TO: Mi-TRALE Members, Friends, Associates
FR: Skip Schulz, Mi-TRALE President
RE: April 7, 2008 Mtg Recap and Update
DT: April 8, 2008

Due to all that Mi-TRALE covered at our April 7th meeting and all that our ACTIVE club has going on, I apologize for the length of this update in advance.

The new Mi-TRALE 6-Western UP County ORV map will be going to the printers on April 25, 2008. With the FANTASTIC help of Lindy at the Konteka, Kurt at Parkview, Matt at Bluffhouse Bunkhouse, and Paul at the Porcupine Mtn Lodge...we are within $1000 of TOTALLY paying for the map! We currently have 26 Fantastic Advertisers on the map!

We are going to go through a "Bid" Process for an ad on the Cover of the map. Currently the bid is at $500.00. If you are interested in sponsoring the cover of the map, e-mail me ASAP at: sschulz@jamadots.com to place a bid for the cover. We will keep all those bidding on the cover of the status of the bids.

Everyone that saw the rough draft of the map, and heard from Ken Marshall of the Western Upper Peninsula Planning Development Region (WUPPDR) was impressed by the map...the layout, the detail, the marking of our Mi-TRALE trails, the Mi DNR Designated Trails, and the Preferred Route listing. We are also going to have our Trailheads identified on the map. That will consist of the Southern Pioneer Trailhead, east of Bergland; Norwich Road-Pioneer Trail Parking Lot; Adventure Mountain-start of the BN Trail; IRM Western Trailhead-Maranesco; Stannard Park-Bruce Crossing-SB Trail; Wilderness Refuge Cabins-South Range-North End of BN Trail.

The club agreed to keep the Ottawa National Forest Trails that are open to ATV's listed on the map. They will be in brown. We are also going to re-name the North Freda Loop Trail as the "NF" trail...that and the "SF" trail will not be shown as Michigan DNR Designated but will remain on the map. When the NF Trail becomes designated, that will be under the maintenance of the Keweenaw ATV Club.

We will not be showing the Ethelwood Road as a Mi-TRALE trail, but will have it listed as a 'proposed route.' We will not have FR 630 listed, even though we do have a chance that this road will eventually be opened to ORV's.

Brian Paulsen, Supervisor of Carp Lake Township and landowner was at the April 7th Mi-TRALE meeting, and reaffirmed his support of extending the E Trail into White Pine. With his support and the permission from Joe Hillborn, the E Trail has been 'flagged' and work will begin on extending that trail into White Pine within days. We now have a LEGAL trail going into White Pine. After the clearing and dozing of the trail is done, the trail will be signed, and should be ready by Memorial Day weekend.

Mi-TRALE will then begin work on finalizing the IRM extension from Maranesco to Wakefield. The Ottawa National Forest shows we could have a trail getting us to a County Road just east of Wakefield. We then would use that County Road to get into Wakefield. Mi-TRALE is also in contact with the chambers and Visitor and Convention Bureau in Ironwood in regards to connecting Wakefield to Ironwood.

Mi-TRALE will have 2 representatives of our club at the April 16th Michigan State Senate Hearing on HB4323. This is the bill that unanimously passed the Michigan State House and allows Northern Lower Peninsula and all Upper Peninsula Counties the right to adopt an ordinance allowing for the legal use of an ORV on local, township, and county roads. If HB4323 passes through the committee, it will then go to the Senate for a vote. If passed by the Michigan State Senate it will then go to Governor Granholm for either her signature or veto. Mi-TRALE voted to pay for some of the expenses to have the Weisen's from Mass City attend that hearing in Lansing. We still need as many people as possible to contact Joy Brewer, Clerk of the Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs Committee in support of HB 4323.

Dan Castle was at the April 7th meeting to talk about and answer questions as to how Mi-TRALE can play an instrumental role in re-establishing a Search and Rescue Unit for Ontonagon and Gogebic Counties. We had 5 people sign up, and need at least 5 more to proceed. Dan will be giving an instruction course on Search and Rescue on Monday Night, May 12th, 7:00 Eastern/6:00 Central, at the Konteka in White Pine. Please e-mail me if you are interested in being a part of this new Search and Rescue Unit: sschulz@jamadots.com

On April 19th and 20th, Mi-TRALE will have members taking the Ottawa National Forest Chainsaw Certification workshop in Watersmeet. We still have room for 3 people, please contact Dawn Buss-Glodowski at dbussglodowski@fs.fed.us to sign up. We currently have 3 Mi-TRALE members signed up to take the course, our Secretary's Son N Law, Our Secretary-Bruce, and myself.

TALK ABOUT FANTASTIC SUPPORT FROM OUR BUSINESS-MEMBERS: Joining Parkview Lodge of Twin Lakes in providing discount rooms for those that will help on our May 17th and 18th Trail Workbee. Wildlife Refuge Cabins has a couple cabins, Bluffhouse Bunkhouse in Mass City, Krupp's Resort in Twin Lakes...all have rooms either FREE or GREATLY reduced...for those that are going to HELP checking, brushing, and signing the hundreds of miles of ORV Trails that Mi-TRALE maintains. The main trails that we have to have signed and checked over is the BN Trail from Greenland to Houghton, the IRM Trail from Iron River to Maranesco, and the newly Mi DNR Designated SB Trial from Bergland to Sidnaw. Please let me know if you can help on anyone of those trails. Once those trails are done, we will begin working on all the Mi-TRALE ORV Trails, including the P (Pioneer), C, E, PF, A, and BLA Trails. Hopefully HB4323 will pass and we will finish up the signing of different Preferred Routes that have not yet been signed.

