Search This Blog

Thursday, January 22, 2015

A Bit of Land Use History with Today's Need for Uniting our Voices

A Bit of Land Use History

From Snail Mail to Email 

by Del Albright

(I think it's time to bring back the LUN)

On October 31, 1994 Senator Feinstein pushed through legislation called the Desert Protection Act that added about eight (8) million acres of Wilderness in 69 new Wilderness areas in the CA desert -- locking up thousands of miles of backcountry roads and trails, killing jobs, and stealing public lands from the public -- in effect, stealing our heritage to the historical past so many of us love to explore by motorized vehicles.

That same day, Del Albright started writing clubs and groups all over the country -- email was still too new to use. Over 700 letters were sent proclaiming the need for national cooperation, landuse involvement and motorized recreation cohesiveness. The Land Use Network (LUN) was born. As people got email accounts, the LUN began to grow quickly with email taking over as the primary way to communicate and orchestrate a "fight back" attitude.

www.Off-Road.com provided the first platform and Internet spot for the LUN to grow and fight back. LUN was dedicated to:

Responsible multiple-use of lands and resources.

Non-use of appropriate areas.

Education of our peers, the public and our politicians.

Conservation of resources and opportunities to enjoy them.

By 1997 LUN consisted of 150 organizations and clubs nationwide that included all aspects of off highway recreation: 4x4, ATV, equestrians, rockhounds, motorcycles, mountain bikes, snowmobiles, hunter and anglers. A nationwide campaign was developed and started called Blitz '97 with the purpose stated to Unite, Inform and Act.


Del developed a new way to look at the word MULTIPLE-USE:

M = Muster support in congress

U = Use letters, email, fax, and personal contacts to make a difference and state your opinion

L = Look for opportunities to advocate for your sport

T = Team up with other advocates/users in your area to magnify your position

L = Leap ahead of anti-multiple use efforts

E = Expose elected officials to our sports and ideas

U = Understand the issues, both local and national

S = Sort out our political friends and supporters (get them elected)

E = Educate the public, our peers, and the politicians.

Various efforts have come and gone since 1994/1997, some successful, some not; but the need to unite our voices has never dwindled.  You can read more about the Land Use Network, the Resource Education Network (REN), and the Sierra Nevada Framework in CA here:
http://www.delalbright.com/access/lun.html

I look forward to hearing some thoughts on this.
Del

Thursday, January 15, 2015

KEEPING TRASH OFF OUR TRAILS

2015 The Year of Clean!

By Del Albright, Director of Operations, BRC

Keeping trash off our public lands is a big job and one that many of us take on willingly...often.  And yes, it's not usually OUR trash, not from those of us who love the backcountry; but rather it's from folks who don't get it and just go to the "outdoors" with careless attitudes and behaviors.

We have to educate them.  And yes, we have to pick up behind them.  Unfortunately. But until we educate them all and get our lands and waterways FREE of trash and garbage, we will need to be vigilant in our efforts at trash pick-up!

On the Rubicon Trail (FOTR) we have programs designed to remind folks to clean up and keep things like "white flowers" off the trail.  It all helps.  El Dorado County (wherein lies the Rubicon) is good about helping with educational programs like this:





Working with agencies that manage our public lands is a great way to do clean ups and show how WE care.  If we don't do it; who will? Take the initiative and start something to save your access for the future.




What to do:
1.  Carry a trash bag like a Trasharoo that hangs outside on your spare tire (http://www.trasharoo.com).
2.  Set the example.  Stop and pick up trash when you see it; be the one to initiate a clean up.
3.  Show kids (when you can) that you care and set the pack-it-out example for them.

Del's Article about trash and a "Date with a Paper Plate" here:http://www.delalbright.com/Articles/paper_plate.htm

More on Trasharoo: http://www.trasharoo.com

BRC Code of Ethics for Trail Behavior here: https://www.sharetrails.org/about/ethics
##
Del

Saturday, January 3, 2015

How to Write Effective Letters to Politicians and Bureaucrats

Lion's Back, Moab, UT (before it was closed)

Writing Effective Letters Does Not Have to be Scary!


How to Write Letters to Politicians and Bureaucrats, Made Easy.

By Del Albright

Letter writing is not like going up and down some tall, skinny, slippery red rock formation in a 4x4 -- it's really pretty easy.   And more importantly, without letters from us to politicians and bureaucrats, our voice is never as strong as it could be to save outdoor sports.

You can use these same tips for writing comment letters on NEPA (USFS, BLM, etc.) documents as well.

 There's a trick and a formula to letter writing.  In this video, I give it to you short and sweet.

http://youtu.be/qxQhevnXgu0