OP-ED - I Have a Trail Dream

OP ED

By Don Amador

Jan. 14, 2018

I HAVE A TRAIL DREAM

In 2001, I wrote an op-ed entitled; I Have a [Trail] Dream.   My dream back then was that someday all trail users will get along and respect each other's personal choice of recreational activity.

I had a belief there are many places where diverse recreational interests have and do manage to use public lands in a cooperative fashion.  That opinion was based on my personal experiences riding multi-use trails in places such as Moab, UT, and the Tahoe National Forest in CA.

That post 1990s-era “Timber War” missive was based on what I saw as an initial thawing of the

 “political ice” that was the foundation of the 30 year-old battle between hardcore environmental groups and conservative land-use interests.

It was also the early dawning of stakeholder meetings and/or collaborative efforts between diverse user groups and land agencies.  I believe those primal collaborations established a framework for the current and widely embraced stakeholder process where traditional multiple-use/environmental interests  seek to find common ground on public land recreation and resource management issues.

Since 2001, there has been a rapid growth in several recreation activities such as mountain-biking or eBike/eMTB use that may have been or need to be more substantively engaged in the collaborative process.  Other eTrail vehicle manufacturers and users also need to participate.

Side x Side enthusiasts are another group that is often not engaged and hence under-represented in the “early scoping” stakeholder process for land-use planning efforts.

User engagement is critical since there are a number of local, state, and federal land agencies or other stakeholders that have biased/misguided/outdated views, regulations, or policies related to these new sport modalities.

The Outdoor Industry Association’s 2017 Outdoor Recreation Economy Report states that outdoor recreation generates $887 billion dollars in consumer spending and employs 7.6 million Americans.

That information highlights the fact that recreation in most of the country is the number one use of public lands.  It also illustrates the need for trail users of all types to work in a collaborative manner to find common ground on today’s pressing issues such as eBike use on mechanized trails, enhanced MTB trail opportunities, creating legal riding and/or touring routes for SxSs, and securing the commensurate level of funding from legislators for managing all forms of motorized and non-motorized recreation.

The English Oxford Dictionary defines segregation as the action or state of setting someone or something apart from others.

I believe that as the country celebrates Martin Luther King Jr. Day, diverse trail interests and other recreation stakeholders should commit to participate in solution-oriented collaborative efforts where finding common ground is the goal.

Maybe that dream I had in 2001 will become reality.  It’s up to us.

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Don Amador writes from his office in Oakley, California on OHV recreation and land-use issues.  Don has 28 years of experience in OHV-related recreation management and advocacy.  Don is President of Quiet Warrior Racing, his recreation consulting business.  Don is a contractor to the BlueRibbon Coalition/Sharetrails.org where he serves as their Western Representative.  Don was a 2016 inductee into the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame.  

Don may be reached by email at: damador@cwo.com

National Debate - Active (BLM) v. Passive Recreation (NPS)

The statement by former Secretary of the Interior, Gayle Norton, struck a chord here at the Recreation HQ.   As the current Secretary of the Interior, Sally Jewell, advocates for more lands to be set aside as National Parks or under some other preservation-oriented designation,   Norton highlights what many federal and state land managers are seeing and that is the public’s interest in “active recreation.”

Norton who served under President George W. Bush was quoted in an Energy and Environment article today where she commented on protective land designations for passive use or non-entry… That doesn't necessarily mean protection under the National Park Service. Other agencies, such as the Bureau of Land Management, also are entrusted with conserving nationally important land… the "full spectrum" of public lands should be considered in any discussion on how to solve the Park Service's budget shortfall while ensuring land is preserved.

For example, some lands might do better under BLM, which spends less per acre of conserved land, she said. People today want to see active recreation. They like the mountain bikes. They like ATVs. They want to bring their dogs along. They want to travel off into areas that are not as populated…Those are all available on BLM lands and not in national parks.

This will be an interesting discussion to watch as federal and state government officials (elected and appointed) review current and potential recreational opportunities on park lands through the prism of declining budgets and growing maintenance backlogs.

