RECREATION ADVOCATES HOLD NATIONAL MEETING

Representatives from regional and national recreation organizations met in Kansas City, MO. to discuss issues of common concern and develop a plan to achieve solutions to those issues.

Kansas City, MO (May 23, 2004) - The spring 2004 North American Motorized Recreation Council (NAMRC) meeting was held over the May 22-23 weekend in Kansas City, MO.  Representatives from regional and national motorized recreation groups met to discuss common issues of concern and develop a plan to achieve solutions to those issues.

The meeting identified a number of issues, including user conflict, Forest Service National OHV Policy, agency land management plans, and legal actions affecting recreation activities.  Organizations represented included the American Motorcycle Association (AMA), Arizona State Association of Four Wheel Drive Clubs (ASAFWDC), BlueRibbon Coalition (BRC), CalROC, California Association of 4 Wheel Drive Clubs (CA4WDC),  East Coast 4 Wheel Drive Association (EC4WDA), Off-Road Business Association (ORBA), and United Four Wheel Drive Associations (UFWDA).

Citing the growing number of people participating in motorized recreation with different expectations of "recreation experience", meeting participants agreed to support establishing state-wide coalitions of recreation user groups and work towards resolving conflicts.

John Stewart, Director of Environmental Affairs for UFWDA expressed growing concerns with the National OHV Policy under development by the Forest Service.  The new policy (due to be released for public comment during the summer months) will provide management guidelines for all Forest Service managed public lands.  Key elements of the policy are expected to include an elimination of cross-country travel within the National Forest system and establishing a designated route system.  Citing a recent study by the Southern California Land Rover Club that identified a greater than 50 percent error rate with agency route inventories, Stewart commented, "In recent years, thousands of miles of backcountry dirt roads in the deserts and forests across the western states have been closed to public access based on faulty route inventories."

Agency land management plans continue to be an obstacle for motorized recreation.  A study commissioned by ORBA on a land management plan for one Southern California Desert region noted the lack of a recreation component within the plan.  Also, while that plan called for increased habitat for protected species, it contained no provisions to fund habitat protection and monitoring.

Legal and political issues were recognized as key elements in the effort to retain recreation access to public lands.  Roy Denner, President and CEO of ORBA commented, "We believe that the recreation community needs to visit our country's leaders in Washington regularly to make sure that they know what's happening on the ground with regard to OHV recreation.  We expect lawmakers to be concerned about public access to public lands as well as environmental protection."

Participants have scheduled a fall meeting to continue working towards solutions to preserve recreation access to public lands and increase awareness of declining recreation opportunities.

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