated on and has only been able to spend 2 or 3 minutes at a time on it so that s that and I wish him a full and healthy recovery! The March meeting was well attended with 38 members, I think, thanks. The April meeting will be at the CCC in Tonasket, hope to see ya there. We had our first ride of the year and our first ride at Carter Mt. and with some more looking around and seeing what s there I think it has all kinds of potential. We also had the trailer clinic last Saturday, could have had more trailers to look over but we had a good time and only found one brake magnet not working. See ya at the meeting, God Bless Stan Classified Ads 10 Out Behind the barn 11 OVC Officers 12 Upcoming Events 13 1

2 OVCBCHW DIRECTOR REPORT March, 2015 Dave Sunde The big thing in March was the 1 st quarter directors meeting and the annual Rendezvous. The following is a shortened version of the BOD meeting minutes. Back Country Horsemen of Washington Board of Directors Meeting 1 st Quarter March 20, 2015 Ellensburg, WA KVEC Armory Building Executive Committee report with two actions was accepted by the board. Treasurer's report was provided by Teri Starke, Treasurer. Trygve reported that Teri will be the new Ways & Means Committee Chair. Membership report was given by Heather Moorman. Memberships are 7% down. The report includes un renewed memberships by chapter this year. The report will be posted. Rendezvous report was given by Lori Lennox who thanked the chapters for their overwhelming assistance. Teri Starke will head Rendezvous for 2016, if someone does the clinicians. The first 2016 planning meeting will be at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday in the Teanaway Room. Statewide Trailwork Party report was given by Jason Ridlon. The work party this year will focus on 5 priority trails during July 1 7, 2015 in the Eastern Pasayten. Saw Certification report was given by Trygve Culp. May will be instructor certifier re do on American Rivers Guard Station, Naches Ranger district. All those who initially got certified are up for re cert this year and should attend. There will also be spots for new instructors to be certified. Executive Director Report was given by Darrell Wallace. Action item #1 insurance says trail challenges and clinics may not be covered. Teunis Wyers, Mt Adams Director, moved to adopt option 2, to discontinue trail challenges and professional clinics unless separate insurance is purchased by the sponsoring chapter. Second. Discussion followed. Motion was adopted. Leadership Training update was given. Plan is for sessions in North Bend and Moses Lake in Grant overpay was explained. Louise Caywood, Pierce County Director, moved to have BCHW absorb the over payment to Lewis County Chapter. Second. No discussion. Motion carried. BCHA report was given by Jason Ridlon. Trail miles need to be recorded. Darrell Wallace explained that a sample letter will be sent out Monday to help support new proposed legislation. Officer and Committee Reports: (written only) BCHW Store report was given by Lori Lennox. 2

3 Volunteer Hours report was given by Deb Wesselius. Totals will be available at the June meeting. Awards report was given by Deb Wesselius. Set up will be at 9:00 a.m. for the 10:00 a.m. session tomorrow. Legislative report was posted by Jeff Chapman. Safety report was given by Doc Wesselius. Trail Work leadership and Trail Ride leadership have been separated. Forms were available to Directors and will be posted on the website, since there are no suggested changes. LNT report was given by Jane Byram. 2nd annual LNT camp will be held the last weekend in May. Haney Meadows Project report was given by Cathy Nelson. Donations are still needed. Please send donations to the Traildusters treasury. New Business: Raffle Calendar for 2016 was discussed by Trygve Culp, based on experience from It was moved and seconded to only buy 1000 non raffle calendars which will be sold at $10 per calendar at the time out the door. Discussion followed. Motion carried with one objection. Grizzly Bear Resolution was presented by Dave Sunde. Teunis Wyers, Mt Adams Director, moved approval of the resolution as printed. Second. Motion carried 25 for and 1 against. Meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m. The big takeaways from the meeting are: There will be no raffle calendar in All calendars will cost $10.00 each and must be paid for when they are picked up. The board passed the Grizzly Bear resolution presented by OVC so now the BCHW has a stand on the proposed plan. Trail challenges and similar activities are not covered by our insurance. We have an outside consultant looking at our organization who does a lot of work with 501(c)3 groups. It is hoped that he will be able to give us ideas on ways to increase our membership as well as increase our revenues. At the annual meeting it was announced the Dave Swanberg was a recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award. This award was in process before he passed away, so it was awarded posthumously. The award was accepted by his daughter and her kids. The dinner was very good and the auction provided some spirited bidding at times. The numbers will be in shortly and I ll share them as soon as I get them. Throughout the member chapters we are seeing more use of chapter websites and Facebook pages. This seems to be generating more interest in our organization and helping to get the word out about who we are and what we do. I will present a verbal report at the next meeting and will of course be open to any questions and will be happy to fill in any blanks about any of the actions of the board. I ll see you all on the 15 th at the Tonasket CCC for our April Meeting. 3

