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‚Äôre 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:

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.
We deserve some of the bad press - we are not policing our own.
By not showing up and speaking out as much as
our opponents, we are the vast minority, under
dog, get stepped on groups.
We are a HUGE army waiting for the call to
help manage our public lands, but we're not there
in mass.
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/>[url]www.delalbright.com[/url]

Moderator's Note:

If you have read this far, keep reading and thinking.

It is up to you as an individual to demonstrate
and take responsibility for your actions. We are
in the midst of change. What you could do is in
the past. Your future is now up to you as an
individual. Get involved, clean up our image, or
take up checkers on the front porch.

1 - Change is inevitable
2 - Change is tough
3 - Times are changing, get over it.
4 - Be an agent of change, GET INVOLVED!!!!

--
John Stewart
Director, Environmental Affairs
United Four Wheel Drive Associations, http://www.ufwda.org
Natural Resource Consultant
California Association of 4 Wheel Drive Clubs, http://www.ca4wdc.com
Recreation Access and Conservation Editor, http://www.4x4wire.com
Moderator, MUIRNet - Multiple Use Information Resource Network

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