Crowdog
04-10-2005, 07:41 PM
ARE YOU IN THE CHOIR?
by Brian Hawthorne,
BRC Public Lands Director
Dear Readers: As Public Lands Director, my job can be described as a mixture of motivation, facilitation and inspiration. Toward the motivation and inspiration end of things I will, from time to time, send motivational emails to a select group of OHV leaders and involved enthusiasts. Sometimes, those emails fall into the "rant" category. Recently, I felt it was necessary to rant, and express frustration at one of the OHV communities biggest failings - lack of involvement. Interestingly, expouse on this particular problem throws into sharp contrast the generosity and effectiveness of the small minority that are involved, and more importantly, my personal appreciation of BRC's members and supporters. Anyway, apparently this particular rant hit a nerve, and we've received several requests for it to be reprinted in the BlueRibbon Magazine.
Is it time for another rant from Brian? The answer is yes, and you'd better hang onto your hats, because Hawthorne is riled up!
Here's what set me off. I got an email from an "OHV enthusiast" that said: "I am a long time dirt bike rider, and I also do quite a bit of jeeping. I have heard of your outfit many times in motorcycle magazines and such. I am not the sort of person to get active in these things, but having been all but shut out of the California deserts, and worrying about it in Colorado, I now live in [I won't mention where he lives]..." The writer goes on to describe his concern over a lawsuit that might close his favorite road and wants me to help.
I responded politely, and I offered to help the best I could. But on the inside, I was seething! What I wanted to say, but didn't, was something like; "Okay, Mr. OHV Enthusiast, you've heard about our group, didn't join, don't want to get involved, did nothing while millions of acres were being closed, didn't ever visit our website or respond to an action alert, but as soon as some anti access group closes YOUR favorite road (that you thought was safe), you expect us to fly in with lawyers and money and save the day, is that right?"
Allow me to ask for your indulgence. Put yourself in my chair just for a minute. Ok, sitting down? Good.
Now, if you sit in this chair, your job is to fight huge anti-access organizations that are noted for their cooperation with each other. These groups share a well funded and coordinated legal team and if they don't get their way in Congress, they appeal to the courts. Their members are active and are passionate about their issues. Their members engage federal land managers in just about every planning project going on. Their members visit regularly with their political representatives, and often write letters to the editors in their local papers.
Still sitting down? Stay in the chair for a minute, I'm not done.
You represent millions of Americans who use vehicles for access and recreation. Your members are just as passionate as the members of these anti-access groups. You fight these guys and many times you are successful. Those victories are sweet, especially in light of the overwhelming disparity between your budget, and the budgets of your adversaries. You ask yourself how can this be? The answer is clear. It's because your membership is passionate and generous, and often, you find yourself overwhelmed with gratitude.
But you can't escape the fact that each year more and more roads and trails are closed. You look at the best case scenario and note that only 9 percent of OHV users are members of a club or access organization!
Still in the chair? Good! Because just for a minute I want you to imagine how successful you would be if that nine percent figure would be, say 50 percent?
Think about that carefully. Imagine what you could do. Imagine having biologists on staff to review public land planning documents. Imagine being able to respond to every lawsuit. Imagine if BRC had full time professional access advocates in every state. Imagine if our political clout matched that of our adversaries. Imagine how much more successful you could be.
For those of us who decide to stay in that chair, we do the best we can. But we are limited because 91 percent of OHV users are exactly like the "OHV enthusiast" who emailed me - mired in ignorance and apathy. They read about our group, read about our court victories, and they still don't join or get active. They just stand by, doing nothing, while they get shut out of millions of acres of public lands.
Ok, you can get out of that chair now. Here comes the important part of my rant.
If you are reading this, you are "in the choir." You are members. If you are on Brian Hawthorne's email list, you're active and you participate. I need you to know how much we, the people who sit in these chairs, appreciate your involvement. Thank you!
What more can you do?
We need the few that are part of the involved, active OHV community, now more than ever. Land use planning processes all over the nation are shifting into high gear. National initiatives will be made final and implemented in coming months. New threats to OHV use are just over the horizon. As you know, I'm the "bring it on" type of guy that can't help but see every challenge, every closure threat, and every lawsuit as opportunity for success! But in order to succeed, I need help from the choir!
I need each and every one of you to resolve to take action whenever you see an action alert come across your inbox. I need you to talk to your OHV club and organization about budgeting for legal defense. I need you to contact your political representatives and communicate your concerns to them. I need you to try and educate your fellow "OHV enthusiasts" who, like my friend who emailed me, simply needs to get over their apathy and lack of knowledge.
Again, thanks to all the active OHV enthusiasts! You make my job FUN!
