WSATVA – 40 YEARS AND COUNTING

Herein are 400+ randomly selected pictures of the Western Slope ATV Association from the over 40 years of our existence. The trails we have worked on, helped create, maintained, etc. The projects we’ve done – built and maintained bridges, new trails, etc. The rides we’ve enjoyed. The vistas we have had the privilege to see. The communities we have served. With these pictures we salute those members both past and present who have made all of this possible. During those 40+ years WSATVA has contributed to the OHV community and our local communities by maintaining trails on the Uncompahgre Plateau, Grand Mesa, Vega, Hightower and Brush Creek areas – just to name a few. WSATVA was the ATV arm of Mesa County Search and Rescue for many years and has contributed to our communities through a variety of other community oriented activities. These pictures were randomly gleaned from over 42,000 pictures taken over these 40+ years. 2027 will be the “official” 40th Anniversary of the WSATVA but it existed without official designation as a non-profit before that.

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WSATVA Mission Statement

The Western Slope ATV Association was founded on the principle of promoting ATV use as a legitimate family recreational activity on public lands to provide riding enjoyment on the trails for all users. In doing so, we will promote reasonable use and educate the general public, media and elected officials on land use. We help the Forest Service and BLM Agencies with trail maintenance to keep the many miles of trails adopted by our club on Forest Service and BLM lands as sustainable as possible. Access to ATV trails is a club priority as well as keeping trails safe and enjoyable for riding. We work with the local BLM and Forest Service offices to obtain grants and to provide trail maintenance and construction to help the outdoor community.

The WSATVA is proud to support and be affiliated with The Blue Ribbon Coalition, Colorado Parks & Wildlife,

The Colorado Off-Highway Vehicle Coalition and The National Off-Highway Vehicle Coalition in

PROTECTING PUBLIC LANDS FOR THE PEOPLE INSTEAD OF PROTECTING PUBLIC LANDS FROM THE PEOPLE

WHAT WE DO

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Trail Maintenance & Building

WSATVA continually performs trail maintenance on both BLM and U.S. Forest Service lands to try and keep the trails safer for all of us to use; and to keep the routes open. If a route deteriorates to the point that the agency decides the resource damage is too great, the route can be closed. That would have already happened in some places if not for our actions. Within the Forest Service jurisdiction, WSATVA has adopted four trails on the Grand Mesa National Forest south of Vega State Park: High Trail, Monument Trail, Silver Spruce and Salt Creek. We have also adopted 52 miles of trails on the Divide Forks ATV Complex on the Uncompahgre Plateau. On BLM land, WSATVA has adopted the Barrel Springs route, the Post Canyon route, and the Tabegauche Trail from Bangs Canyon Staging Area to Hwy. 141 and from Hwy. 141 to Cactus Park, both of which are used for all forms of recreation. Grant funds helped procure three Sutter trail dozers designed for maintaining ATV trails and six 50-inch trailers that are used for maintenance on these trails. The club applies for additional grants every year to ensure ongoing trail maintenance and to facilitate new trail maintenance projects as the need arises. WSATVA built the original staging area at Bangs Canyon. With Forest Service approval and support, we have designed, constructed, hauled and installed eight bridges in different locations over creek crossings on the Uncompahgre and Grand Mesa National Forests. The bridges promote better soil management, help prevent erosion, and provide a safer way to cross creeks that can be hazardous during certain times of the year. Our last bridge project was a 60-foot bridge that was installed south of Vega Lake across Leon Creek.

Club Rides

WSATVA endeavors to have club rides when ride leaders make themselves available. However, the frequency of these rides are totally dependent on having ride leaders to guide the rides. Thus, some months will see more rides than other months. The club may ride year-round including fall color rides and snow rides. Ride terrain varies from the deserts to the high mountain passes. Rides will have anywhere from 5 to 35 people and/or machines. As it is difficult to please everyone on every ride, we try to have rides for those who prefer a slower, more leisurely pace conducive to sightseeing and rides for those who prefer to ride a little faster, cover more ground and be a little more adventurous. Some rides can facilitate the wider side-by-side UTVs and some do not as we do advocate for 50-inch wide trails and trails on some of the rides have 50-inch width restrictors.

Follow

Public Meetings & Advocacy

The Western Slope ATV Association has members who volunteer their time and resources to attend most all public meetings involving the use of our public lands. We supply comments and get involved to preserve access to our local public lands. WSATVA continually supports efforts that promote protection of public lands for the people, instead of protecting public lands from the people.

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Club Meetings

Monthly meetings are held on the 3rd Wednesday of every month but December. From January through April, our meeting starts at 7:00 p.m. at the Sheriffs Posse building located at 25 Road and F 1/2 Road. From May through September, we have a potluck-style dinner meeting at 6:30 p.m. at the Juniper pavilion at Sherwood Park. The club furnishes hamburgers, brats and hot dogs. Club members bring a dish of their choice to share. Barbecue begins promptly at 6:30 p.m. Meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. Members provide their own table service and drinks. During October and November, we’re back to regular meetings at 7:00 p.m. at the Sheriffs Posse building.

Search & Rescue

WSATVA provided assistance to Mesa County search and rescue efforts for several years until being notified that their services were no longer required. The all-volunteer ATV arm of Search & Rescue was formed within the club to help with search and rescue, security, evidence searches and more on the Western Slope. The group met monthly and conducted training exercises in First Aid, GPS use, search protocols and familiarization with remote areas which had repeat searches. The dedicated volunteers were on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week and were ready to respond to a call for assistance at a moments notice. Search & Rescue volunteers also lent assistance to search and rescue and/or law enforcement agencies in neighboring counties and states when requested.