Announcement!! Virtual Rally For The Hammers!

[Kurtuleas]

Announcing the first ever, Pirate4x4.com: VIRTUAL RALLY FOR THE HAMMERS

Please read the following very carefully!

We need your help to pull this off and make it effective. Any and all input is greatly appreciated and will be carefully listened to.

First, let me be VERY clear. It does not look good for the Hammers.

John Stewart for Cal4Wheel is working extremely hard on this with several other people and organizations, but they cannot do it all alone. Like never before, the OHV community needs to develop a grass-roots effort to show that we have strength in numbers and that we care about our trails being taken away from us.

Here is the goal:

In a four hour time frame pack Pirate with so many people the server fries and Pirate crashes. (OK, just kidding…but that would sound awesome on a press release! LOL!)

All politicians care about is numbers. If you have ever taken a poly-sci class you may remember hearing that 1 letter from a person is seen as roughly equaling 300 votes. The greatest number of users ever logged into Pirate was 3,305 on 2/11/2008. The goal is to CRUSH that number and have all of those people post up in the Rally thread what the Hammers mean to them and to the OHV community.

When the rally is over, we will lock the thread and fab-up ANOTHER press release to the powers that be, showing how many people attended this virtual rally, how many posts there were, and invite them to read the thread and our concerns if they did not attend.

Here is the Plan:

1. We will issue a press release this Friday to politicians, media outlets, companies etc. announcing a virtual rally on Pirate4x4.com and invite them to come.


2. Lance will do a mass e-mail to ALL PBB members this Friday asking them to participate in the rally from 2-6 by posting their concerns in the thread.

3. We will come up with “sample” post to put in the thread to give people an idea of what we are looking for. (post them here please) Even people that have NEVER been to the Hammers need to post their concerns. This is all about showing how many of us there are and that we have a VOICE as a community.


4. The Rally will be on WEDNESDAY MARCH 12th from 2 to 6 pm Pacific Standard time.

5. Mustard Dog will start the “Rally” thread at 2pm that day. As of now, it will be in chit-chat, but we may be able to have it in all forums at once.

6. In the thread people will post their concerns about our trails being taken away, why the Hammers should remain open, pictures of them and their FAMILIES in the Hammers (appropriate ones!), etc. etc. People are encouraged to post multiple times.

ALL CHIT-CHAT BULLSHIT AND INAPPRIOPRATE POSTS WILL BE DELETED! We plan on having important people read this thread. If we are not on our best behavior, the OHV community will look bad.

7. As stated above, after the rally another press-release will be issued showing the number of people attending the rally, the number of posts, data on how fast the thread grew etc… We will also invite those in power that did not attend to read the thread.

What I am asking from all of you:

1. PLEASE: Get the word out! E-mail everyone you know, put something about it in your sig-line, go to other boards and sites and announce the rally, send out bulletins on Myspace etc. etc.

2. Write sample “posts” for people to see and post them here. Hopefully, they can type something up over the weekend and just cut and paste it on the day of the Rally.


Will this Rally save the Hammers? I do not know. But if it shows politicians and land-managers that we are a force to reckon with because of our numbers, it may make them think twice.

Why am I doing this if I have never been to the Hammers? During the ELDO fiasco last summer, I asked for help in chit-chat. People asked me, “Why should we help you guys? Where were YOU when OUR trails were being closed?” After I though about it, they were right. Where was I? It seems that we only fight for our own backyards. Not anymore. I promised the PBB in that thread I would fight route closures EVERYWHERE. So I am.

In a few, I will post up what I plan to post in the rally thread on the 12th.

A huge thanks to John Stewart, Del Albright, Randy Burelson, Cal4, BRC, and the other “Land-use” guys for their help, guidance and support. Many of them are working VERY hard behind the scenes on this issue.

I would also like to thank Lance and Camo for letting us do this on their site.

For all of those that e-mailed and PM’ed me on this: A huge thanks for your input and help. I am asking you to all step up in leadership roles in this.

I am sure there are people I forgot to thank. I am sorry….it’s been a long day already! LOL!!

It’s AWN like Donkey KONG!

GET IT!

Kurt Schneider

The Friends of Eldorado National Forest.

[UGET IT]

Awesome Kurt and everyone involved.........remind me of the gate days on the Tahoe side of the Rubicon Trail............

Lets Rally Folks!!!

Get those letters rolling and stay motivated! Spread the word to everyone you know.


Thanks for the continued efforts Kurt!

