MERCED DIRT RIDERS, INC.
LAND USE ISSUES
Last update Sept. 07th, 2002
(Click on article you
want to see)
How to Build a
Coalition and save a Recreation Area
CERA, Thanks YOU
“I HAVE A DREAM” Guest article By Don Amador
Dirt Days LAO Benefit
How You Can Help Change the Endangered
Species Act!
How to Build a Coalition and Save a
Recreation Area
By Del Albright, BlueRibbon Ambassador
I was nodding off with my chin resting on my
chest when the meeting speaker suddenly caught my attention. I hate it when that
happens – he called out my name and asked me a question. Of course, because I’d
been lost in dreams of trails and mountains, I had no clue what the question
was. But my neighbor saved me and said, “Give your coalition speech.”
That made it easy. I’ve given my “coalition
speech” dozens of times. Then it occurred to me that I should make this one of
my columns. So herein I will share with you the secrets of how to build a
coalition and save a recreation area. It works!
Let’s start with the Assumptions:
- Your
recreation or riding area is under threat of restrictions or closures – if
not now, then someday. Perhaps an Endangered Species is just waiting to be
found. Perhaps your area is prime for Wilderness.
- You’re
not the only one who recreates out there; there are other riders and other
types of recreation or land use taking place in your favorite spot.
- You’re
not a big “joiner,” but you are a member of at least one group (like the
BlueRibbon Coalition).
- You have
not assumed that someone else is going to save your recreation area.
- There
are probably a few uninformed folks using your area who don’t follow all
the rules, do not stay on designated routes, and leave trash behind.
- Someday, you want your kids
enjoying this same area and recreation.
Now we’ll look at the process for saving this recreation area. As I write
this, dozens of states are doing this very thing. I have helped numerous
individuals do exactly what I’m about to tell you – turn a one-person dream
into a recreation-saving reality. I am essentially going to give you the
formula that we used to form the Friends of the Rubicon (FOTR). FOTR (www.friendsoftherubicon.com)
has served as an example nationwide for coalition building and
recreation-saving efforts. It does not matter what type area or access issue
we’re talking about; this process is generic.
From the onset, I recommend your coalition be multiple-use (all interests
and users). One definition of coalition is, “An alliance of factions formed for
a specific purpose.” You’ll understand the reason for this better as you read
through the process.
STEP ONE is “Step up to the plate.” Only one person need start a
recreation-saving effort. But someone does need to step up and start the ball
rolling. Do not assume someone else it out there saving your play area/trail.
You can take the first step and start the ball rolling. I’m a good first contact.
I will help anyone save a recreation or trail/riding area. Step up to the plate
and label yourself the savior of a trail or area. Start calling yourself the
Trail Boss or President of your newly formed group: Friends of <My Area>.
STEP TWO is to communicate -- begin
collecting emails and contact information for other folks who might be
interested in your area. Start an emailing list or network.
Take a multiple-use approach. Get in touch with all forms of users
(equestrians, snowmobilers, ATVers, wheelers, rock collectors, sheep herders,
hunters, etc.) who might be using your area. Align your group with other groups
of similar interest.
By aligning with other groups right off the bat, you can save yourself
tons of work and wheel reinventing. Besides, we must be unified in our efforts
and find ways to reduce user conflict before we ever get in front of an elected
official or government agent.
I can help you start a statewide or regional emailing list. Eventually you
may want to find a list-serve ISP or provider that will host your email list so
you can make it a subscribe-only, moderated list. No matter how you do it, get
hooked up with everyone and anyone that might be an ally for your recreation
area.
It is usually critical though, that you take a multiple-use approach to
saving your riding area. We cannot have user disagreements and conflict arise
when it comes time for public testimony or grant money applications. Eliminate
these possibilities early on by having all users working together.
STEP THREE is to advertise. Get a web site going. Through your email
network (or meetings if you have the luxury), build a Mission or Purpose
Statement. Promote this. Send out flyers to local merchants. Send letters to
local elected officials introducing your group and your interest. Conduct field
trips and ridealongs. Get your county commissioner or Board of Supervisors out
on the ground with you. Write a press release to your local papers and write
letters to the editors. Let the world know that Friends of <My Area>
exists and they’d best deal with you when it comes to talking about that area.
