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Property and trail reservation helpful hints

PostPosted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 9:25 am
by mrfreakinwhite
Please use this format while utilizing the NEA4WD trail reservation threads.

Club name, Month and Date, # of rigs

Your reservation should look like this:

Jeep Club Jan 6 10 rigs

This saves a lot of time as I edit several entries into several threads.
Extra words like, "Request," are extra words. Thanks for being respectful, we all appreciate that, but it's just not needed.


NH Class VI Road & Mud Season -
Properties and trails using NH Class VI Roads are subject to Mud Season closures. This means, that between April 1 and May 23, the state has a ban on wheeled vehicles using these roads because of possible damage to them. Some towns may in fact close the roads until sometime in June. In rare cases, the mud season may possibly end early, but we have no way of knowing that now. Please plan accordingly, and reserve properties affected by mud season for dates after May 23rd. If it is a wet spring time, please do your due dilligence and call the road manager in the town the property is in to see if they have extended the mud season closures. Also, please use your best judgement. Even if the town has not extended mud season, if our use is going to damage the road or trail surface more than usual, the best practice would be to avoid using it until it dries out more.


Please feel free to comment and discuss.

Re: Property and trail reservation helpful hints

PostPosted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 10:26 am
by axle
perfect

Re: Property and trail reservation helpful hints

PostPosted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 12:36 pm
by mrfreakinwhite
Unfair of me to say it took 4 hours to edit the threads today, but 4 elapsed since I started, working around life. So every little bit is appreciated.

What I totally forgot to say in the first post, was, if I don't have to edit, there's less chance of me making a mistake on anyone's dates. I would hate to be the guy responsible for a screw up like that.

Re: Property and trail reservation helpful hints

PostPosted: Thu Jan 07, 2016 9:27 am
by Scott Hatch
For reasons of transparency please understand that the state does not impose any of the Class VI closures, it is handled from town to town. The further north you go, the higher the snow fall totals so the longer the mud season. Some towns do not impose any restrictions, some have weight restrictions, and some have an out right ban.

What the NH Trails Bureau does impose is a restriction on trails to be closed until May 22nd. This is the date that the NEA has used as a guideline for the properties it has access to. With the warmer weather and low snow fall totals there is a very high probability that the 2016 mud season will be early and short, HOWEVER this could change and something that has always been a judgement call made by the VPoEA.

Personally and historically speaking, I think this has been a good date to use. The NEA has been able to curtail a lot of impact on many of the class VI roads surrounding it properties and the trails that the NEA has access to. For instance the town of Hancock does not close its Class VI roads for mud season but LMFT always complains about impact from full size 4x4s on the area roads. Legally speaking the full size 4x4s are using these roads legally however IMHO its more of an ethical and image issue. By curtailing use for a few weeks, the NEA protects the area resources and promotes environmentally responsible recreation while maintaining a harmonious relationship with all users and stake holders.

Re: Property and trail reservation helpful hints

PostPosted: Thu Jan 07, 2016 11:26 am
by mrfreakinwhite
Thank you, Scott. I really appreciate your input, and I agree with the historical, the responsibility and ethic.

I read this article, though.
Concord Monitor - Mud Season

<<EDIT - I can admit when I'm wrong. Thanks again, Scott.>>

There's several links, I'll read them now and make sure I understand it better. I guess I might as well post them.

Re: Property and trail reservation helpful hints

PostPosted: Thu Jan 07, 2016 12:52 pm
by Eric
I was very surprised by how that article turned out.

When the author first contacted me about an interview I was convinced she wanted to skewer the 4x4 and OHV community.

Re: Property and trail reservation helpful hints

PostPosted: Thu Jan 07, 2016 5:08 pm
by Scott Hatch
mrfreakinwhite wrote:Thank you, Scott. I really appreciate your input, and I agree with the historical, the responsibility and ethic.

I read this article, though.
Concord Monitor - Mud Season

<<EDIT - I can admit when I'm wrong. Thanks again, Scott.>>

There's several links, I'll read them now and make sure I understand it better. I guess I might as well post them.


No worries, if you have any questions I'll be back in my cave :up:

Re: Property and trail reservation helpful hints

PostPosted: Thu Jan 07, 2016 9:24 pm
by bass4runner
Will do :up:

Great article.. :D