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Threats to OHV in America, Part 1
The AMA's Rob Dingman discusses the latest
effort to block OHV access to America's public
lands.
PICKERINGTON, Ohio -- American Motorcyclist
Association (AMA) President and CEO Rob Dingman
has been leading the world's largest
member-based motorcyclists' rights organization
since taking the reins in April 2007.
During that time, he has reorganized many of the
AMA's programs to rededicate the Association to
its core mission: protecting and promoting the
future of motorcycling and the motorcycle
lifestyle. With numerous legislative and
regulatory challenges confronting American
motorcycling both on the street and the trail,
the AMA enters 2009 with a sense of purpose and
urgency.
AmericanMotorcyclist.com, the website of the
AMA, sat down with Dingman to discuss the
challenges -- and opportunities -- that lie
ahead. In the first of a three-part series,
Dingman discusses how the AMA and the AMA's
sister organization the ATVA (All-Terrain
Vehicle Association) are fighting to preserve
OHV (off-highway vehicle) access to America's
public lands.
AM: The motorcycling community is engaged in a
pitched battle with so-called environmentalists
who would ban OHVs from public lands. How did we
get to this point?
RD: I'm glad you said "so-called
environmentalists" because, like many AMA and
ATVA members, I consider myself an
environmentalist, and the groups we are
confronting are perhaps better labeled
"exclusionists" or "anti-access advocates." They
would be completely happy if all of our public
lands were excluded from any use except their
own.
At the core of the anti-access creed is a
philosophical belief that only a handful of
Americans can be trusted to be good stewards of
our public lands, and that most Americans are
incapable of acting responsibly when they are on
public lands. The AMA fundamentally rejects this
elitist assumption.
America's public lands are owned by all of us.
And all who recreate responsibly should
therefore have the right to share in the
splendor of our public lands. OHV recreation is
enjoyed by millions of individuals and their
families, as well as by many less-abled
Americans who also rely on OHVs for recreation.
There are countless examples of OHV users, many
of them AMA and ATVA members, doing their part
to protect and preserve the natural environments
where we recreate. Our members consider it a
sacred trust to act as responsible caretakers of
our public lands so that their children -- and
many generations to follow -- will have the same
opportunities.
AM: How are America's motorcycle and ATV riders
doing their part to keep public lands open to
OHV recreation?
RD: We can look at the ongoing success of the
Recreational Trails Program, which started in
1990, as an example of how the OHV community has
worked collaboratively with non-motorized trail
users and the federal government to create a
program that funds the construction and
maintenance of trails for hundreds of thousands
of outdoor enthusiasts. That program has helped
nurture the latest generation of responsible OHV
users.
The AMA believes that personal responsibility is
paramount for all motorcyclists. That said, the
vast majority of OHV riders do act responsibly,
stay on designated trails, use a quiet exhaust
and spark arrester, and respect the rights of
other trail users. Through education,
peer-pressure and support for appropriate law
enforcement, we hope to teach all riders that it
is incumbent upon us all to ride responsibly on
public lands. What we do today will impact what
we, and countless others, will be allowed to do
well into the future.
AM: What is the latest threat?
RD: Where do I begin? First, we have an ongoing
threat with the Forest Service's Travel
Management rule. It decrees an unfunded mandate
to inventory all trail systems in the United
States, has artificial deadlines and rejects
user input in many areas. Second -- and more
urgent -- we are now facing an additional public
lands grab.
The battlefield has shifted from our local
communities, national forests and desert lands
to the floor of the U.S. Congress. In early
January, the U.S. Senate passed a massive
package of bills -- over 160 in all -- that
would close off more than 2 million acres to
motorized recreation. Thrown out in that process
were the recommendations of local public lands
managers, city and county governments, their
citizens and the outdoor enthusiasts who spent
thousands of hours developing responsible,
multiple-use recreation plans for their
communities. It's a massive land-grab that, if
passed by the House of Representatives and
signed by President Obama, would lock-up
millions of acres of public lands, lock-out
millions of people and decimate the coffers of
the small towns and counties whose economic
vitality relies heavily upon recreational
tourism.
AM: Is it too late to act?
RD: No, there is still time. Legislators pay
attention to their constituents, and I urge
every OHV rider -- in fact, every motorcyclist
-- to write or call their U.S. Representative
and insist that their voice be heard. Share with
them your personal story. Tell them that you
ride responsibly and that actively managed and
responsible OHV recreation has a place on our
public lands.
AM: Is the AMA all alone in this fight?
RD: No, I am happy to report that the AMA and
the ATVA working with a number of other
organizations to preserve our right to access
our public lands. Groups like the Blue Ribbon
Coalition, the National Off-Highway Vehicle
Conservation Council, the Motorcycle Industry
Council, the Specialty Vehicle Institute of
America, the Off Road Business Association and
the Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle
Association, to name a few. Additionally,
aligned with our coalition are snowmobile and
personal watercraft users, as well as advocates
of non-motorized recreation, such as the
American Horse Council. These groups work
together as part of the Americans for
Responsible Recreational Access in an effort to
share resources and strengthen our collective
voice.
AM: What can we do to prevent these crises from
arising in the future?
RD: I urge readers who are not AMA or ATVA
members to join and help fund the battle to
preserve OHV recreation for this and future
generations. While there are no guarantees, the
more riders we represent, the louder our voice
and the stronger we become, whether we are
acting proactively or responding to an imminent
threat. I am confident that by acting together
we will make a difference.
Readers who wish to contact their U.S.
Representatives today can do so in the "Issues &
Legislation" area of the Rights section of the
AMA website at
www.AmericanMotorcyclist.com.
Next installment: Rob Dingman discusses the
AMA's position on excessive sound.
About the American Motorcyclist
Association
Since 1924, the AMA has promoted and protected
the motorcycling lifestyle. AMA members come
from all walks of life and they navigate many
different routes on their journey to the same
destination: freedom on two wheels. As the
world's largest motorcycle organization with
nearly 300,000 members, the AMA advocates for
motorcyclists' interests in the halls of local,
state and federal government, the committees of
international governing organizations and the
court of public opinion. Through member clubs,
promoters and partners, the AMA sanctions more
motorsports competition events than any other
organization in the world. Through its
Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum, the AMA
preserves the heritage of motorcycling for
future generations. For more information, visit
www.AmericanMotorcyclist.com.
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