Save Our Sands.
This page is dedicated to helping us support and improve the Moses Lake Sand Dunes.
On this page you will find all the latest info pertaining to our area, news articles, Web Poll's, comments box, ect.
Grant County
Board of County Commissioners
Press Release
For Immediate Release
September 17, 2009
September 17, 2009For more information contact:
Barbara J. Vasquez, Clerk of the Board
Office of the Board of County Commissioners
Grant County Courthouse
Ephrata, Washington 98823
Phone: (509) 754-2011 ext 428
Grant County Commissioners to hold Open Public Meeting to take public comment on the State ORV Funding Cuts
Ephrata – The Grant County Board of County Commissioners will hold an Open Public Meeting on September 30, 2009 at 10:00 am in the Grant County Commissioners Hearing Room, Courthouse, Ephrata, WA take public comment on the managing and operation of the Moses Lake and Beverly Sand Dunes due to Grant County losing $200,000 in state funding over the next two years. The budget cuts are a result of the WA State Legislature redirecting the Nonhighway and Off-road Vehicle Activities (NOVA) to WA State Parks. This is nearly 10 million dollars of gas tax and ORV license tab money gone, leaving nothing for off-road vehicle recreation for at least the next two years.
Any interested persons may appear regarding these matters.
News Press Release.
Due to ORV funding cuts by the Washington State Legislature Grant Co Sheriffs Dept who manages our ORV area has lost all thier funding. It is a real possibility that we will be seeing lots of changes in how the M.L. Sand Dunes will be operated. They range from possible closures, curfews, user fees, garbage removal, rest room maintance, even enforcement. This meeting is an informational meeting to try and determin what our needs are and how to finance it. If at all possible please try and attend if not able please send our commissioners your coments via e-mail I have included there addresses below, or call Phone: (509) 754-2011 ext 428
Send Your E-mails to our Grant Co Commisioners.
Carolann Schwartz cswartz@co.grant.wa.us
Cindy Carter ccarter@co.grant.wa.us
Richard Stevens rstevens@co.grant.wa.us commissioners@co.grant.wa.us
If you want to talk to me don't be afraid to call my cell. If I miss your call I will call you back at my earliest opportunity. My cell # 509 398 2616 Rich Archer
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Drew wrote on Oct 1, 2009 9:22 PM:
" I would have to say that civil litigation against the state is warrented. When we go to the gas pump to fill our off road vehicles we are paying highway taxes, unlike diesel there is no simple option to buy untaxed gasoline. Untill recently the state recognized this and applied a portion of this tax revenue to support OHV programs such as our own.
In the past few years tabs for off road motorcycles jumped something like 300% and I have not witnessed any quid quo pro from the state for this increase.
I would suggest to the GCSO to consider not enforcing OHV tabs during the period of time that the state chooses not to fund their successful program. I say this selfishly because I may not be buying tabs for my OHV(s) for a while. I will also be looking for a source of untaxed premium gasoline. I suggest others do the same... "
Jerry wrote on Oct 1, 2009 8:46 PM:
" 15 years ago the sand dunes were an absolute crazy place to be with no access for families because of the sheer mayhem that was going on. Now it is a place everyone can go. I credit the Sheriffs dept., and groups like the Sand Scorpions with that progress. To let it slide back 15 years would not be acceptable. It would not be uncommon for folks to die out there on a regular basis, rapes were not uncommon either. Is that what you guys are asking for? Let us go back to the 1800 then too and you guys can go out with your wagons and have fun. "
agnostic wrote on Oct 1, 2009 8:18 PM:
" There is no way to close down the sand dunes...sounds good to me. "
Steve-o wrote on Oct 1, 2009 7:25 PM:
" No we need more officers in the sand dunes. We really need less morons from out of town who trash the place. Less police mean more idiots that may hurt you. It will become a haven for criminals and predators.
