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2014 OHV Trail Workshop Highlights New Management Tools
On October 28-30, 2014, Don Amador of Quiet Warrior Racing and the Blue Ribbon
Coalition orgaized the annual public land OHV manager’s Ranger Ride. The event was
hosted by the Tahoe National Forest at the American River Ranger District’s Sugar Pine
OHV area. Approximately 40 OHV managers, instructors, volunteers, and support staff from
California public land management agencies gathered to discuss OHV management, view
demonstrations, take motorcycle and ATV training certification courses, and exchange OHV
management strategies, challenges, and successes.
Demonstrations included the Sutter 300 single-track trail dozer road to trail conversion,
Magnum Buster boulder breaking tool, wet weather soil management monitoring instruction by
soil scientist Roger Poff, OHV sound testing demonstration, and restoration projects review.
The Magnum Buster boulder breaking tool demonstration showed OHV trail managers how
large boulders/rock can be broken down to manageable sizes or removed through use of
the Magnum Buster, which does not require a certified blaster to use. The rock breaking
technology uses water as a means to transfer a shock wave from the Magnum Buster’s
initiation cartridge to the black powder cartridge placed in a hole drilled into the boulder/
rock. The Yuba River Trail Crew drilled a 1-5/8 inch hole in a four foot diameter boulder with
a gas powered rock drill about 36 inches deep, filled the hole with water, placed the 30 grain
cartridge in the hole, and set the Magnum Buster on top of the hole. The group was moved
back to a safe distance and watched as the 100-foot-long chord was pulled to set off the
series of concussions. With a loud BOOM the boulder broke into about five pieces that could
be handled by an individual.
The Sutter Equipment Company demonstrated the Sutter 300 mini-dozer that has a 24-inchwide
blade by implementing a road to single-track trail conversion laid out by the district trail
manager. The OHV managers watched the machine make quick work of the project and
helped with the conversion by placing woody debris into the abandoned portions of the old
route to keep motorcycles on the now more narrowly defined trail.
Roger Poff, R.J. Poff and Associates, presented an update on his field studies that involved
measuring soil strength and soil moisture, and correlated these measurements with observed
levels of trail damage. The information is used to predict the risk of trail damage at different
levels of soil strength and soil moisture. This prediction of risk can then be used to develop
threshold values to determine when to open or close trails.
Mr. Poff believes this method will not be a “magic bullet” to solve all the issues related to
opening and closing trails under wet conditions; however, it will be an important tool in the trail
manager’s toolbox for managing trails under wet conditions.
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California State Parks, Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Commission