4 OVCBCHW TRAIL BOSS REPORT March, 2015 Dave Sunde March was a fairly busy month for us. At least as far as meetings go. On the 3 rd we met with our friends at the USFS and USNPS for a Grizzly Bear information meeting in Winthrop. There was another meeting the next day in Okanogan which some other members attended. This was more of a meeting to tell us what they want to do rather than asking us what we wanted. More on this in the days, weeks, and months to come. I attended the RMEF annual banquet on Saturday the 7 th. It was good to see many of our members there. On the 11 th we met with the WDFW to discuss the various projects in the works and were given an outline of the goals and accomplishments of that agency as it relates to local wildlife areas. This was followed on the 16 th with a meeting with the USFS about sustainable recreational trails. After the main meeting which included most user groups we met with Becky Peterson and Chris Williams and discussed the upcoming statewide BCHW work party in the Eastern Pasayten which is scheduled over the 4 th of July weekend. Rendezvous was next. The event was success. Our chapter was well represented but next year I d like to see even higher numbers of Okanogan Valley members participating. We had our first official scheduled ride on the 29 th at Carter Mountain. We got to see the handiwork of our President. There is a new gravel parking area thanks to a grant from the Mule Deer Foundation and the hard work of Stan and his equipment. We had 6 vehicles with trailers and even that did not fill it up. There were 11 riders and 12 equine on the ride. Thanks to our Facebook page we attracted some college girls and former rodeo queens. They were on spring break but said they would be back this summer when school is out. We started off from the parking lot and I decided to take the route we had flagged last year. Unfortunately the deer and weather did away with our flagging and someone else had marked a lower and shorter trail. This resulted in some confusion but we at least managed to stay in the same drainage. (LOL) We eventually got that all sorted out and had a good ride. The wind kept a chill in the air but the horses got a good workout. There is a lot of area there to explore and we discussed marking some loop trails. We kicked up several bunches of deer along the way and it seems as though they survived whatever winter we had and all seem to be in very good shape for this time of year. Our next scheduled project is a work party at the Sinlahekin on the 18 th with a ride in the same area on the 19 th.we have been asked to help out the WDFW with an unscheduled work party on April 12 at 9:00 AM at the new Carter Mountain parking area just off US-97 south of Tonasket. We will be installing a rail fence around the new parking area. I finally took the chains off the tractor so I hope whatever passed for winter this year is over. It s time to think about shoes and worming again. The time seems to fly by as we get older. 4

5 OVCBCHW LEGISLATIVE REPORT Although things are cooling down with the state legislature, due to end of sessions we are continuing to hear about b and wolves although not as much about wolves due to emphasis on bears, and Federal versus State management of with in individual states. It appears that funds for fairs have been reduced; urban youth natural resource education a programs are receiving additional funding. Fire suppression and effects are of special interest to the legislature considering the Carlton Complex and these prog of high priority for funds and changes, along with this years drought concern. As these programs are funded it will pr make for tighter budgets elsewhere, we will just have wait and see what shakes out. ESSB 5843, the Outdoor Recreation bill that came out of the Big Tent Coalition efforts is alive and well. We have test favor of this bill during the session. It passed out of the Senate, and while the bill itself doesn t have a funding mech for the top level Recreation policy position, the Senate budget does include funding. The position has been moved t Dept of Commerce rather than the Governor s office. This is not a bad idea and was one of the original options that ported. I continue to receive and monitor reports I get from Olympia and will pass the information on, especially those asking comments. Gene 5