Help Donstradamus Decide on Issuing Predictions for 2012

Donstradamus

This was updated (in bold) Dec. 29, 2011 to gauge the accuracy of Donstradamus' 2011

predictions made in Dec. 2010.  Please comment if you think Donstradamus should quit making

predictions or if he should continue - Thanks!

10- A pro-access Democrat congressman will switch to the GOP once House oversight hearings on Travel Management and other land closures are scheduled in mid-January 2011.  Several DEMs did vote for H.R. 242 to address the closure of level 3 roads in Region 5 - Pretty close

9 - A new OHV-oriented Luddite movement spreads across several western states. Dirt-bikers throw GPS units away and use maps instead. They leave cell phones at home when they go on trail rides with their buddies. Several guys I ride with have gone back to using maps when directions are needed - Sorta close


8 - Snowmobile sales spike due to heavy snowfall in the Winter of 2011. Environmentalists blame the high snow levels on global cooling that they claim is a byproduct of global warming. An ISMA June 2011 news release stated OSV sales were up 5% in the USA and greens still blame use global warming as main reason for any weather events - Dead on

7 - An all-electric OHV Park will be sited near a major population center in the USA. Left-wing eco-groups should applaud the facility, but complain instead.  Electric OHV parks are being talked about - Sorta Close

6 - Good News – Green mountain-bikers will finally get their long-time wish for a “Wilderness Area” that allows mountain bikes. Bad News – It is only 20 acres in size and riders must dismount when going downhill to reduce soil impacts. I believe one of the "Wilderness Bills" (maybe Testers') gave mountain bikers one or two trails as a bone (cherry-stemmed in the Wilderness proposal) - Sorta Close

5 - A new upstart political party that supports pro-trail legislators and policies will become an important factor in the 2012 elections. There is a new OHV trail polticial action committee, but effectiveness depends on OHV support - Close

4 - Federal land agencies allow OHVs to be used to treat invasive plant species such as the European Beach Grass at the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area and other coastal sites. The agencies rotate OHV use similar to how farmers rotate goatherds to manage unwanted vegetation.  The FS may consider allowing OHVs to "manage" some of the small pine tree "islands."  - Pretty close 

3- Diesel powered dual sport motorcycles long favored by the military are offered to the public in a civilian version as a way to help motorcyclists save on fuel costs. No info - Miss

2 - A MX superstar from the 1980s quits his unhealthy lifestyle. He adopts a vegan diet and trains for 5 months under the direction of Jillian from the Biggest Loser TV series. He places 2nd at the Hangtown MX race held near Sacramento. No info - Miss


1- A former motorcycle-racing champion wants to give back to the sport and donates $300,000 dollars to a national off-road advocacy group to help keep trails open.  No info on such a donation - Miss 
 
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Mountain Bike History Lesson in OHV Wars

The General believes the Carnegie crisis has actually had a positive impact as you look at the overall picture of land-use fights to preserve and protect responsible OHV recreation on public and private lands.

Besides awakening Bay Area off-roaders to the fact that anti-OHV groups have the sport square in their crosshairs, it has caused a lot of those same folks who also ride mountain bikes to ask the question, “Where are the mountain bike groups in the access fight?”

The onus for today’s study of OHV Wars is based on a recent article published in IMBA’s Magazine as written by Jen Dice.

2010 IMBA Article
http://www.sharetrails.org/uploads/Jenn_Dice_Article_MtnBkMag_Jan2010.pdf

The tough talk is welcome but my question is if IMBA has resolved its inner turmoil between the group’s pro-Wilderness advocates (some of the old IMBA hardliners have a motto which goes like this, “We have never met a Wilderness Bill that we won’t support – even if it bans mountain bikes”) v. some others who believe that IMBA should work more closely with groups like BRC and AMA to defend trail access rights?