Mi-TRALE now has a Michigan DNR Certified Safety Instructor, Bruce Johanson. Bruce will be announcing as to when he will have classes. If you would like to be a Michigan DNR Certified Safety Instructor, make it to the May 5th Meeting at Parkview in Twin Lakes, or contact Bruce; johanson@up.net We will also be having Press Releases as to when the classes will be offered to those 12-16 years old.

Bruce also continues to work on filling out the Michigan 501C4 papers. Bruce is also working with GMO on trail issues. Bruce and his wife, Roberta are FANTASTIC members of Mi-TRALE!

At our April 7th meeting, I gave a report as to how the Township of Maranesco has filed for a grant to construct an ORV Building in Maranesco. This building will have a meeting room, kitchen, picnic area, and parking. I will be contacting the Maranesco Police Chief, Bruce Malner, to see if they can have an outdoor faucet installed. This faucet will then be used by ORV Riders to clean off their machines and help stop the spread of Invasive Species. At the Michigan DNR Trail Maintenance Workshop in Gwinn, I brought the idea of seeing if the Michigan DNR would fund the drilling of a well to put faucets at different trailheads to help us in preventing the spread of Invasive Species.

Bruce and I were fortunate to attend a very informative Michigan DNR Trail Maintenance Workshop on April 5th in Gwinn. We will continue to work closely with a good friend, Ron Yesney, and the new UP ORV Rep, Rob Katona. Mi-TRALE is very fortunate to have a great working relationship with the Michigan DNR. Mi-TRALE will be working with them to see if we can build some more challenging ORV Trails on Michigan State Forest Land. The two areas that Mi-TRALE will be looking at this summer for new trails on Michigan State Forest land includes the land east of the Norwich Road, and Copper Country State Forest Land off of the BN (Bill Nichols) Trail.

Mi-TRALE member Jerry Yaklyvich will continue to spearhead a group of people for the section of M-107 Right-of-Way clean-up program. This is another great program put on by Mi-TRALE volunteers!

Under new business, Mi-TRALE is going to set up a LAWMAKER-TOURISM ORV Ride this summer. We are going to be contacting State Rep Mike Lahti, State Senator Mike Prusi, Congressman Bart Stupak, US Senators Levin and Stabenow, and people from the Michigan Department of Tourism and take them on an ORV Ride on some of our Mi-TRALE trails. This is something that our friends at the Wisconsin ATV Association does every year.

Mi-TRALE is also looking at changing our Bylaws to establish a Board of Directors. I will have more on this on future updates and at our May 5th Meeting.

Our next Mi-TRALE meeting will be another busy one as it will be the final meeting before our Workbee, and the opening of the ORV Trails in the Western UP. That meeting will be at the Parkview in Twin Lakes, May 5th, 7:00 Eastern/6:00 Central.

Thanks for reading this long update!

Skip Schulz
Mi-TRALE President

Mi-TRALE to help Search and Rescue

It was at the last Mi-TRALE meeting that the club met with Dan Castle about helping to resurrect a Search and Rescue Unit for Ontonagon and Gogebic County. Castle helped build a Search and Rescue Unit in the Mid-90's, but left the area when Copper Range went out of business.

Mi-TRALE, which stands for Michigan Trails and Recreation Alliance of Land and the Enviornment, will have members take a Search and Rescue class taught by Castle. That class will be on May 12th and take place at the Konteka in White Pine. The class will begin at 7:00 Eastern Time.

Castle has worked on Search and Rescue with the Michigan State Police, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Ottawa National Forest, Gogebic County Sheriff's Department and the Ontonagon County Sheriff's Department. Castle expressed the importance of having a trained group of volunteers that can be called on in case of an emergency. Mi-TRALE has expressed an interest in helping to resurrect a Search and Rescue Unit in the area, however needed the help of Castle for proper training.

While many look at Mi-TRALE as an ORV club, the club was founded by a diverse group of outdoor enthusiasts. The club has numerous ORV Riders, Snowmobilers, Equestrian Riders, and Personal Watercraft Riders. This is something that is important for a good Search and Rescue Unit according to Mi-TRALE President, Skip Schulz.

"Mi-TRALE has and will continue to do a lot of volunteer work for the Western UP. Helping to establish a Search and Rescue Unit is another way to show how proactive of an organization Mi-TRALE is," commented Schulz.

In a few weeks, Mi-TRALE will clean up a section of M-107. This summer Mi-TRALE will be offering Michigan DNR ORV Safety Certification classes. The group will once again help the Ontonagon County Fair with it's ATV/Truck XTreme Challenge. The club also has members that will take a Chainsaw Certification Class offered by the Ottawa National Forest.

"All this is above and beyond building and maintaining close to 500 miles of ORV Trails and Routes in the Western Upper Peninsula," stated Schulz. "All these trails and routes will be on the new Mi-TRALE 6-Western County ORV Trail Map that will be out by Memorial Day weekend," concluded Schulz.

If you are interested in taking part in the Search and Rescue Class on May 12th, you are asked to contact Dan Castle at oldcu@up.net or Schulz at: sschulz@jamadots.com