USFS OHV Grant Letter Request

[FINOCJ]

Received this email from Brant Wobig at USFS - sample letter is attached:

Hey Adopt-a-Road Volunteers,

It’s that time of the year again when I am looking for your help and support with a letter(like the one attached)
I am in the process of writing the grant request for State OHV dollars so that we can continue having our OHV crew. This grant request is for money for 2021, and would be our 5th year. Without the OHV dollars, there will be no crew and likely little to no Adopt-a-road program.
If you can write your own words great….if you are that motivated…feel free to use the attached as a template. Sorry I don’t have the software to convert to a Word doc. for you…to make it even easier.

I would love it if I could end up with several letters from the group or if you want to send to your clubs and ask others, even better. Would be great to have a stack to show the committee.

If you can help out please send me whatever you can by Nov. 28th so I have time to get included in the grant due Dec. 2nd.

Thanks for all you do to make the National Forest(and Clear Creek RD) a better place!

Let me know if you have any questions. Thanks.










http://www.frontrange4x4.com/forums/image001.png@01D5A07C.84A67CF0


Brant Wobig
Forestry Technician(Recreation)


Forest Service
Arapaho National Forest-Clear Creek Ranger District


p: 303-567-3022
c: 720-763-1060
f: 303-567-3021
brant.wobig@usda.gov (brant.wobig@usda.gov)


101 Highway 103
Idaho Springs, CO 80452
www.fs.fed.us (http://www.fs.fed.us/)
http://www.frontrange4x4.com/forums/image002.png@01D5A07C.84A67CF0 (http://usda.gov/)http://www.frontrange4x4.com/forums/image003.png@01D5A07C.84A67CF0 (https://twitter.com/forestservice)http://www.frontrange4x4.com/forums/image004.png@01D5A07C.84A67CF0 (https://www.facebook.com/pages/US-Forest-Service/1431984283714112)


Caring for the land and serving people

[FINOCJ]

Its that time of year again - Brant at the USFS asked for letters from trail maintaining clubs to help with the federal grant they receive to help support our local trails and to support us. The links are the examples from Brant. Please note they need these letters by 12/1. Thanks!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1u82YNowjNx_X6zqTvvEZ8sAbPzWSQny-/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gjhUCwc7k7HzRHqsQKZ11Jlgb5uxiouv/view?usp=sharing

Hey James,
Just wondered if you or your club would be willing to send a letter of support for our State OHV Grant Proposal to fund our OHV Crew for 2022?
The money from this grant funds our seasonal OHV crew who works with your club on Adopt-a-Trail work days, install many signs, cut trees, and make hundreds of contacts with the public for education, information and law enforcement(if needed)
Letters of support are an important part of our application to show that our partners are in favor of what we do…
If you are willing, Attached is an example from another group, feel free use it as a template. If you can use your clubs letterhead that is best, but if not no worries, we will take letters however we can get them. A simple word doc works great.
If you are willing to submit, I would need your letter by Dec. 1st to be included in our grant packet.
If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to call or email me…
Thanks for all your help with Adopt-a-trail and all that you guys do for the Clear Creek Ranger District.

[Tom]

Based upon the three sample letters it appears to me that he is only requesting a single letter from fr4x4, not from each member of the club.

[FINOCJ]

Based upon the three sample letters it appears to me that he is only requesting a single letter from fr4x4, not from each member of the club.

Brant has always said he will take letters from everyone individually - just put which local club you are a member of. The more letters the better....

But what you say is true, and since we are not a structured club with membership and organizational requirements in the same sense of many other clubs he works with, and we don't have chosen leaders or officials or representatives....I am not comfortable writing letters in representation of the entire club. Although in this specific case related to our adopt a trail USFS partnership, I don't think there is any issue if I did, I get solicitations for various letters of support and whatnot a few times a year. I try to post them up on the forum when they do and let each individual decide what they think is important....On the flip side, because we are a loose group of wheelers and not a structured club, we probably do not have as much voice when it comes to influencing local trail issues or topics. In some ways, this is an issue that I would like to see the group address...but maybe its just not possible given our (lack of) organizational structure.

FWIW - I will be writing a letter today 'as a member and adopt a trail contact for FR4x4' following one of his examples.

[FINOCJ]

Just sent in my letter and confirmed with Brant that he would greatly appreciate any and all letters of support - the more the better! have a good T-giving all....

[Jim]

since we are not a structured club with membership and organizational requirements in the same sense of many other clubs he works with, and we don't have chosen leaders or officials or representatives....I am not comfortable writing letters in representation of the entire club.

We are different than a typical "club". We should continue as we are.

As for any "title" one might put on the letter to Brant, I'll put "Member, Front Range 4x4" on my letter. Each letter will reflect the perspective of that respective member. What's who we are - a group of equal members.

0.02

[Trevor?]

Just an FYI for the group: Brant (Our USFS contact) is preparing his grant request to the state OHV committee for 2022-2023. I was able to tweak James' letter from last year with my name and new dates and submit that, so we have expressed our support as we have for the last few years. One bit of news from Brant about his request:

"Fyi, we are planning to also apply for a grant to place Porta Potties and dumpster at the Columbine OHV parking area. If you are unfamiliar, this is the only real staging area for those riding/4x4’ing the Yankee Hill area, which is our most popular OHV area. Hopefully, we can get this in addition to our usual OHV Crew that you all have worked with the last several years."

Party on.