So, how do we measure success

So, how do we measure success in the off road pro access arena? Want to know something? This was a major bother to me just a short time ago.

It seems we shout, work, volunteer, and move forward with a resolve every day, but do not see much feedback. Our resolve often is met with a few catcalls or negative responses. However we move on. I think that those of us who are moved to keep these trails open for everyone just keep pounding on, it is those on the fringe I think we need to assure. You see success seems to be measured in small ways a lot round here.

Recently I joined Facebook; I soon noticed Del Albright was a member so I hooked up with him as friends. Now I get his daily reports on what is going on in his life. While he recently was on the border to border run and posted a lot of comments. I was at work talking about some friends of the trip and soon a few guys were asking how he could do so much trail without roads. This was soon a discussion about public lands and how we are battling to keep them open. About pro access organizations and how the future was a day to day battle to keep these trails and areas open. That met with a few interesting comments but bottom line is that yesterday I had one of those guys come up and ask what he could do to help.

Success

Over a few comments on Facebook

Because Del Albright tried new technology.

I know, it seems small, but each time we win someone over, each time we plant a seed, each time we get someone to acknowledge our battle we have a success. We could measure it by huge Land Issue successes in court, but those are not the biggest successes we have. Oh they are huge on the horizon, but each of those were possible because we reached someone who had the talent to see that issue through.

We are not all lawyers, we are not all writers, some of us are simple Adopt A Trail workers, some of us just go to public meetings and clap in the background. There is a job for everyone. You know that guy who loves to camp 3 cubicles down, he could be the next guy to start volunteering somewhere and be a leader in that area. But we need a small success first, we need to get him the message in a way he understands. Maybe a weekend on trail with a small talk somewhere about Access rights. Then we need to talk to the guy who fishes those mountain streams, the hunters, the hikers, we are all users of the public lands.

The small successes are those that matter, they set us up for the big ones.

Let us take huge pride in the small ones, and realize these are the ones that we need most, each new member of our community is a number, and we need these numbers to grow. Go out and help build this number one new mind at a time.

thanks for reading

James G Hennegan

The Future Is Calling.

The Future Is Calling.
Who will be there to answer?

By Del Albright, BlueRibbon Coalition Ambassador

Activists in off-road recreation seem to be an aging group – no offense intended. Many of us are “gray hairs” and many are working so hard that “burnout” may cause some premature aging. I worry that not enough young folks are taking up the torch and carrying the flame. When the future calls, will we have folks there to answer?



I was enjoying the business of an annual convention recently of the Calif. Assoc. of 4WD Clubs when I noticed long-time activist Jim Bramham (featured in accompanying photo) sitting nearby with his grandson, Oscar (3 years old). I swung the camera towards Oscar and said, “Hello.” Upon hearing those familiar words, Oscar picked up his play calculator like it was a telephone and answered me back. Cute.

It struck me that Oscar (son of Ernie and Luana Hernandez) is our future – and the phone is ringing. His proud grandpa, Jim is showing Oscar the off-road world, for sure – but Jim and I are part of the, well, let’s just say, more experienced generation. We need young ones like Oscar to grow up with phone in hand, torch lit, and flame burning bright in our fights for access.

How do we ensure that happens? How do we get younger folks ready to answer that future call? I have some ideas to share.

First of all, I echo the wisdom of my friend and BlueRibbon partner, Adena Cook who recently wrote about getting kids outside – doing anything; just doing it outside. See her article on A Cause We Can All Rally Around here: http://www.sharetrails.org/magazine/article.php?id=1702

Secondly, all “old timers” need to be part of or involved in a kids program of some sort – even if that means merely contributing advice, time or money to such a program. No matter how you do it, find a way to include kids in what you love to do.

Third, let go the reins. Folks who have “been there and done that” need to step aside at strategic points and let others drive. Of course, we can offer advice, talk about the old days, show the mistakes we’ve made and even fess up to doing it wrong at some point in the past. But all this is done with the purpose in mind of making the future brighter.

Fourth, set the example and keep to the high ground. I firmly believe those who oppose motorized recreation are after the hearts and minds of our kids. I wrote about this a few years ago here: http://www.delalbright.com/articles/kids.htm. We “older folks” need to show the younger crowd the common sense, respectable, and high ground way of recreating so as to keep our image clean. We can continue to do so many simple things like pack it out, stay the trail, and follow the rules.

The last thing we can do is to speak up when folks are not behaving or following the rules (no matter their age or experience). Please do not let your lack of action contribute to someone else bringing down our recreational opportunities. Show kids how we can set the example.

As we enjoy various events, club meetings and rides, ask yourself if there isn’t something you can do to ensure someone will be there when the phone rings in the future.

##

The BlueRibbon Coalition is a national recreation group that champions responsible use of public lands and waters, and encourages individual environmental stewardship. It represents over 10,000 individual members and 1,200 organization and business members, for a combined total of over 600,000 recreationists nationwide. 1-800-258-3742. http://www.sharetrails.org

One by One

How many of us can truly say they have taken a member of the other side out in our vehicles?