--Brian Hawthorne is the Public Lands Director for the BlueRibbon Coalition. For questions or comments on this article, he may be contacted at: BlueRibbon Coalition, 4555 Burley Drive, Suite A, Pocatello, ID 83202-1921. Phone: 208-237-1008, Fax: 208-237-9424. Email <brbrian@sharetrails.org>.
http://www.sharetrails.org/index.cfm?page=41
by Brian Hawthorne,
BRC Public Lands Director
Dear Readers: As Public Lands Director, my job can be described as a mixture of motivation, facilitation and inspiration. Toward the motivation and inspiration end of things I will, from time to time, send motivational emails to a select group of OHV leaders and involved enthusiasts. Sometimes, those emails fall into the "rant" category. Recently, I felt it was necessary to rant, and express frustration at one of the OHV communities biggest failings - lack of involvement. Interestingly, expouse on this particular problem throws into sharp contrast the generosity and effectiveness of the small minority that are involved, and more importantly, my personal appreciation of BRC's members and supporters. Anyway, apparently this particular rant hit a nerve, and we've received several requests for it to be reprinted in the BlueRibbon Magazine.
Is it time for another rant from Brian? The answer is yes, and you'd better hang onto your hats, because Hawthorne is riled up!
Here's what set me off. I got an email from an "OHV enthusiast" that said: "I am a long time dirt bike rider, and I also do quite a bit of jeeping. I have heard of your outfit many times in motorcycle magazines and such. I am not the sort of person to get active in these things, but having been all but shut out of the California deserts, and worrying about it in Colorado, I now live in [I won't mention where he lives]..." The writer goes on to describe his concern over a lawsuit that might close his favorite road and wants me to help.
I responded politely, and I offered to help the best I could. But on the inside, I was seething! What I wanted to say, but didn't, was something like; "Okay, Mr. OHV Enthusiast, you've heard about our group, didn't join, don't want to get involved, did nothing while millions of acres were being closed, didn't ever visit our website or respond to an action alert, but as soon as some anti access group closes YOUR favorite road (that you thought was safe), you expect us to fly in with lawyers and money and save the day, is that right?"
Allow me to ask for your indulgence. Put yourself in my chair just for a minute. Ok, sitting down? Good.
Now, if you sit in this chair, your job is to fight huge anti-access organizations that are noted for their cooperation with each other. These groups share a well funded and coordinated legal team and if they don't get their way in Congress, they appeal to the courts. Their members are active and are passionate about their issues. Their members engage federal land managers in just about every planning project going on. Their members visit regularly with their political representatives, and often write letters to the editors in their local papers.
Still sitting down? Stay in the chair for a minute, I'm not done.
You represent millions of Americans who use vehicles for access and recreation. Your members are just as passionate as the members of these anti-access groups. You fight these guys and many times you are successful. Those victories are sweet, especially in light of the overwhelming disparity between your budget, and the budgets of your adversaries. You ask yourself how can this be? The answer is clear. It's because your membership is passionate and generous, and often, you find yourself overwhelmed with gratitude.
But you can't escape the fact that each year more and more roads and trails are closed. You look at the best case scenario and note that only 9 percent of OHV users are members of a club or access organization!
Still in the chair? Good! Because just for a minute I want you to imagine how successful you would be if that nine percent figure would be, say 50 percent?
Think about that carefully. Imagine what you could do. Imagine having biologists on staff to review public land planning documents. Imagine being able to respond to every lawsuit. Imagine if BRC had full time professional access advocates in every state. Imagine if our political clout matched that of our adversaries. Imagine how much more successful you could be.
For those of us who decide to stay in that chair, we do the best we can. But we are limited because 91 percent of OHV users are exactly like the "OHV enthusiast" who emailed me - mired in ignorance and apathy. They read about our group, read about our court victories, and they still don't join or get active. They just stand by, doing nothing, while they get shut out of millions of acres of public lands.
Ok, you can get out of that chair now. Here comes the important part of my rant.
If you are reading this, you are "in the choir." You are members. If you are on Brian Hawthorne's email list, you're active and you participate. I need you to know how much we, the people who sit in these chairs, appreciate your involvement. Thank you!
What more can you do?
We need the few that are part of the involved, active OHV community, now more than ever. Land use planning processes all over the nation are shifting into high gear. National initiatives will be made final and implemented in coming months. New threats to OHV use are just over the horizon. As you know, I'm the "bring it on" type of guy that can't help but see every challenge, every closure threat, and every lawsuit as opportunity for success! But in order to succeed, I need help from the choir!
I need each and every one of you to resolve to take action whenever you see an action alert come across your inbox. I need you to talk to your OHV club and organization about budgeting for legal defense. I need you to contact your political representatives and communicate your concerns to them. I need you to try and educate your fellow "OHV enthusiasts" who, like my friend who emailed me, simply needs to get over their apathy and lack of knowledge.
Again, thanks to all the active OHV enthusiasts! You make my job FUN!
--Brian Hawthorne is the Public Lands Director for the BlueRibbon Coalition. For questions or comments on this article, he may be contacted at: BlueRibbon Coalition, 4555 Burley Drive, Suite A, Pocatello, ID 83202-1921. Phone: 208-237-1008, Fax: 208-237-9424. Email <brbrian@sharetrails.org>.
http://www.sharetrails.org/index.cfm?page=41