6 March 16 th OVC Board Meeting 1:00 PM Teddy Sharr 18 th OVC Membership Meeting 7:00 PM dinner 7:00 PM meeting El Paraiso 29 th Carter Mountain Ride Dave Sunde April 13 th - OVC Board Meeting 7:00 PM Sunde 15 th - OVC Membership Meeting 7:00 PM Tonasket CCC 18 th - Sinlahekin Trail Clearing Dave Sunde 19 th - Sinlahekin Ride Dave Sunde 25 th 26 th Methow Spring Ride May 2 nd Scotch Creek Ride Linda Oborne 4 th 8 th Ride to Rendezvous 9 th 10 th 49 R Days 16 th - 17 th Whistler Canyon Work Party 18 th OVC Board Meeting 7:00 PM Oborne 20 th OVC Membership Meeting dinner 6:00 PM meeting 7:00 PM El Pasario June 6 th National Trails Day 6 th 7 th Fourth of July Work Party 15 th OVC Board Meeting 7:00 PM Ted Sharr 17 th OVC Membership Meeting 7:00 PM Tonasket Park 27 th 28 th Work Party North Fork Trail/Salmon Meadows July 3 rd 5 th BCHW Work Party Eastern Pasayton 11 th 12 th Johnny Beall Work Party 15 th OVC Membership Meeting & Ice Cream Social Triangle Park 18 th 19 th Johnny Beall Work Party 23 rd 26 th FCC Lambert Creek Steak Ride August 6 th Stampede Ride-In 17 th OVC Board Meeting 7:00 PM Cher Bower 19 th OVC Membership Meeting and BBQ - Tonasket City Park 22 nd Pasayten Ride over Windy Peak September 12 th OVC/FCC Joint Ride at Edd s Mountain 14 th OVC Board Meeting 7:00 PM Sunde 16 th OVC Membership Meeting 7:00 PM Triangle Park 19 th OVC/FCC Ride at Granite Creek-Maple Mountain 9:00 AM 26 th Whistler Canyon Ride Through October 19 th OVC Board Meeting 7:00 PM Ted Sharr 21 st OVC/FCC Membership Meeting & Halloween Party 7:00 PM Tonasket CCC 24 th Short Mountain Ride and BBQ Cher Bower 31 st BCHW Wine Ride November 16 th OVC Board Meeting - 1:00 PM Culp 18 th OVC Membership Meeting at El Paraiso - 6:00 Dinner 7:00 PM Meeting 21 st OVC Planning Meeting 1:00 PM Oborne December 4 th - BCHW Public Lands Meeting 12 th OVC Christmas Party Tonasket CCC 6

7 May 2 nd Scotch Creek Ride Linda Oborne Scotch Creek Follow directions from Omak or Tonasket toward Conconully as above. Proceed for approximately miles to Hess Lake Rd. Turn right and go approximately 1 ½ miles to Scotch Creek Trailhead. A WDFW or Discover Pass is required to park at the trailhead. No hitch rail, stock ramp, toilet or water at trailhead 7

8 Rondy

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10 Classified Ads FOR SALE: The Chapter has 1/2 inch, three strand, poly-propylene rope for sale by the foot. Excellent for lead ropes, sling ropes, high line ropes or what-haveyou. $0.50 per foot. Can be back braided or have a loop braided in one end for an additional fee. Telephone (509) FOR SALE: to 4 untreated Fence rails (509) FOR SALE Trailer For Sale 2007 Silverlite Freedom, 3 horse slant, gooseneck trailer. New King Size Mattress, swing out saddle racks, bridle hooks, 30 gal water storage container. Excellent condition asking $11,500. (509) FOR SALE 17in Qthro Flex Saddle very nice condtion $600 See at Detros in Riverside FOR SALE Breachen very nice $150 phone Please patronize the businesses that advertise in the Picket Line. While you are shopping in their businesses or utilizing their services remember to thank them for supporting our efforts to keep trails open on public lands in the Okanogan. Stans Grading And Driveway Maintenance Phone (509) Eden Valley Guest Ranch 31 Eden Valley Lane Oroville, WA Patrick and Robin Stice 10