People need to pick up garbage. A big can means nothing to those morons who throw their trash out on the road or leave it. Start charging people to go in. Make a cut off time like midnight then no one else can go in after that. Limit the number of campers. They said it was a park so treat it like one. "
Stan wrote on Oct 1, 2009 6:58 PM:
" The 200k that wa lost is for two years, the county matches the money. The budget is very in depth and there is alot more to this than people think. The two officers gross around 50k each anualy for everthing.They are not over paid and these guys do a great job. I'm sure if the bugget were bigger we would have alot more out there in the way of trash cans. We just got a new bathroom last year and we have been doing alot of work trying to make parking better but it's very hard when some people come behind you and tear stuff up. The sanddunes have come along way in the last five years and we just want to keep going forward so any help or good ideas you have would be great. We are tring to work together on this. Please contact the sand scorpions or the sheriffs office for more info. www.sandscorpion.net or 754-2011 Thank you "
Eric wrote on Oct 1, 2009 6:51 PM:
" One solution in my opinion would be for the City of Moses Lake to annex part of the dunes. Then stimulate development like a board walk along the dunes and Lake Front. Attract service type businesses i.e. Restaurants, bars & other concessions. Not to mention all the water activities like Jet Ski rental, Para sailing, ATV rental the possibilities are endless. The city and tax payers would benefit from the boost in sales tax from tourism revenue. Along with development as long as it's timely and done right will increase property values there significantly. The city would then be able to collect very high property taxes. Obviously there would be some expenses incurred through the annexation, but just in the past year cities like Renton & Kirkland just to name a few, have annexed large portions of neighboring communities. They saw that the positives far outweighed the negative. I think that the idea should up for debate. The ML Rec department did a great job in re branding the surf n Slide water park, people from all over the state have been visiting the city just for the water park. Recently I was at a meeting were a company from Yakima was trying to pitch their technology. Their claim was that their technology could clear bio mass from bodies of water by oxygenating the water. The point is he said something that stuck & that was a lot of people from other cities in the state envy our lake. We have a fantastic asset right under our nose, and if development is done responsibly it could be big boost to the areas tourism. It would only be a small portion of the total acreage of the dunes, the extra revenue from the development will more than pay for the up keep of the park. "
Steve wrote on Oct 1, 2009 6:36 PM:
" To all that have commented. The $200k goes to some of the manpower. I think the biggest problem is no one out there is responsible for there actions. If everyone would pull there head out and ride like normal people and not try and hurt each other you wouldn't of needed the ORV patrol in the first place. And I think charging people a fee for park use is a good idea. Because then people would have more respect for the property and would pick up after themselves and behave correctly. I have been here for over 35 years and have seen alot out in the dunes and can say that the ORV patrol does make a difference out there for the citizens. Also, the patrol more then the dunes area. And last if we charged a service or park fee then maybe the out of towners would have more respect and not trash the ORV park and add more bathrooms and garbage patrol or pick-up form the revenue. Look at the guy that sells stuff out of his jeep he makes money hand over fist why can't the people taking care of the area to possibly make it better. Think about that!!! "
Tim wrote on Oct 1, 2009 5:39 PM:
" The money is for the officers AND maintenance of the bathrooms, garbage cans, etc. It says the money was used "to pay for maintenance" along with the two officers. Those officer help the yahoos who get hurt crashing their cars, bikes and four-wheelers Geez. "
Sandy wrote on Oct 1, 2009 5:35 PM:
" I agree with Dean. Garbage cans and some decent bathrooms would be nice. $200k for 2 officers is way out of hand!!! They do not need to add a user fee that is why us riders pay to have our off road vehicles tabbed. "
Dean wrote on Oct 1, 2009 4:18 PM:
" Good news. The sand dune do not need 24 hr police. What they need are some large trash cans which are emptied once in awhile and the ocassional police patrol to ensure things do not get out of hand. What we do not need are overpaid police ($200k/yr for two officers?!) going around seeing if some adult is having a beer after working hard all week.
Comments sent to the Columbia Basin Herald
Columbia Basin News Article published 09/30/09
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Rich Archer wrote on Oct 3, 2009 7:37 PM:
" We had 35 Sand Scorpion's attend the Yellow Zone clean up Sat morning. They covered the trails and beaches hauling in 5 truck loads of trash. The Grant Co Sheriff's ORV officer was there handing out trash bags and participating in the clean up. Thanks to all who helped. Sand Scorpion Director. Rich Archer "
Steve-o wrote on Oct 3, 2009 2:08 PM:
" Good people! Now if some of those "Coasties" would help clean up! "
Comments sent to the Columbia Basin Herald
If you have any questions or coments please fill out the Comments box below and then press the Submit button. This will send an e-mail to me and as soon as I am able I will return an answer.
