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Important! The “Top 10” In Land Use and Access Important! The “Top 10” In Land Use and Access
Take this Nationwide Survey to Help Save Trails By Del Albright and Todd Ockert The room was packed with wheelers as the speaker up... Important! The “Top 10” In Land Use and Access

Take this Nationwide Survey to Help Save Trails

By Del Albright and Todd Ockert

The room was packed with wheelers as the speaker up front tried to calm folks down. There was a gate being proposed on a significant trail and people were unhappy. “Why does anyone care about this trail but us in this room?” asked one crusty, long-time Jeeper.

Another hand shot up and the question came fast: “Why did ya’ll wait until the last minute to show up here anyway? Where were you during the scoping and meetings?”

This situation is indicative of the nationwide picture of land use and access. Let’s talk about what is going on here and what needs to be done.

(Skip the warmup and lead in; just go right to the survey of the Top 10 here).

We have an opportunity to help our friends and partners in the industry, business and the media to keep our trails, lands and riding areas open. However, they always ask the same question, and that is: “Just what are the big issues and where are the trouble spots that we should be helping with?”

We’d like to be able to give them a unified answer – from all of us. We ask you to help tell them just that: where do we really need help in land use and access?

And how can we get folks motivated to get in the game sooner than later when it comes to saving trails?

Here’s the deal. No matter where we look, we run into folks with problems in their particular area that are hard to deal with and seem like uphill battles. Usually there is some form of government involved. And usually there are a bunch of volunteers who have real lives and jobs trying to make sense of government, regulations, anti-access closure groups, endangered species, and etc.

And almost always there is not enough money to adequately address the issues. We have yet to find a simple solution to this dilemma.

All of our organizations, groups, and clubs are trying to help with these problems, and many are focused on certain areas. We are all trying. But one of the pain points of this is that we do not have enough money or full-time people to make a huge difference.

If someone were to ask you, in your area, where to throw money to help keep a trail or riding area open, where would that be, and why? And if they were to ask you to list the biggest problems we face as a community of four-wheelers, what would those be (in order)?

Our vision from this survey effort would be that we find a way to capitalize on this information, update it annually or so, and use it for all our friends and benefactors that might want to help us now and in the future.

Heck it might even help our national and regional organizations find more unity and common ground in their efforts also. We’ll publish the results throughout the ModernJeeper media outlets.

Todd, NAMRC Facilitator, will take this survey to the annual meeting of the North American Motorized Recreation Council (NAMRC) to share and develop solutions.  Your input counts!

Here’s how to get in on this opportunity. Fill out the form here:

 

Del Albright Ambassador

Internationally published author; WorldWide ModernJeeper Abassador and 2014 Inductee of the Off Road Motorsports Hall of Fame. Del has been involved in the Jeeping Lifestyle for longer then most of us can count. His educational and mentorship programs have helped developed warfighters in the ongoing battle to keep Public Lands Open to the Public.

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