11 Editorial by Ted Sharr Out Behind The Barn I just wanted to give you all my input on the NPS wanting to insert the grizzly bear back into our Backcountry. I wonder if any of the people ever thought about how many more large caliber hand guns will be out their now. Or how many more CWP (counseled weapons permits) will be issued to first timers, I for one have applied and I am looking at a Colt 45 Auto mag never in my wildest dreams did I think I would have to buy a bigger hand gun for my safety riding horses so say good by to the 38 smith and Wesson hello to a colt 45 auto mag. Or who will pay for the family members that survive an attack from the insertion So call your state repesenitive and voice you opinions on this matter. Here is a little information of the bears travel How far a grizzly bear travels in a year depends primarily on food availability. How far a grizzly bear travels in a year depends primarily on food availability. Although commonly called different names, the grizzly bear and the brown bear are the same species. The grizzly name comes from the bear s fur, which can be white-tipped giving the bear a grizzled appearance in certain lights. In the contiguous United States, female grizzly bears reach a weight of between 250 and 350 pounds, with males being nearly twice that size. These bears can live as long as 40 years in the wild. In one year, a grizzly bear may roam more than 60 miles in search of food. Geographic Range and Habitat While grizzly bears prefer forests and wooded areas surrounding lakes and streams, these highly adaptable creatures can be found in a variety of North American habitats, including areas with human dwellings and settlements. Historically, grizzly bears lived throughout the United States and Canada. Due to habitat destruction, grizzlies now occupy less than 2 percent of their historical geographical range. The largest populations of grizzly bears in the contiguous United States are found in the Yellowstone and Tetons National Parks. Home Range Generally, a grizzly bear s home range may encompass an area covering 1,000 to 1,500 square miles. Grizzly bears are solitary creatures, 11

12 OKANOGAN VALLEY CHAPTER 2015 OFFICERS Elected Officers for 2015 Appointed Officers for 2015 President: Stan Kvistad Vice President: Frank Oborne Secretary: Cher Bower Treasurer: Cathy Kvistad Trail Boss: Dave Sunde Director: Dave Sunde Alternate Dir: Ted Sharr Webmaster: Dave Sunde Volunteer Hours Coordinator: Cheryl Johnson LNT Coordinator: Steve McKinney Newsletter Editor: Ted Sharr Publicity Chair: Linda Oborne Alternate Trail Boss: Trygve Culp Legislative Chair: Gene Wehmeyer Social Director: Gail Sunde Immediate Past President: Dave Swanberg Please patronize the businesses that advertise in the Picket Line. While you are shopping in their businesses or utilizing their services remember to thank them for supporting our efforts to keep trails open on public lands in the Okanogan. 12

13 Okanogan Valley Chapter Back Country Horsemen of Washington Minutes of the March 18, 2015 Business Meeting The meeting was held at the Parisio Restaurant in Okanogan at 7:00 PM, Wednesday, March 18, There were 35 members present. President Stan Kvistad called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. The minutes of the January Business Meeting - as posted on the Chapter website - were approved by voice vote on a motion by Dave Sunde. The Treasurers Report was given by Cathy Kvistad. The Chapter is solvent. The Chapter made nearly $650 on the Dessert Auction at the Seat Heart Potluck in February. The Treasurer s Report was approved by voice vote on a motion by Nora Rappe. Reports Director: Dave Sunde reported that BCHW Rendezvous and Board of Directors meeting would be the weekend of March 20 th through 22nd. Trail Boss: Dave Sunde reported that there would be a Chapter ride on March 29 th from the Carter Mt trailhead on Highway 97. The trailer clinic will be April 4 th at the County Fairgrounds. The first work party of the year will be at the Sinlahekin Wildlife Area on April 18 th ; there will be a Chapter ride on April 19 th meet at the Blue Lake Camp Grounds both days. Camping is available. WDFW or Discover Pass required to camp. Weed seed free hay is recommended. Legislative: Gene Wehmeyer reported that BCHA has asked Chapters to send letters of support regarding HR 845, The Trails Act Following discussion it was decided that OVC would submit a comment letter in support of HR 845. Trygve Culp agreed to draft the letter. Volunteer Hours: Cheryl Johnson reported that the value of the Chapters volunteer hours for 2014 totalled $ That breaks down to 316 hours of basic trail work, 292 hours of skilled work; xyz hours of administrative and education, and xyz hours traveling to accomplish volunteer work. Members are reminded to submit their monthly hour reports in a timely manner. Web Site: No report. Newsletter: No report please get articles and reports to Teddy Sharr before the end of the month. Publicity: Linda Oborne passed out the newly printed Trailer Clinic and Join Us flyers with a tear-off phone number for members to post around towns at feed stores, Big R/North 40 and other locations. Social: Gail Sunde reported that the Chapter would furnish drinks for the Carter Mountain ride as well as hot dogs and drinks for the Trailer Clinic. 13