If you can think of any questions you would like to ask or have an Idea on how to better help our dune area I would love to hear them.
Columbia Basin News Article published 10/02/09
“The whole reason behind (the group) is that we realized back then there were certain groups that might want to close off the dunes,” Archer said. “We knew it was important to keep them open.”
Last week the group met with the Grant County board to discuss budget cuts made by Washington State Legislature this year. The state redirected the Non-highway and Off-road Vehicle Activities (NOVA), to Washington State Parks, causing sand dunes manager, the Grant County Sheriff’s Office, to lose $200,000 for the next two years.
“We are trying to figure out how we are going to maintain the dunes by creating a committee to figure out funding,” Archer said. “We are striving to save the sand dunes.”
The group fears cuts will cause changes to how the dunes are operated. Changes could include possible closures, curfews, user fees, garbage removal, restroom maintenance and enforcement, according to their Web site.
“We are working on it right now with the board and believe we will figure something out in a matter of time,” Archer said. “We just need to figure out how to take care of the dunes in the meantime. We don’t want to lose them.”
Archer said Grant County would suffer without the dunes.
“There are so many four-wheel drives and quads in this county,” he said. “If we don’t allow them a place to go, every dirt patch will have some kid with a motorcycle in it. It is better to keep kids contained in one area.”
Archer said the clean-up is one way the community can keep the integrity of the dunes.
“It’s also always a pretty good time,” he said.
Washington Off Highway Vehicle Alliance and NMA files lawsuit to block transfer of ORV funds to State Parks
The Washington Off Highway Vehicle Alliance has teamed up with the Northwest Motorcycle Association to file a lawsuit against the State of Washington to block the transfer of over 9.5 million dollars in off road vehicle funds from the Non-highway and Off road Vehicle Activities (NOVA) account to State Parks. Attorney James Buchal will be representing both organizations.
This spring the Legislature passed House Bill 1244, which transferred the money out of the NOVA account. The NOVA account money comes from the gas tax paid by off road vehicle users and the license tab fees on off road vehicles (ORV).
According to the Washington State Constitution, gas tax collected must be used only for roads. To comply with that, the State allows refunds on gas tax paid for other uses.
In 1972, the off road vehicle community supported passage of legislation that waived their right to a direct refund of the taxes they paid for ORV fuel in exchange for having those same funds “refunded” into a dedicated account to promote and protect their sport. Later on, their ORV license tab money was added to this account too. The NOVA program was established to administer these funds.
Now that all the money is going to State Parks and State Parks is not going to spend the money on off road vehicle recreation, this is no longer a legitimate refund for the benefit of these taxpayers.
The NOVA funding is normally distributed by the State Recreation and Conservation Funding Board in the form of grants. These grants are awarded to governmental agencies such as the United States Forest Service, the Washington Department of Natural Resources and various counties. It is the primary source of funding for off road vehicle recreation and for law enforcement on public lands in Washington.
If this funding is not returned to benefit the taxpayers that paid for it, families and their children throughout the State of Washington will lose the healthy, outdoor recreational opportunities they were promised and for which they paid their taxes and ORV tab fees, as the trails they have enjoyed together are closed. And public employees throughout Washington who maintain and patrol those trails will lose their jobs.
The Washington Off Highway Vehicle Alliance and the Northwest Motorcycle Association are nonprofit organizations dedicated to protecting and promoting off highway vehicle and off road motorcycle recreation.
For more information, contact Tod Petersen Political Action Committee Chairman – Washington Off Highway Vehicle Alliance Legislative/Land Use Coordinator – Northwest Motorcycle Association
P.O. Box 61161 Seattle, WA 98141
tod701@aol.com www.wohva.org www.nmaoffroad.org
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Sound OFF! - Sound RIDER! readers sound off about this issue now. CLICK HERE!
