CYPRESS, Calif. – May 11, 2011 – Yamaha Motor Corp., U.S.A.’s national OHV Access Initiative announced its pledge of more than $136,000 in GRANTs (Guaranteeing Responsible Access to our Nations Trails) for the first quarter funding cycle of 2011.  The GRANT funds are awarded to nonprofit or tax exempt organizations around the country implementing projects to promote safe, responsible OHV riding and open, sustainable riding areas.

The first quarter of 2011 featured a remarkable number of well-qualified applications submitted for consideration. Ultimately, the Yamaha OHV Access Initiative review committee awarded grants to 10 projects in this funding period.  The $136,000 will go toward critical efforts including trail development, maintenance, signage and mapping as well as protecting OHV access to federal public lands.  GRANTs were awarded to the following organizations:

• Aitkin County Land Department, Mo. – Northwoods Regional ATV Trail System
• Central Arizona Trails, Inc. – Wildcat OHV Staging and Trail System
• Central Oregon OHV Operations – Cline Buttes Recreation Area and Three Trails OHV Area
• Community Forest Trust, Ariz. – Prescott National Forest OHV Ambassadors Program
• Nebraska OHV Association – Headworks OHV Park
• Off-Road Business Association – California Desert District Permitting Management
• Oswego County ATV Club, N.Y. – 2011 Club Trail Development Projects
• Public Park Authority: Cities of Lincoln and Talladega, Ala. – Coosa River Storage Annex OHV Development
• Responsible Recreation Foundation, Colo. – 2011 Stay The Trail Programming
• Washington County Board of Supervisors, Mich. – Warfield Point Park OHV Trail Maintenance

“2011 marks the fourth year of Yamaha’s OHV Access Initiative and we continue to be impressed by the dedication of the OHV community across the nation in serving the interests of responsible riding and sustainable access,” Steve Nessl, Yamaha ATV/SxS marketing manager, said. “As always, we look to riding clubs and land managers to identify projects that can make an impact and come to Yamaha for support.”

Through this program, Yamaha has directly and indirectly supported thousands of miles of trails, kept open countless riding areas, improved staging areas, built bridges over fish-baring streams and partnered with local riding communities across the country to improve the OHV experience for all.  Yamaha is actively seeking qualified projects at local, state and federal levels.  The 2011 OHV Access Initiative GRANT schedule, application form and guidelines are available at www.yamaha-motor.com/ohvaccess.  The quarterly review calendar for 2011 is as follows:

About the Yamaha OHV Access Initiative

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.