[jimfoo]

I will probably never run the Hammers, but letter sent and rally announcement put up on my club's board.
Jim Hall, Solihull Society Land Rover Club of Colorado.

[Lance]

It would be bad ass to crash the servers! For the tech savvy, here's what kind of horsepower is under the hood here at Pirate4x4 -

1 http server (UNIX based) - dual xeons, 4GB RAM, 4 150gb SCSI RAID'd 15k HDDs
2 database servers (UNIX based) - dual xeons, 4GB ram each, 2 72gb SCSI RAID'd 15k HDDs each
1 ad server (UNIX based) - dual xeon, 2GB Ram, not sure on the HDDs capacity/speed

That's a TON of horsepower. We will be prepared for this rally, and will take steps to devote as much horsepower to the event (disable searching during the rally, etc) so I CHALLENGE YOU ALL to bring enough people here to crash us!

[mrblaine]

Can each of you with a link in your signatures please add in Johnson Valley OHV so that those not in the know will have an accurate point of reference?

While you are at it, can you post it in the body of the message so it can be cut and pasted from a quote into a signature for those less savvy about how to do so?

[randii]

Originally Posted by Lance

...so I CHALLENGE YOU ALL to bring enough people here to crash us!

Respect.

Originally Posted by mrblaine

While you are at it, can you post it in the body of the message so it can be cut and pasted from a quote into a signature for those less savvy about how to do so?

Sure... here's some cut-and-paste-ready signature:

VIRTUAL RALLY for the HAMMER TRAILS in JOHNSON VALLEY
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?p=7977490
MARCH 12th 2pm-6pm PST. ON THE PBB
Be there and post up POSITIVE COMMENTS!!

When they paste that into their signature, it should result in a live link.

Randii

[Chris]

Working on it...

[95steel]

Count me in!

[zuk1988]

I Put a link on the nw-wheelers board

[jjmat3]

Posted on LOST and NAXJA boards.

[jimfoo]

Also posted on Colo 4x4.org

[Kurtuleas]

Thank you guys.

Much appricated!

[Kurtuleas]

PLEASE!

Can somebody do an e-mail hunt for me?

I need a list of e-mails to send the press release out to other than just the same old crowd..

I need e-mail addys for media outlets down there, The MARINE CORPS down there, Politicians etc. etc. etc.

Could someone please take that on for me?

I have to delegate out some responsiblity.

KURT

[Roc Dog]

Good work, Thank you!

[Chris]

Jimmy Biggerstaff

jbiggerstaff@hidesertstar.com


Local Yucca VAlley Paper. He's on top of this and I have been emailing him an update

[EarlKann]

Some to add to the list. Sorry I don't have specific reporters that do OHV, but I'll keep looking.

San Bernardino Sun

citydesk@sbsun.com

Riverside Press Enterprise

penews@pe.com

"Wheels Offroad and Waves" supplement

wow@pe.com

[Kurtuleas]

Originally Posted by Chris

Jimmy Biggerstaff

jbiggerstaff@hidesertstar.com

Local Yucca VAlley Paper. He's on top of this and I have been emailing him an update

THANK YOU!!!

[Chris]

Originally Posted by Kurtuleas

THANK YOU!!!

See my post in one of the other threads. I emailed him the pdf which he seems to be very interested in since this was the first he has heard of the USMC declaring intent for JV. Very nice guy and very interested in this subject.

[Skunk03]

Posted on the Purdue OffRoad Club forum but it's spring break and a lot of us are going to be in Harlan for a week so we may not get the turn out hoped for.

[Wayne_Nosala]

Hello folks
New poster here

Im Normally a Buggy/ bike guy, but not afraid to cross
over to the 4x4 arena here and there.

I do some field work foe CORVA and involved
with friends of Jawbone here in East Kern County

Past two years have been spending a ton of time
doing volunteer work and going to meetings.

I got involved with this JV thing a few weeks ago
when a survey company called on CORVA and D37 for some
info gathering regarding JV

long story short, They are still doing this survey for
the military base and are currently studying usage
for JV

Our best course of action at the moment is use
JV and get those usage numbers up there, If
they report little usage, military will use that as
an excuse to encroach into JV.

Other than that, No decisions have been made to the fate of JV

29Palms has not even filed a "Notice of intent" or started
an EIR report

I hear out reps are getting pounded by calls and letters already,
Maybe a good thing to keep ahead of things, But dont expect
too much response until the military files its intentions. Please
if you do write or call your reps, please be professional and short.