STEP FOUR is organizational development. Build your membership through
word of mouth and emailing networks. Have at least one official meeting a year;
the rest of your business might easily be handled by email and field trips. Set
up an informal chain of command so you have folks you can delegate tasks and
projects. Encourage volunteers to take the reins and run a clean up or trail
maintenance project. Advertise everything you do. Find a volunteer who writes,
and ask them to do a few articles about your new coalition and the work you are
doing. Take a member of the local press out with you and let them write the
story (as long as they are friendly to your cause).
No matter how many meetings you do or don’t have, run your meetings well.
Too many meetings, or poorly run meetings can kill a coalition quickly. Visit
my web site for a guaranteed winner way to run a meeting (www.delalbright.com/meetings.htm)
I am not suggesting that you need
to get very official. In fact, I am suggesting you try to keep things simple.
FOTR has no dues; no structure; no officers or Board of Directors, and it works
just fine. Donations come in when needed, and are mostly project related.
However, each case is different. It would depend on the area politics and
interests of the group.
During this step, you can get
somewhat official and set up things like an Oversight Committee for <My
Area>. We have one for the Rubicon Trail called the Rubicon Oversight
Committee (ROC). It’s composed of user groups, private landowners, commercial
trail users, local, state and federal agencies, as well as environmental groups.
Obviously, not all these folks would be members of your Friends of <My
Area>.
Oversight Committees usually guide the future development (or lack
thereof) of a riding area. It’s important to have all interested parties
represented, as this will help you eliminate roadblocks before you get up
against them.
During this step you should also start pursuing grant money for your
recreation area, in cooperation with the new partners you’ve developed. The
Recreational Trails Program (RTP) is the first place to look. $50,000,000 is
available nationwide. Visit my web site for more on RTP (www.delalbright.com/rtp.htm)
If you’d like to get more official, you can get help from publications
available from the BlueRibbon Coalition (www.sharetrails.org),
the American Motorcycle Association (www.ama-cycle.org),
or your state/regional organizations. You can also look into incorporating
(501.c.3, 6, 7 etc.) under IRS rules.
STEP FIVE is to stay alive as a group. This is the ongoing process of
keeping folks informed; letting your members of Friends of <My Area> vote
on issues and become project leaders so they have ownership in the area. Make
your coalition an inclusive effort wherein everyone has a say. Schedule an
annual cleanup to keep folks interested in preserving the riding area. Plan fun
events in your riding area, such as picnics, informal meetings, rides, and
family outings. Conduct raffles if your group likes them. Keep your group
alive.
This article gives you the
foundation to start a coalition and begin saving your riding area. The formula
works. I will help you through this process, step by step if you’d like. Feel
free to contact me.
(Example “Friends” type groups: www.sandmountain-nv.org,
Friends of Sand Mountain;
www.oceanodunes.org,
Friends of Oceano Dunes).
Del
Albright, internationally published columnist, State Environmental Affairs
Coordinator for CA4WDC and BlueRibbon Ambassador, has authored volumes over the
last 20 years on land use, outdoor recreation, and access. Visit Del’s web site
at http://www.delalbright.com or email Del at jeepndel@goldrush.com. Visit BlueRibbon at http://www.sharetrails.org; 800/258-3742.
From: guidicer@gte.net
-Original Message-----
Subject: Fw: How You Can Help Change
the Endangered Species Act! Please forward to your lists
How You Can Help Change the Endangered Species Act!
Millions of Letters Needed!
The Endangered Species Act (ESA) is
destroying farmers, ranchers, loggers, the petroleum industry, the real estate
industry, and untold other productive citizens. It
costs the taxpayer incalculable billions of dollars both in enforcement and
compliance. It drives up the cost of energy, paper, housing, food,
transportation and every
facet of living. Yet, with one simple change to the ESA many of these problems
can vastly diminished. The Citizen Suits provision , enables anyone, with a set
of
values that a majority of citizens may consider perverse and who may live
nowhere near the areas he intends to affect, the power to dictate to the majority
who do live
in the areas what will or will not occur in and around their communities.
Write the officials (At least five)
listed below and request Citizen suits provision be struck from the ESA.
Further request that the ESA be amended to impose
"scientific peer review" of already listed and proposed listings, and
that the USFWS be held accountable to outside scientific peer review.
For More information order the
Paragon Foundation article, WESTERN WILDFIRES EXPOSE COSTS AND INSANITY OF
FEDERAL ENDANGERED SPECIES
LAWS THE CITIZEN SUIT PROVISION OF THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT by Clifford C.
Nichols, Esq.. Simply request the free Nichols article by email at
frc@pvtnetworks.net
)%20){kind=small}
Click photo to enlarge.
