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By: Robert Janis
South Dakota OHV Co alition -- A Unifying
Touchstone for Off-Road Motoring Community
In March 2001 the off-highway vehicle
community led by the Black Hills Regional
Multiple Use Coalition (BHRMUC) recognized the
need for a unifying group that could take on the
issues of concern to the community. As a result
an effort was launched to create such a group.
The BHRMUC, local clubs in South Dakota, other
concerned groups, and the BlueRibbon Coalition
worked together to create the South Dakota
Off-Highway Vehicle Coalition (SDOHVC) in
December, 2004.
Based in Rapid City, South Dakota, the
mission of the SDOHVC is to represent, assist,
educate, and empower OHV recreationists in the
protection and promotion of off-highway
recreation.
According to Eric Hunt, president of SDOHVC,
the issues of most concern today to the ATV
community in South Dakota are travel management
in the Black Hills National Forest, legislation
for an off-highway vehicle program in the state,
and fund raising for an economic impact study
that can be used to help lobby for legislation
in 2009.
“We are currently working with individuals,
local clubs and businesses to make certain they
keep giving input and comments to the National
Forest Service in regards to travel management,”
explained Hunt. “We are also urging everyone to
stay engaged between comment periods. They need
to make sure they are contacting their local
Forest Service district rangers and staff on a
regular basis to see what they are doing about
trails in areas on which they ride.
“We have been notifying our members through
our newsletter and through e-mail to contact
their local legislators to inform them about
their concerns on legislative issues. We are
also actively participating at every opportunity
available to us.
“We have been working with county
commissioners, local businesses, clubs, and
applying for grants to generate funding to pay
for the economic impact study,” continued Hunt.
“Additionally, we have been making the
arrangements with the independent group who will
be conducting the study.” The study is scheduled
to take place this summer.
Getting the state to pass a comprehensive
bill that would provide funding and answer
questions concerning the use of ATVs has also
become a major priority. Legislation was drafted
this year which would have set up a sticker
program to raise funds for the maintenance of a
trail system and answer outstanding questions
about ATV use, but the bill was never introduced
and was not passed. It is hoped that legislation
will be introduced in the legislature next year.
Lobbying and Education
In order to get the state to do what it needs
to do, SDOHVC includes a legislative committee
that is comprised of several members of the
board of directors of SDOHVC. Members of the
board have also spent time at the Legislature
and have spoken on behalf of motorized users.
Hunt also pointed out that members of SDOHVC
have participated in various committees that
offer recommendations to the state on OHV
management. “For instance, last year the
governor appointed a task force to develop
recommendations on a potential OHV legislative
package,” said Hunt. “One of our board members
was appointed to that task force. We have also
worked cooperatively with other organizations
that have similar or cross-over interest such as
the South Dakota Auto Dealers Association
(SDADA). This group also represents most of the
ATV and motorcycle dealers in the state and work
with any legislation that may affect the dealers
in the state.”
Moreover, SDOHVC works with the Bureau of
Land Management (BLM) to assure that connector
routes to trails that are under the authority of
BLM continue to remain open and allow access.
“There is a lot of BLM land that surrounds a few
communities that we would like to continue to
have access to,” said Hunt. Hunt sits on the
Bureau of Land Management Advisory Council which
helps in keeping a line of communication open
between off-road enthusiasts and the BLM.
SDOHVC does not have professional lobbyists.
Instead, three board members act as a
legislation committee and they keep the
organization informed on issues and recommend a
course of action. “As a grassroots organization,
one area of focus is to garner involvement from
our membership through e-mails and alerts,” said
Hunt. “We are fortunate to have some very
motivated individuals who are good at contacting
their legislators when needed.”
Influencing local city councils and other
decision-making agencies is based on developing
relationships, said Hunt. “It starts with
contacting them to let them know who we are and
making sure they know our issues and concerns.
Most times we find they don’t even understand
our issues, and it is our job to make sure they
do. We also see it as our job to make sure that
they know that we are there and willing to work
with them toward viable solutions.
“Once we make contact with them, it is
important that we maintain close contact with
them,” continued Hunt. “We check in with them
from time to time, and we volunteer to assist on
any subcommittees they may have relative to our
issues.”
SDOHVC relies heavily on its membership. So
they must be well educated about the issues and
well motivated to go out and engage. SDOHVC
sends out representatives to local club meetings
to keep them informed and to help them know what
issues to take on, what they need to do to get
involved, and where they need to go to attend
pertinent meetings. “We have discovered that
folks want to help, but they don’t always
understand all the details of such things as
land use and other issues. Making sure they
understand how this will affect them and what
they can do to help is the key,” said Hunt.
Hunt noted that assistance from the group’s
members come in several ways. “Members help with
projects that we have partnered with the Forest
Service on such things as clean up, constructing
fences adjacent to damaged areas in order to
protect trails that are open to motorized use or
working with local environmental groups to
protect sensitive areas,” said Hunt. “Our
members are also very helpful when it comes to
engaging in public meetings and commenting on
issues that are affecting motorized access on
public lands.”
Helping to organize local clubs is a top
priority in building a support group from the
ground up so SDOHVC gets involved in the
creation of local clubs. In fact, Hunt is a
South Dakota State Representative for the
National Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation
Council (NOHVCC). “NOHVCC has some very helpful
tools to help assist groups to form clubs,” said
Hunt.
SDOHVC also works with local clubs to solve
local issues. “This is an essential part of our
mission,” said Hunt. “For instance, recently we
worked with a local club in the eastern part of
the state and with local county commissioners to
solve road ditch issues in the county. We
regularly work with clubs to jointly comment on
planning issues with the Forest Service with
regards to the travel management process on the
Black Hills National Forest. This helps to
present a better overall or well-rounded view of
what the motorized community is looking for. We
have and continue to work with local clubs to
GPS their trails, categorize them, and submit
the information to the Forest Service as part of
the travel management process. This has
certainly been one of the biggest undertakings
that we have facilitated for more than three
years and we continue to work on this.
“We have and continue to work with local
clubs to partner with us at events, sports
shows, and other venues to promote motorized
recreation,” added Hunt.
Membership
“Currently there are 312 individual and
organization members representing about 2,500
off-road enthusiasts,” said Hunt. Members
receive the organization’s newsletter and
receive e-mail alerts about issues that are
pending in the state. According to Hunt, anyone
can become a member.
Website
The organization has a website
(www.sdohvc.org) that it uses to educate members
and the public. Although it is going through an
upgrade and extensive remodeling, the site
discusses the group’s history, its purpose, the
issues, and how enthusiasts can help support
SDOHVC’s efforts to protect motorized access for
the motorized recreationists. “We have used our
website to inform folks of upcoming public
meetings that pertain to motorized recreation,
emergency announcements, or action alerts that
need their attention and assist them in
commenting on issues before local and state
agencies.” The site also includes an events
page--links to state and local clubs, national
organizations, the Forest Service, and the
Bureau of Land Management. There are also bios
on all the members of the board of directors,
and a list of committees of which they are
members; pages that exhibit past newsletters;
membership applications and membership
information; a page identifying the
organization’s business and club sponsors and a
page of mapping information.
From its inception, SDOHVC has been a
unifying force and has used tactics that have
proven to unite, not divide. Such a strategy has
proven to be successful and has gotten all sorts
of divergent groups involved in protecting the
off-road community of South Dakota.
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