This internal struggle was documented in an excellent 2006 article in Mountain Bike Action Magazine (a very good and informative read)
http://www.sharetrails.org/magazine/article.php?id=755

In my position with BRC, I had extended the hand of partnership to IMBA and other mountain bikers to join us in a fight to have the BLM include mountain bike and equestrian use on a large number of existing logging roads (over 50 miles) in the Headwaters Forest Reserve. This was a case where BRC (and The General) was willing to lead the fight to protect equestrian and mountain bike access in this area. In fact, it was not an OHV issue since OHV use had never occurred there and we were not asking for it. Sadly, IMBA rejected our offer and the BLM only gave them about 3 miles instead of 50 or more.

Link to Info/Overview of Headwaters Battle where non-motorized users got screwed
http://thegeneralsrecreationden.blogspot.com/2009/02/headwaters-forest-good-idea-or-raw-deal.html

The Recreation HQ hopes the new readers of the blog will find these history lessons useful as they get up to speed on land use issues.

Thanks for your service!

PEER SENDS LOVE LETTER TO IMBA

For many years, some leaders of the mountain bike community

have had a dream of finding a way to rewrite federal law so that

mountain bikes are allowed in designated Wilderness areas or

other non-mechanized land classifications.

The following Feb. 17 PEER News Release
http://www.peer.org/news/news_id.php?row_id=1160
should serve as a potent reminder to mountain bike leaders that

many green groups lump their form of recreation in the same category of other hated land-use groups which include OHV, timber, mining, and cattle grazing.

All one has to do is simply replace the term “mountain bikes” with “OHVs” and
the PEER news release would look like so many others they and other green groups have
filed against dirt-bikers, ATVers, or 4WD owners.

The General continues to feel that mountain bikers and OHVers have a lot in common
and should join forces to advocate for continued motorized and mechanized responsible access to our Backcountry. Maybe PEER’s news release will fill the mountain bike community’s nostrils with the not-so-sweet aroma of green bias arising from the brew of the enviro's conflict industry.

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Headwaters Forest - Good Idea or Raw Deal

When visiting with a reporter from the North Coast Journal the other day regarding a retrospective article on establishment of the Headwaters Forest Reserve (circa 1999) near Eureka, California, I remembered BRC’s strong advocacy for non-motorized recreational opportunity in that project.

BRC participated in the NEPA process and also filed a protest/appeal
http://www.sharetrails.org/releases/media/?print=1&story=237

BRC Protest
http://www.sharetrails.org/releases/media/?story=236

As a native of the Eureka area in Northern California, the battle for recreational access on behalf of the equestrian and mountain-bike community was more than a professional duty -- it was a personal obligation.

In the following article from today, BRC’s Beaches and Trails Certified Volunteer, Dennis Mayo talks about how the non-motorized recreation community got a raw deal.

North Coast Journal Article
http://www.northcoastjournal.com/issues/2009/02/26/headwaters-forest-at-10/

Quote from Dennis Mayo in article

"We got screwed," said Dennis Mayo of McKinleyville. "We were told, oh, come on, join in and play in the fun. We were told that we were going to get horseback riding, we were going to get all this stuff to help with ecotourism. I don't think a trail for somebody to walk on and one damn bicycle riding trail is recreation. It certainly doesn't meet the needs of the horseback riding community. We got zero."

Were there false promises made to the recreation community during the creation of the Headwaters Forest Reserve? I believe so. Did BRC work hard on behalf of the non-motorized community? Yes it did.

I guess the lesson to be learned from the “Headwaters” experience is that the recreation community must be wary of similar promises made in new Wilderness proposals and other land classification projects. The public does not have to be “kicked out” when lands are “preserved.” Buyer beware is an appropriate motto to remember.

Were there any positive developments during the Headwaters battle? You bet! Dennis Mayo who was a strong advocate for equestrian access had his eyes opened and is now a certified volunteer for the BlueRibbon Coalition. He now advocates for responsible multiple-use access for ALL users.

Since the Headwaters decision, the BLM has worked hard to preserve OHV recreation at the Samoa Dunes and for touring OHV use on the Humboldt Bay’s South Spit.

Samoa Dunes Recreation Area
http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/arcata/samoa.html

“If land-use history is forgotten… it will repeat itself. The recreation community must never forget.”
--The General--

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