14 President Stan extended sympathy on behalf of the Chapter to Janet Logan over the loss of her son. Unfinished Business Membership List: Cathy Kvistad reported that the Chapter membership list was completed and passed out some copies. Copies will be ed to members Raffle Calendars: There are still some available from Trygve Culp and Dave Sunde Rendezvous: The Chapter will donate a set of Jim Mountjoy made plywood pack boxes and a trailer High Line Tie which had been donated to the Chapter by Andrea Haberman. A set of plaques reading Donated by OVC, BCHW 2015 will be added to the pack boxes. All Sew in Tonasket will make the plaques. Carter Mountain Trail Head: The Mule Deer Foundation awarded OVC $1800 and WDFW donated another $400 to OVC for construction of a new trail head parking area at the south Carter Mountain trail head. A motion was made by Michael Alvarado, seconded by Dave Sunde, to use the WDFW $400 for additional gravel for the parking area; the motion was approved by voice vote. Stan has completed the grading and leveling. He will spread the gravel once it is all delivered. New Business Grizzly Bear Resolution: Dave Sunde, Chapter Director, made a motion to approve the resolution that would be presented to the BCHW Board of Directors (a copy of the resolution is attached); the motion was seconded by Michael Alvarado. Following discussion the motion passed unanimously by voice vote. National Trails Day: The Chapter will host the annual National Trails Day work party and ride on the weekend of June 6 and 7. The work party will be on Saturday June 6 th. Meet at the 4 th of July Trail Head (see the Chapter website for directions) at 8:00 AM; safety briefing and work at 9:00 AM. PPE is required for sawyers and swampers. Camping sites are available at the trail head there is no stock water or potable water though. No pass required to park or camp. Certified weed seed free hay is required on National Forest land. Trail Boss Dave Sunde will register the event on the American Hiking Society website. Good of the Order The next Chapter Board Meeting will be at 7:00 PM on April 13 th at the Sunde residence. The meeting was adjourned following a motion made by Dave Sunde at 8:45 PM. Respectfully submitted; s/trygve Culp Trygve Culp, Acting Secretary 14

15 Upcoming Activities OKANOGAN VALLEY CHAPTER BCHW P.O. BOX 812 TONASKET, WA Phone: To perpetuate the common use and enjoyment of horses in Americas Back- Country and wilderness. April 1 st FCC Membership Meeting at Freckle s 5:00 PM Dinner 6:00 PM Meeting 4 th OVC/FCC Trailer Clinic 9:00 AM 3:00 PM Okanogan County Fairgrounds 11 th FCC Packing Clinic at Dolly s Arena 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM 13 th - OVC Board Meeting 7:00 PM Sunde 15 th - OVC Membership Meeting 7:00 PM Tonasket CCC 18 th - Sinlahekin Trail Clearing Dave Sunde 19 th - Sinlahekin Ride Dave Sunde 25 th 26 th Methow Spring Ride May 2 nd Scotch Creek Ride Linda Oborne 4 th 8 th Ride to Rendezvous 6 th FCC Membership Meeting ay Freckle s 5:00 PM Dinner 6:00 PM Meeting 9 th 10 th 49 R Days 16 th - 17 th Whistler Canyon Work Party 16 th FCC Ride - Sherman Creek Game Area 9:00 AM Rob Michaels 18 th OVC Board Meeting 7:00 PM Oborne 20 th OVC Membership Meeting dinner 6:00 PM meeting 7:00 PM El Pasario 30 th FCC Work Party at Lambert Creek 9:00 AM June 6 th National Trails Day 6 th 7 th Fourth of July Work Party 15 th OVC Board Meeting 7:00 PM Ted Sharr 17 th OVC Membership Meeting 7:00 PM Tonasket Park 27 th 28 th Work Party North Fork Trail/Salmon Meadows 15