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View Full Version : help me to learn to promote treading lightly



rodd88
08-01-2010, 02:38 AM
:mad:I'm sick of people here in el paso with massive amounts of genuine stupidity doing figure 8's in mud pits, digging trenches when the wanna rev their engine, so on and so forth. Whenever I ask "can you please tread lightly" they laugh and say "it ain't fun". I don't want to sound like a hippie, but the SAC here in el paso is one of the few and better places to wheel and i dont want to loose it :( ... how can I try and pursuade people to tread lightly? If I can make it out into 75% of the place with no flooring or digging, they should have it easy with four wheel drive and massive tires and lift. :smt070

IndyZJ
08-01-2010, 03:05 AM
This isn't tech, but are they (and you) in a legal wheeling area? Some people will always be jackasses, but if they're in a legal public spot you could tell them that tearing up the land can get it shut down. If it's private, it's (usually) the landowner's call.

it usually runs fine
08-01-2010, 03:10 AM
If they don't wanna listen..... Maybe you and a friend persuade them to listen.:cool:

Hockinaloogie
08-01-2010, 10:57 AM
If they don't wanna listen..... Maybe you and a friend persuade them to listen.:cool:

I 2nd this idea.

BigDaveZJ
08-01-2010, 11:52 AM
If they don't wanna listen..... Maybe you and a friend persuade them to listen.:cool:


I 2nd this idea.

This is a great way to get your ass kicked, shot, or end up with a criminal record.

There are some people out there that you just won't be able to get through to no matter what you do. If you can snap off a few pics of them being jackasses, and get plate #'s, and it's clear who is driving, the local LEO may be interested. Here in CO this is quite common as the USFS LEO officers/rangers are spread waaaaaaay too thin and it's impossible for them to even come close to being able to patrol enough, so we snap pics and send them in. It's not a guarantee that something will happen, but people have gotten fines and tickets based on pics that were submitted.

If I see someone going off the trail I'll go up and play it cool, like "hey man, I don't think that's part of the trail there." Their reaction to that will dictate what I do next, hopefully they're cool and apologize for it and then I'll talk to them a bit about proper trail use and stewardship. I usually have some Tread Lightly or Stay The Trail brochures with me, so I'll give them a few of those too. If it's more of a "what's it to you?" response, I'll tell them these are OUR public lands, and there are rules to abide by on these lands. And many people use the rulebreakers as ammunition to shut these areas down (mentioning a couple local places that got shut down can help here too) and I'd really like to see this area kept open, so please keep it on the trail. If it's a situation like Holy Cross last weekend where one person is blatantly being a douche, and there's a TON of people calling him out on it, I have no problem informing him that pictures are being taken and will be submitted to the USFS.

There's some great stuff out there on Tread Lightly's website too, and keep your eyes out for a Tread Trainer course in your area.

AgitatedPancake
08-01-2010, 12:07 PM
Completely agree Dave, you have to keep the interaction friendly. Any sort of angry/violent interaction between wheelers is just more fuel for the greenies. Be informative, and like Dave said snap some pics to identify these people. If you really want to do your part, become active in your local trail conservation programs. I'm a part of Cal4wheel (http://www.cal4wheel.com//) which is the leading conservation effort in CA, including battling greenies and forest service in courts and otherwise to keep our trails open. I was actually at a district meeting yesterday in which we got updates of all the current land use issues and otherwise, really great people and great source of information.

That meeting I went to yesterday is the perfect place to discuss treading lightly issues and show some pics, because everyone there knows everyone. CA4WD represents over 140 clubs across CA.

96JGCL
08-01-2010, 12:15 PM
If they don't wanna listen..... Maybe you and a friend persuade them to listen.:cool:

lol

rodd88
08-01-2010, 06:14 PM
The land is private federal land but the authorities are fine with us wheeling out there. I guess I need to talk to the guys at 4wheelparts to find out whos who and junk. The guys who are acting like they have been skull fuked are some guys/chicks with rubberdown.net logos on the sides of thier trucks and atv's. Thank you for your replies guys, thanks.
-Rodrigo

ZJ TINS
08-02-2010, 10:58 AM
Weel this is marginal but if they go to the same places and start finish near and area you could find naturally occuring large stones witha sharp edge and bury them all around the start/finsh. Technically it is not illegal because you as simply reifrocing the soil and creating obstacles for crawlers. It just so happens that if someone were to go to fast they might slit their tires, but that is just a natural obstacale.

BigDaveZJ
08-02-2010, 11:00 AM
Weel this is marginal but if they go to the same places and start finish near and area you could find naturally occuring large stones witha sharp edge and bury them all around the start/finsh. Technically it is not illegal because you as simply reifrocing the soil and creating obstacles for crawlers. It just so happens that if someone were to go to fast they might slit their tires, but that is just a natural obstacale.

And they know this was done to teach them a lesson in trail etiquette how??

Ken L
08-02-2010, 04:49 PM
Following the Tread Lightly guidelines are the most important things we can do as OHV enthusiasts. We are our own worst enemies, and the redneck mentality will only serve to get more areas closed off.

United 4-Wheel Drive Association used to have a program called "Volunteer Trail Patrol" that gave lots of good information on how to handle these situations. The short answer is to be non-confrontational, take down pertinent information, take pictures and forward to the land management agency responsible for the area. I am not sure if the program is still administered, but it's a great piece of training. I coordinated it for my state association at two of our annual conventions.

Some people just don't realize that they're not being responsible, and those folks can be educated. Some just don't care, and no matter how much preaching you do they are not open minded enough to recognize you're talking to them.

Join a club. If the club membership is not acting responsibly, find a different club. We need to stick together and create an atmosphere of responsible recreation.

The Tread Lightly pledge:
Travel and recreate with minimum impact
Respect the environment and the rights of others
Educate yourself, plan and prepare before you go
Allow for future use of the outdoors, leave it better than you found it
Discover the rewards of responsible recreation

Ken L
08-06-2010, 03:17 PM
Here's a link to Tread Lightly 101

http://www.treadlightly.org/page.php/education-onlinecourse/Online-Awareness-Course