ORV area and trail closures are a common concern among all us wheelers. As much as we don’t want to admit it no trail is safe from closure. It could be from misuse, overuse, lack of funding or environmental concerns. Sadly though the biggest threat is not from the aforementioned but is more than likely going to come from so called environmental organizations that may have never even been to the places we wheel. And the only way we will counter this threat is to do our part. Get involved and help keep the places you love to off-road open.
What can you do? More than you think, it could be as little as sending your comments to a state organization to offer support for a new trail sytem. Letters to your congressman or woman letting them know you want access to trails. And this works better than you think as I have had family involved in government for over 40 years. Supporting organizations that fight for our use of trails is always a good idea. Volunteering for trail maintenance can’t hurt either. But just sitting there complaining about closures is of no use. And don’t forget that how you wheel has a direct effect on your access to trails.
The groups we are fighting against have way more money than any off road group I know of. The environmental lobby is huge and well funded and may have started out as a good idea but personnally I think they have lost their way. If we don’t stand up to keep trails open, no one else will. The squeaky wheel gets the grease and right now the other wheel is making more noise than we are.
Local Groups and Issues
– Reiter Trails Update March 2011:
Sadly the Reiter Foothills Forest proposal has been put on hold by the Washington State DNR. The posted reasons were pretty vague but typical for the government. Reading between the lines tells me that it was lack of money more than any thing else. Sadly money problems are affecting states all over the country. Lets not let our reps pull all the money for ORV use from the table!
-Government Websites-
US Forest Service www.fs.fed.us
US Dept of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management www.blm.gov
US Congress Both of these sites have quick links to contact any member of either house
US House of Representatives www.house.gov
US Senate www.senate.gov
State of Washington www.wa.gov A bit of button pushing will connect you with your representative.
Washington State Department of Natural Resources www.dnr.wa.gov
-National or Regional Organizations-
Blue Ribbon Coalition www.sharetrails.org
United Four Wheel Drive Association www.ufwda.org
treadlightly! www.treadlightly.org
Friends of the Rubicon www.rubiconfriends.com
Pacific Northwest 4 Wheel Drive Association www.pnw4wda.org
-Canada-
Met up with the President of the Four Wheel Drive Assocaition of British Columbia. If you are not part of this group you should be. They are doing a lot to keep your trails open. More info here if you are looking to join www.4wdabc.ca
-Trail Behavior-
Unfortunately one bad apple will ruin it for all of us. How we are perceived is directly related to our behavior on the trails as well as how we behave in any campground or other public place we are gathered at. Just think of Browns Camp as some idiot fires off a motorcycle at 1am…..
No alcohol on the trail, save it for the campfire.
Avoid water crossings if possible. I like driving in water too but it has become one of those key points in favor of the closure people.
Never drive off the trail to make a new line.
Never leave trash. Pack it in, pack it out
Carry a spill kit, the less oil and fluid that makes it to the ground the better. And along those lines if the leak is too bad think about skipping a run and fixing that leak instead.
Be polite and courteous to others on the trail. Especially to non wheelers.
Never wrap cable around a tree. Always use a tree strap when winching or tying off as the anchor. Cable is bad for trees!
Don’t hesitate to pull cable. Too many attempts at an obstacle can damage the trail. That winch is there just for such situations, using the cable will get you over the problem spot and might save the trail for future use.
If you can think of anything to add to this page that will help keep our trails open please let us know. We always pay attention to the contact part of the site so leave comments and suggestions there.