Look at the way the other side of the access issue wins people over to their side. It is done on a 1 by 1 basis using every form of media they can. Books, magazines, movies, and television are used to get people to send money and turn them over to their side. Most of the time they are rehashing the same issues, about saving wolves, seals being beaten to death. Foreign nations over fishing areas of the ocean.

All good ideas, but they use them to make us all feel a need to protect our public lands from even ourselves. The loss of forest due to clear cutting somehow becomes a issue of no roads should be allowed because those roads encourage forest cutting. The issue of a endangered fly becomes an issue of not letting mountain bikes travel 12 inch wide trails in this area or that. It seems that most of all, they are predicting the ruin and death to all wildlife or land if we allow any one or any machine to come within 1000 miles of a tree.

I cannot seem to find how if I am living in a major population area, LA, that I can have raccoons raiding my garbage cans if his is true. I will tell you, life survives everywhere, and learns to adapt. Adapting, or evolution, has been the basis of life on the planet since life started, and that will not change. That is Naturalism at it's best, not fear of change.

But you see, the way to get money for ones cause is to strike fear into potential donors and voters hearts. Once fear is struck, it is easy to sooth that fear by asking for a donation, telling them that donation will help fight the cause of the hour, and that you are doing a major good and are in the fore front by donating. Nuff said, money passed, votes made and all is well again because of a placebo for your guilt.

A way to fight this is to put great memories into people heads. I can give you a few ideas about how.

Take one of those people who does not truly know, out on a run that is not technical, but truly scenic and stop somewhere for lunch that has a view you can only get to by taking a trail run. Let them enjoy the outdoors as you do, let them make a memory that will temper the voice of fear when they are told we are destroying the land.

I have a friend who is a long time hiker and a true member of the Sierra Club. He tells me all the time about this beautiful place or that he has been and we discuss stuff all the time. One time I took him out for a ride and we ate lunch, sitting in a section of trees, overlooking the desert 7000 feet below and he noticed during the discussion we were having about how much I am active working to protect this land.

I showed him several AAT projects we had done in the area, how we were active in covering up illegal trails. and how the trail system he had stated should be limited, really did help in the maintenance of the forest. I asked him on the way out if he truly thought we should shut that down to the public? His response was that the public could always hike it and I pointed out how only about 1 % of the public could hike more than a mile. I also asked if his father hiked him into the lands when he was young, or took him in in a vehicle.

The ride home was silent, not like nothing was said, but I saw gears turning in the head next to mine. Oh we had conversation, but then there were those long spaces in between. Once home I was thanked for a great day.

I wondered if this had any effect at all. in fact I was kinda afraid I could have hurt my cause till a few weeks later, while having cocktails at a friends, I heard him tell someone that he was having trouble sending money to a few organizations, that their message was to much on the far side.

Last week he bought a used small SUV. His excuse was he could use it on the weekends, his son is 3 years old and he wants to start taking his son to places like I had taken him.

I cannot say this was total victory, but I had introduced a thought...I had created a memory.

Our access to our public lands depends on such thought.

1 plus 1 is 2
2 plus 2 is 4
4 plus 4 is 8
8 plus 8 is 16

After 30 times it is up over a million it is so simple, and yet so effective, it is just one of the ideas we need to embrace.

Thanks for reading

James Hennegan

When did I become bad?

Let's look back at the history of this country. When we first started to come over and settle this country we were considered explorers, settlers, pioneers, and we were looked upon as those who were forerunners and leaders. We used our skills we learned and developed to clear out areas and develop what are now our major population areas. We survived by hunting and fishing first, and then farming second. our forefathers went in to the wilderness and gleaned it's resources.

As we became a more and more developed nation, and we needed less and less of the new lands we set aside the open areas for our children to be able to see and use for recreation. Some of the first really strong advocates of National public lands being preserved were those great hunters such as Teddy Roosevelt who enjoyed using the land under proper management. We then entered a time when we noticed we needed to set land aside. And we have. the amount of public land in America out weighs almost every nation in the world. We have more land under the BLM and Park service than most nations have land.

I can remember as a child, packing up the 4x4 to go on a camping trip, or a picnic with my family, we would go deep into the lands following established trails. Most time we found areas for my father to fish and my brothers and sisters would play games, explore the outdoors, help my mother with picnic chores, and learn about the wonderful areas we would visit. I was lucky my father was a military man as we moved to different areas of the country a lot. So we had different types of land to explore and I was shown and taught how to care for and protect where we would go and learned that the land came first.

We Grew up and were looked upon by our Friends and neighbors as outdoors people. We were respected for our ability to travel and do what others knew so little about. We would encourage others to come out and show them the outdoors in a way they would take away something with them. And we usually did it in a 4x4, going down back roads. looking for places that solitude was the norm.