"There goes Washington Budget Director, Victor Moore, trying to make up for overspending elsewhere in the states budget - what else is new" TK, Tacoma
"We stand on their steps every year and remind them we're not gonna stand for this - so they try and pull it off anyway - WAKE UP OLYMPIA" JB, Edmonds
"Can I get free entry into the state parks in 2010 if I show up on my dirt bike?" GM, Elbe
Any comments sent to me will be posted here for everyone to see
10/09/09 This is an excellant idea. Its about time that Grant County charges for use on the dunes. Everyone else is why not Moses Lake.
10/16/09 I understand that the Wash State has a grants avaliable for tourisum. Is it possible we can apply for this for our ORV area to make improvements.
10/20/09 THANK YOU FOR ALL THE EFFORT YOU HAVE PUT INTO OUR SAND DUNES. THE ONLY PLACE YOU AND YOUR FAMILY CAN HAVE FUN ALL YEAR LONG.
10/21/09I am from Oregon and the dunes down there do not have a user fee. Sand Lake, Florence, Winchester Bay all are free to use. You start charging a user fee for the dunes, there goes a ton of business on 3 day weekends. The best option is to utilize a real campground and charge for it instead a having a free for all with no rhyme or reason. This is how other dunes do it, they also charge for parking in nice parking lots, they do not charge for parking on the dunes. I am willing to donate my time for any campground proposal.
I am from Oregon and the dunes down there do not have a user fee. Sand Lake, Florence, Winchester Bay all are free to use. You start charging a user fee for the dunes, there goes a ton of business on 3 day weekends. The best option is to utilize a real campground and charge for it instead a having a free for all with no rhyme or reason. This is how other dunes do it, they also charge for parking in nice parking lots, they do not charge for parking on the dunes. I am willing to donate my time for any campground proposal.10/22/09 " Let's just give it to the City of Moses Lake and make it a nicer area to ride your ORV.. "
11/08/09 Before they start charging user fee's they should go to Utah and see what a user fee should do. The state parks and BLM lands are beatiful. And the riding areas are huge! A user fee would damage the already suffering economy in the area. I spend over $200 on gas and food in town for an average summer weekend. That doesn't include any broken parts.
11/09/09 The alcohol ban has not stopped drinking or littering in the area. Designated fire pit areas and more dumpsters, as well as a camp host available to hand out garbage bags and info on the ORV park and local businesses may be a better solution to these problems.
11/13/09 My family and friends use the Moses Lake Dunes alot every year. Every time we visit we help keep the restrooms clean and pick up trash every day while we are there. Maybe it sounds like I am blowning my horn. I am! Because there are alot of users out there that don't pull there weight by helping maintaining the ORV area. This is a wake call to all ORV users out there. If we don't start writing our state and federal representatives. I sincerely believe they are going to take us all on one big ride to nothing. Those fools in Olympia and Washington DC work for US. Just remember "We the People"
11/25/09 Grant County or the Sand Scorpions might want to look into getting the WORCS into Moses Lake. On one of racing stops during the series. I understand that Grays Harbor and Thurston Counties made millions of dollars during the Moto/ATV racing events. From people going to the events and what was spent into the local towns. Great way to make some money to support keeping the dunes operation. $$$$$$$
12/10/09 you know if the government would stop wasting money and spending on pork barrel project we would have plenty of money to run the dunes,we shouldn't have to pay more we already do through our taxes and now we need to pay even more ,geez we aren't made of money.
12/15/09 the sand scorpions have done an amazing job at keeping our sand dunes in top condition with the funding that has been provided, to take that away from us and take away access to this land mark i beleive is selfish. Familes every year come to moses lake for vacations, birthdays, and get togethers mostly provided by our sand scorpions. It is the one place that doesnt charge you a arm and a leg to have fun, swim, ride and relax.Thank you to Rich& Penny for giving us all a chance to stand behind you in this fight.
12/21/09 I dont understand why if we pay for tabs on our machines why do we need to pay more where does that money go we already pay.
