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BigDaveZJ
07-23-2004, 02:51 PM
This was written by Del Albright. For those of you who don't know who Del is, I've NEVER heard of anyone who puts more effort into keeping our trails open. So read what he has to say, and then DO SOMETHING!!!


A Call to Quills!

(An Alternative to Closures)

By Del Albright



No more Mr. Nice Guy. I've had it! Our recreation is in serous jeopardy, I

don't care what you ride. Whether a dirt bike, buggy, 4wd, ATV, PWC, sled,

or wake skates behind a boat, WE are in trouble.

I am writing this as me, Del. I am not claiming to represent any group or

organization that I work for, represent or am a member of. This is from my

guts telling me we had better change the way we’re doing business, or we're

gonna lose our motors. I am getting firmer and staunched in my positions on

land use and access. But we need an army of people getting in the game so

our voice can be heard.

Now I'm not playing Chicken Little here, either. The sky is not falling.

But from my experience around the continent, the atmosphere is sure shaky.

Tune in here and see what I think we need to do before it's just any further

down the road, too late.

To make a long, bring tears to your eyes, story short, this is the gist of

the problem:

1. Our image is so tainted we're an easy target for bad press and closures

due to the few yeh-hoos and dip-wads out there.

2. We deserve some of the bad press - we are not policing our own.

3. By not showing up and speaking out as much as our opponents, we are the

vast minority, under dog, get stepped on groups.

4. We are a HUGE army waiting for the call to help manage our public lands,

but we're not there in mass.

5. We wait until the gate is up before we ask for help or get involved.

Now with that in mind, I have some fixes. If you've read this far, I am

HOPEFUL that you will do more than read. ACT. Act now. Get your friends

to act. Do not take my gut instinct, based on 22 years in this business,

lightly. Stand up and quit rolling over! Get aggressive and assertive about

your recreation. Here's how in simple terms:

FIRST: Let's clean up our web sites and bulletin boards where some people

think they can talk like inmates and make us look like idiots. Clean them

up now. Change the rules of posts if you're a moderator. Get rid of the

idiot behavior and let's start showing some responsibility towards shaping

our image. If you're posting to BBS's, then post like an adult. Get a

private list somewhere if you need to launch out; but not where our

opponents can see you.

SECOND: if you're not a member of EVERYTHING you can afford to be, then

you're not in the game all the way. JOIN every local, state, and regional

organization you can. And JOIN BlueRibbon Coalition. It is through

membership that we build strength and find money to fight the battles.

THIRD: Be an advocate for your sport. Include others. Do ride a longs.

Get political. Do not think you can let someone else do it for you. Get

some training. Get some help. Do whatever it takes, but do it now, before

YOUR gate goes up. Get a Trail Patrol or Neighborhood watch started on your

trails. Advocate for responsible use; dump the dip-wads.

FOURTH: Set the example in everything you do in your sport. Ride

responsibly. Camp responsibly. Drink responsibly. Behave like EVERYONE in

the world is watching and evaluating your actions. Have fun, yes. But

realize we are threatened like never before. I've never seen so many

closures and potential closures on the horizon. I've been at this a long

time. Please take heed and act now.

FIFTH: Pick up your pen. That's why I called this article a "Call To

Quills" (pens). Pick it up and write a letter. I don't even care to whom

you send it. Just start to write. Tell your congressman how you feel about

multiple uses of public lands. Tell your Commissioner/Board of Supervisors

how you feel about your right to ride responsibly. Tell somebody something.

Get your voice out there. Be heard. Be in the game. Tell them you're tired

of rolling over and compromising. Tell them you want no net loss of public

land riding opportunities. Tell them no more unreasonable compromise that

means loss for us.

We are not well-represented when the letters are counted at the end of the

day. We have to change that, or just give up the effort. I for one am not

ready to roll over or give up any more. I'm in there with teeth barred now.

On the other hand, continue to work with the great land managers who ARE

working with us, trying to help us, and seem like they have a balanced

approach to their job. Even if you don't get your way every time, do

support those land managers who you know are trying and fair. Support those

good politicians who believe in giving us a chance to recreate on public

lands. And in both cases, where there are bad land managers, or bad

politicians, put them in the dip-wad category and work to get them dumped!

Do it now. Do something. Please do not sit by and wait. We can't wait.

Emergency closures should be reserved for when management fails. Well, if

you're not in the game, then chances are, management will fail. Pick up

that quill.

Del

Visit my web site for more help:

<http://www.delalbright.com/>www.delalbright.com

Alaska ZJ
07-23-2004, 07:55 PM
I got that in the email today as well. Has some good points.

Not sure if I agree with the internet stuff but eberything else is spot on.

BigDaveZJ
07-23-2004, 09:20 PM
Not sure if I agree with the internet stuff but eberything else is spot on.

I think Del was addressing the more "public" forums like Pirate rather than little puny forums that don't even show up google like this one.

BLACKZJ
12-12-2004, 12:12 PM
I thought this one deserved to come back up. Like the man said, stuff does not just happen, people and action make things happen.A.B.A.T.E. is a good example, talk about a bad image?For the most part, a bunch of long haired bearded bikers. Over the years, with a lot of lobbying efforts, alot of letters and other action from their membership,and alot of help from other rights organizations,they managed to have helmet laws repealed in well over half of the U.S. If you dont have any ideas of how to go about these things, check out one of your local motorcyclists rights groups. If they can do it so can you. I love ridin lidless in PA. after a 25 year fight to be able to do so.
As Alaska says, Freedom has a different flavor for those who have fought for it.

http://www.abatepa.org/