Guest article
By Don Amador
Date: May 15, 2001
Re: User Conflicts on the Trail
As I watched a
mountain biker from the San Francisco Bay Area drip precious fluids from his
CamelBak hydration system onto my friends motorcycle tube to help spot an air
leak, I was struck by the irony of the situation.
Here is a group of non-motorized trail enthusiasts helping
some dirt bikers on a trail in the Poison Spider Mesa near Moab, Utah. I
have been told by the Sierra Club and other preservationists that we weren’t
supposed to get along.
For many years, greens groups have cited so-called
user conflict between motorized and non motorized recreationists as a reason to
close lands to off-road vehicles (ORVs). A recent 68 page “the sky is
falling” report authored by the California Wilderness Coalition said that
hikers, campers, and mountain bikers have been run off the land by ORVs.
Yet, here I am in the mountain bike and hiking capitol of
the world enjoying the scenic wonders of this special place and it seems that
the non motorized recreationists have not heard that they are supposed to yell
at jeepers and ORVers for “ruining” their solitude and enjoyment of the great
outdoors.
As several of us dirt bikers dismount and hike out to a
vista overlooking the Colorado River, we are greeted by some tourists who red a
local guide to drive them in a 4-wheel drive. At the same time, four mountain
bikers also park their bikes and join us as we all take in the beauty and
grandeur of the canyon and view.
The hikers we passed on the Poison Spider Trail waived at us
and smiled. They said they were having a great time and told us to enjoy our
ride. Maybe this is a dream. But no, it is real.
As the one mountain biker helped locate a slow air
leak in Randy Block’s tire tube, I chatted with the other riders visiting
this area from California. Instead of pointing fingers at each other, we
talked about the price of my Michelin S-12 knobbies and that their mountain
bike tires also cost about 65 dollars each.
I asked them if they had ever ridden at one of my other
favorite trail areas near Downieville, California. Located in the Sierra
Nevada, this popular multi-use trail system is yet another example of where I
have experienced a “we can get along” philosophy. I go there every
year and it seems that the equestrians, ORVs, and mountain bikers have managed
to craft a land-use ethic that respects other trail users and the environment.
Am I naive enough to believe that there are never any
instances of where some trail users have disagreements with other
recreationists? No. However, I believe that there are many places
where diverse recreational interests have and do manage to use public lands in
a cooperative fashion.
I have a dream that someday all trail users will get along
and respect each other’s personal choice of recreational activity. Maybe
that’s not such a far fetched idea.
Don Amador writes on environmental
and recreational issues from Oakley, California.
He may be reached by email: brdon_a@sharetrails.org
Don Amador
Western Representative
BlueRibbon Coalition, Inc.
555 Honey Lane
Oakley, CA 94561
(925) 625-6287 Office
The California
Enduro Riders Association (CERA) would like to thank the 80+ off-road
enthusiasts who helped us out at Georgetown on May 5th. Members of several
district 36 clubs showed up including the Nevada County Woods
Riders, Trail Bike Sportsmen Association, High Sierra MC, Timekeepers, Richmond
Ramblers, and of course CERA. We also had a good turnout of local landowners
and unaffiliated riders.
Due to the new soils standards, and because the Fools Gold
was run in such wet conditions last year, the amount of work needed to be
performed on the trails at Rock Creek has been overwhelming for our club. The
strong turnout coupled with the great work ethic of the volunteers even allowed
us to perform some long-overdue improvements on other trails. The trails in the
Rock Creek area are in better shape than they've been in for years. We were
successful in repairing virtually all Red condition trails, with the exception
of a few which require full reroutes and are pending a Forest Service
documentation process. In addition, one trail which has been closed since last
year will be re-opened in the next few days.
We are deeply grateful that you guys, our fellow
enthusiasts, who were willing to step forward and help keep the trails open for
us all to enjoy. With out your help it would have been very difficult for
us to complete all the work in the time frame mandated by the Forest Service.
We will continue to have work parties to address some potential future trouble
areas, but we are well positioned for Fools Gold 2002.
Special thanks to NCWR for putting on a great burger-and-dog
BBQ! You guys did a masterful job coordinating the barbecue on Saturday
afternoon. Thank you for stepping forward to volunteer cooking and
providing food and beverages for all of those who attended the workday. We
appreciate every ones continued support and look forward to working with you
again in the future.
Sincerely, CERA
Top of Page
WARNING....this page is always under
construction!
E-mail the MDR at merced_dirt_riders@Yahoo.com
WEB page by one ex-Penguin and a future
Penguin.