12/28/09 When ML dune area becomes a regular park, then the county should charge people to use it. As our dune area is not a regular park then no fee should be charged to ride in it. However a camping fee should be put in place just like every other dune area on the west coast. Along with an actual camping ground. This would help not only the riders but the campers as well. And it may even help with the massive littering. After all our favorite coasties leave, the locals get to go out and clean up after them. Having a designated camping ground with regular access to dumpsters and bathrooms would probably help us out alot. Also having a OHV sticker permit like oregon does would help too.
01/02/10 What is the point of adding a user fee, we already pay for ORV tabs. From what I understand we are already lossing $200,000 that used to support the sand dunes, so where the hell is all of our money for the tabs going. Also why is the beverly sand dunes closed?
01/19/10 The good from charging is it might help it from continuing to be used as a garbage dump out there, because it will be policed a little. The bad is people who are used to not having to pay may not be real happy about having to. Kind of a double edged blade.
Lawsuit may return sand dunes funding
By Cameron Probert
Herald staff writer
EPHRATA — People looking for the return of $200,000 from the state for the Moses Lake sand dunes may get some help from a Thurston County lawsuit.
The state transferred $9.5 million from the Nonhighway and Off-Road Vehicle Activities (NOVA) grant program to the state parks. This included $200,000 the Grant County Sheriff’s Office expected to receive for the 2009 - 2011 biennium.
The Washington Off Highway Vehicle Alliance, Northwest Motorcycle Association and four individuals filed a civil suit against the state in an attempt to block the state from spending the money for the parks.
Since the money for the grant program is funded by gas taxes and off-road vehicle license tabs, and meant for a program to help people, the plaintiffs’ claim the state has no right to move the money, according to court records. The money is not slated to go to any parks with off-road facilities.
While the sheriff’s office is losing $100,000 this year from its budget, Grant County Chief Deputy Dave Ponozzo said it plans to keep the two officers for the area with the $144,000 planned to be budgeted by the county.
“Operationally we’re going to be suffering a little bit unless we find some money,” he said. “We have to clean the outhouses ... We have to dump litter. We’ll do everything we can to maintain that facility in the manner we have for the last several years. There’s weeds that have to be sprayed ... We’ve been told this is a temporary fix for state parks, so I’ll keep my fingers crossed.”
Lance Cornell, the owner of Experience Powersports in Moses Lake, said there may be a stay in transferring the funds, but it’s unknown whether it will be soon.
“One positive, it certainly doesn’t take (the money) away,” he said. “The lawsuit basically is noting this process is essentially illegal.”
Rich Archer, a member of the off-road group the Sand Scorpions, agreed with the lawsuit, saying the state doesn’t have a right to the money.
“We’re not going to let it happen. We’re going to keep fighting to keep that thing open,” he said. “It’s going to stay open no matter what. We’re hoping, it’s a real small amount of money. I think they’re (the sheriff’s office) just going to have to deal with it.”
While the sheriff’s office waits to find out what will happen with the lawsuit, people concerned with the sand dunes plan to start meeting this week to discuss possible funding sources.
Archer said the Sand Scorpions set up a section of their Web page to ask people what they want to do with the area. People can fill out the online survey at www.sandscorpion.net/Save-Our-Sands.html
Comments sent to CBH.
Mike D. wrote on Oct 21, 2009 8:10 PM:
" Let's just give it to the City of Moses Lake and make it a nicer area to ride your ORV.. "
Idea wrote on Oct 23, 2009 6:38 PM:
" I know how you can find some $$:
In the spring and fall we like to walk around the lake on the shoreline to find old mattresses, beer cans, broken beer bottles, pop cans, dish soap and soap bottles, and garbage discarded over the beach. Restrooms, garbages, and bridges are coated with grafitti. It's a beautiful sight out there.
Guess some us get pleasure of pouring soap into the lake where the fish have to survive and deer drink water. And these idiots don't care one bit about people stepping on broken glass bottles.
Obviously some of the people using the sand dunes, whoever you may be, are making a big dangerous mess out there.
Solution: Station a gated entrance, post a cop 24 daily, check patrons for alcohol, dish soap, and charge an entrance fee to clean up the mess. "
Columbia Basin News Article published 10/20/09