I can remember the look on faces of those who rarely go out into these areas when you show them a site few have seen, perch them on the side of a mountain overlooking a desert. Shown some valleys I have seen grown men start to cry as they took in the beauty of what was presented before them. And at the end of a trip you would receive a thanks so big it made you happy you could share your love.

But now somewhere all has gone wrong. The current attacks I see at access to public lands increase on almost a daily basis. Just reading a forum in a site like JustGoodTrails.com and you will see posted up alert after alert of impending actions to shut down areas all over the country. All in the name of preserving the land.

I have become the enemy, I have become the person to protect the land from.

I volunteer many a weekend to San Bernardino National Forest in Adopt a Trail service, working side by side with a force of hundreds who toil to keep lands open to public use, we work on trails because we are needed by the Forestry Service. I plan this year to expand that by also working with a group that goes and collects native seeds, germinates and care for the plants, planting them in areas to help the control of invasive species and planting seedlings over illegal trails.

I do not want anything new, no new trails, no new areas. I just want to preserve the access to what I have.
But somewhere I have become a bad person. Because I do not believe we should shut down any form of mechanical access to most areas I have become bad. Because I do not want to deny most lands to most people I have become bad.

Wilderness designation is a failure, it denies to much to to many, we need to push for and educate the public for the designation of Back Country, a designation that makes sense. Back country preserves the lands, but allows access Wilderness does not. Denying to the public never works.

Let us not become criminals for doing what we love.

Let us keep up and be proud to love the outdoors and recreate in them.

Let us hold our heads high.

Go out and volunteer for a day on public lands and let your voice be heard.

After all, when did I become bad?

By James Hennegan

A CAUSE WE CAN ALL RALLY AROUND

By Adena Cook, BlueRibbon Coalition

Caught up in the attractions of the Internet, television and the cyber world, too many children have become isolated from nature.

We need to get kids outside! Recreation groups, land managers, youth organizations, health providers and educators are starting to get serious about this crisis: Kids spend far too little time outdoors enjoying physical activity. It's a cause we can all rally around, one with which we all agree. We need to put it first, before we put effort into who does what on which patch of ground.

Individual interest groups each have their own efforts under way. I'm concerned that this may not be enough. The problem is so massive that a coordinated effort is essential, one that focuses simply on kids, family and fun. After that message is hammered home, then interest groups and local efforts can add their refinements. With some luck and good will, the cooperation generated in this initial effort will carry through to more focused efforts.

We need to start early, with toddlers. Little kids naturally love to be outdoors, to bask in the sun, crawl in the grass, play in the dirt. A world of natural exploration, away from indoor toys, opens before them. Encouraged at this age, that world of natural exploration can become a lifelong quest.

Winter offers special opportunities, compromised only by the need for appropriate dress. Snow becomes the wonder of a starry flake, the canvas of a snow angel, a ball to throw, the stuff of a man, and a marvelous surface on which to slide whoosh down a hill.

Later on, snow play means skiing, snowboarding, tubing or snowmobiling, all in the company of family and friends. It means learning skills and how to take care of yourself. It means working with family to maintain equipment and help fix machines. Snow can be an enduring passion.

If toddlers are to be encouraged to love the outdoors, then this must start with mom and dad. Parents need to be there, enjoying themselves as much as the kids. This is where a kids-outdoors effort must begin.

I'm worried that it may be too late. How many moms and dads are engrossed in cyber world role playing while the little ones are parked in front of the TV? By the time kids are 10, they can get sucked into the omnipresent Internet-cell-phone communication web that consumes all their attention right down to their very soul. There's no room for outside influences, let alone outdoor activities. They can't go anywhere without being plugged in, and thanks to satellites, they don't have to.

It's a daunting task. We can each go about our efforts and make some progress, but we'll be far more successful if all groups work together in a simple, straightforward way that's pervasive and consistent. All together now, moms, dads, kids -- outside.

##

Photo available on request. Cook is a consultant with the BlueRibbon Coalition. She may be contacted directly here:

Phone: 208-522-7339
e-mail: bradena@sharetrails.org

The BlueRibbon Coalition is a national recreation group that champions responsible recreation, and encourages individual environmental stewardship. It represents over 10,000 individual members and 1,200 organization and business members, for a combined total of over 600,000 recreationists nationwide. 1-800-258-3742. www.sharetrails.org

Photos are from our annual Big Brothers Big Sisters picnic & trail rides

Welcome to the Just Good Trails Blog

Welcome video from our YouTube Channel



Many have commented about the Jingle Jugs over my left shoulder in the videos I shoot from my Redneck 4Wheelers bar. Some have even suggested I re-shoot this JustGoodTrails video with out them.

I've decided to leave it as is & encourage you to visit http://www.JingleJugsforLife.com and if so inclined buy yourself a pair! Part of the proceeds go towards breast cancer programs.

Another reason for keeping the Jingle Jugs in this & my future videos is that a friend and one of our own is battling breast cancer.

Cheers
Brian aka N7COF