A "NEW' PRESIDENT; NOW WHAT?

 A “New” President! Now What?

Recreationists Must Unite and Mobilize

By Del Albright, Access Advocate

YOU have just been presented with a new opportunity for your outdoor lifestyle! Recreationists who enjoy the backcountry, waterways, off-pavement trails, overlanding, and SUV exploring have a huge new opportunity open to us – as well as a new challenge. The time has never been more critical for us to unite and mobilize. No matter how you wanted this past election to turn out, we have to step up, work together, and mobilize our forces to help this new Administration understand our sports, lifestyle, and access issues.

 Inherent with new Presidents, rotating congress critters, and term limits, we will always be in the game of educating new elected officials. It is our destiny if we are to survive. And, of course, when one Administration changes (leaves), the “lame duck” strategy sets in, and many legal, administrative, and executive level changes occur overnight. We must be united to help our elected officials channel policy changes in a favorable direction for public land access.

 There are a few steps we can take to ensure the future of our lifestyle, no matter how you view this change in American politics. One thing is for sure:  we can all be proud of the fact that it is America, and we can effect change by speaking up and working together. Now is not the time to sit by and wait. We must act and help newly-elected politicians at all levels understand that we are the responsible stewards of our public lands and that we deserve access. Here are my suggestions for “Now What?”

  Step one is to unite our various sports and motorized lifestyles and access interests at every opportunity. Leadership meetings and summits, intra- and inter-state, will help us find new ways to cooperate. Differences must be put aside, and past intra-sport conflicts must end. We also need to continue to find common ground with non-motorized and conservation groups when possible so as to minimize conflicts leading to stalemates.

 

We need a united force now, more than ever. Concepts like combined use, mixed-use, and sustainable use will be important strategies for keeping trails and riding areas open. But above all, we all need to be singing from the same sheets of music.

 

 

Step two is to engage recreationists at all levels to join organized recreation. Millions of us are out there waiting for a reason to join up and get involved. This new Administration is the reason. They need us to help them understand who we are, what we stand for, and what we need for our motorized recreation lifestyle.

 

A quick internet search shows that those who oppose our public land access outnumber us by millions of members and hundreds of millions of dollars. Just the numbers for a few key groups are shocking:

 

The Wilderness Society has over 1 million members and supporters, with $85 million in the bank, and has led the effort to lock up 112 million acres of Wilderness in 44 states.

 

The Sierra Club has nearly 4 million members and over a hundred million dollars in their kitty.

The National Audubon Society has assets totaling $300 million with six hundred thousand members.

The Center for Biological Diversity is a $40 million a year operation boldly claiming to “stand between Trump and the Wild,” with 180 employees and nearly two million members.

 So why do we have so many off-pavement recreationists who are not members of something? The reality is that our state, regional, and national organizations have not yet found the magic formula to engage all these pending members. This election should change that.

 We all now have reasons to jump in with both feet and to engage our friends and fellow recreationists to turn this door of opportunity into one we’ll never forget.   We have to be the solution with our established organizations and become the empowerment to get others to join the cause. Membership in our standing organizations and clubs is absolutely critical to the survival of responsible and sustainable recreation. We must cement our lifestyle into this Administration so it lasts into the future.

 

Step three is to adopt more of our local public lands and engage with our state and federal land management agencies. We have to partner up with land management agencies at every opportunity and find ways for us to be involved in the use, management, and future of those lands on which we love to play. We need to be at the table when decisions are made, problems are identified, and solutions are implemented.  

 We have to take more “ownership” of our public lands and resources. Oh, excuse me, we do own America! Let’s not forget that. When it comes to public lands, they are YOUR public lands. So we need to do everything we can to ensure our lands stay in our hands, run by common sense and sound public land management policies.

  SUMMARY:

1.   Don’t assume the world is peachy and all will be well (without our involvement).

2.   Join, renew, and donate now to your favorite groups.

3.   Find ways to cooperate and unite in everything you do.

4.   Be part of adopting public lands and trails (with your club, friends, or organizations you like).

5.   Make sure your voice is heard by all the new politicians we will soon see.

 

(Visit www.delalbright.com for more information and help).

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