Thanks
Wayne Nosala

[Broke That]

Lets do this people!

Without the Hammers, I'd be devorced long ago...


(Get in your Jeep and go damage it...before I damage you!)

[scraprock]

Originally Posted by Broke That

Lets do this people!

Without the Hammers, I'd be devorced long ago...


(Get in your Jeep and go damage it...before I damage you!)

So wait, I can go break backdoor again!?!

[TheTonka]

Originally Posted by Wayne_Nosala

Hello folks
New poster here

Im Normally a Buggy/ bike guy, but not afraid to cross
over to the 4x4 arena here and there.

I do some field work foe CORVA and involved
with friends of Jawbone here in East Kern County

Past two years have been spending a ton of time
doing volunteer work and going to meetings.

I got involved with this JV thing a few weeks ago
when a survey company called on CORVA and D37 for some
info gathering regarding JV

long story short, They are still doing this survey for
the military base and are currently studying usage
for JV

Our best course of action at the moment is use
JV and get those usage numbers up there, If
they report little usage, military will use that as
an excuse to encroach into JV.

Other than that, No decisions have been made to the fate of JV

29Palms has not even filed a "Notice of intent" or started
an EIR report

I hear out reps are getting pounded by calls and letters already,
Maybe a good thing to keep ahead of things, But dont expect
too much response until the military files its intentions. Please
if you do write or call your reps, please be professional and short.

Thanks
Wayne Nosala

If they are looking for usage someone(Lance or Camo) needs to send someone in charge some usage info on KOH. Also I would think the Benders would have some numbers on their events up there to send as well.

How do they determine usage? I'd go drive by the same guy over and over again to pad the numbers, but I kinda stand out.

[Kurtuleas]

HERE IS A SAMPLE POST FOR THE RALLY THREAD!!

This will be my first post in the thread.

Not the greatest, but I am hoping everyone takes some time to put thier ideas down this weekend and save it so they can just cut and paste on Wednesday.

The post starts here:

To whom it may concern:

Let me start by saying that I am in total support of our military and the Marine Corps.

Still, I am very worried about the Johnson Valley expansion by the Marine Corps, especially the “additional area of interest”. If the Marine Corps expand into this area, it will take away a very important area from the OHV (Off Highway Vehicle) community.

The Hammer Trails, which are located in this area, are a main destination for OHV enthusiasts to bring their families to recreate in California. Competitions such as the recent, highly publicized “King of the Hammers” have also been held in this area.

I have two young sons, aged 4 and 5, who love to camp and four-wheel with me. My family normally attends 10-12 OHV functions and camping trips each year. As Johnson Valley is seen as a “Mecca” by many OHV enthusiasts in the west, it has always been a dream of mine to take my family down there to recreate responsibly. Many OHV enthusiasts that live miles away visit the Hammers on a regular basis.

While I understand that the Marines need space to train, you need to understand that our motor-sport is constantly under attack. Because of many different factors, the areas in which we can four-wheel in have been shrinking at an alarming rate. In Eldorado National Forest alone, for example, we stand to lose 1,800 MILES of trails. For us to lose such an important area as the Hammers to our sport would be like Baseball losing Wrigley field or Golf losing Augusta.

We also have an undeserved reputation for “ruining” the environment. The OHV community is growing by leaps and bounds, while our trails are closing left and right. This results in more users in a smaller area, which results in damage to the trail from condensed use by a greater number of OHV’s. Closing this area to OHV use will create damage to other trails that are already overcrowded, which in turn will give the “other” side more ammunition to lock us out of our public lands.

Whatever you do, please understand that you are not just taking an area of desert, you are effecting the lives of thousands of people who recreate in the Johnson Valley area.

I would like to end this letter by pledging $50.00 to the Blue Ribbon Coalition and $50.00 to Cal4Wheel for their continued efforts in saving our trails on public lands. I challenge others to out-do me!

Kurt Schneider

Proud Member of:

The Friends of Eldorado National Forest
Blue Ribbon Coalition
Cal4Wheel
California Off Road Vehicle Association
Kyburz Krawlerz
The Friends of the Rubicon
The Friends of Greenhorn
Friends of Fordyce
Friends of Tahoe Access
Friends of High Lakes
Friends of Coy Hill
Stewards of the Sequoia
Pirate4x4.com
E Clampus Vitus: Chapter 13

[WahooJeep]

Posted on some East Coast Boards.

Hope it helps,

Chris