Cypress, Calif. - Yamaha
Motor Corp., U.S.A.,
employees volunteered to help restore one of the San Bernardino National
Forest's most popular multi-use off-highway
vehicle (OHV) staging areas a weekend ago.
Eighty volunteers, comprised of Yamaha employees and their
family and friends, along with members of the San Bernardino National Forest
Association (SBNFA), contributed approximately 240 hours of volunteer service
to maintain and improve the Cactus Flats staging area.
The San Bernardino National Forest sees approximately 2.4 million
visitors each year, and Cactus Flats is a popular spot for OHV enthusiasts
providing access to some of the best trails in Southern
California. Thousands of visitors, including OHV enthusiasts,
hikers and mountain bikers among others, enjoy the staging area and surrounding
trails each year.
"Yamaha is dedicated to the OHV community and has
contributed thousands of volunteer hours and more than $2 million since 2008 to
the mission of supporting safe, responsible riding and open, sustainable riding
areas," Mike Martinez, general manager of Yamaha's ATV/SxS operations and an
SBNFA board member who volunteered alongside his son over the weekend, said.
"Yamaha employees are passionate about their volunteer efforts here in Southern California. We understand that these OHV areas
are important to our customers and our business and it means a lot to us
personally to help keep these areas in good shape for current and future
generations."
Yamaha's ATV/SxS group administers the company's OHV Access
Initiative, a program that aggressively supports the OHV community across the
country providing quarterly GRANTs to non-profit riding groups and
organizations. Details, award schedules and applications are available at www.YamahaOHVAccess.com.
"Our heartfelt thanks to team Yamaha for their commitment
and service helping to restore more than 12 acres of forest land over the past
five years," Sarah Miggins, executive director, San Bernardino National Forest
Association, said. "Yamaha's OHV Access Initiative has also supported our
own OHV volunteer program with GRANT funds that helped train more than 5,000
students with "On the Right Trail'' safety education, provided educational
materials such as the Yamaha Off-Highway Vehicle Guide and newsletters to our
recreating public and contributed towards our 30,000 annual OHV volunteer
hours."
Last weekend's volunteer activities included planting and
watering 250 native shrubs, slashing illegal riding areas, collecting more than
20 pounds of native seeds for future planting and, in general, restoring more
than an acre of forest land and surrounding trails. This was second of a
three-year Yamaha project at Cactus Flats.
Over the past five years, Yamaha
volunteers have restored more than 12 acres of land in the San Bernardino National
Forest. Work has included planting 3,600
native seedlings through SBNFA's Forest Aid initiative, a partnership with
TreePeople and the U.S. Forest Service in one of the largest volunteer-led
restoration projects in Southern California
addressing the burn areas from the 2003 and 2007 wildfires.
How to Get Involved
Each quarter, Yamaha accepts applications from non-profit
or tax-exempt organizations including OHV riding clubs and associations,
national, state and local public land use agencies and other members of the OHV
community in the United
States. A committee then reviews each
application and awards GRANTs to deserving projects.
Examples of appropriate projects for GRANTs include, but
are not limited to:
- Trail
development, restoration and maintenance
- Trail
signage and map production
- Staging
area construction, renovation and maintenance
- Land
stewardship, trail safety and education
Updated
guidelines, an application form and information on the OHV Access Initiative
are available here.
For specific questions about the OHV Access Initiative, call Yamaha's dedicated
OHV Access Initiative Hotline at 1-877-OHV-TRAIL (877-648-8724), email OHVAccess@yamaha-motor.com or write to: Yamaha OHV Access
Initiative Review Committee, 6555
Katella Avenue, Cypress, CA 90630-5101.
