summer 2015 a word from brc’s new executive...

Martin Hackworth,BRC Executive Director

MY NAME IS MARTIN HACKWORTH and I'm thenew Executive Director of the BlueRibbonCoalition. I'm very pleased to make youracquaintance.

For those of you who don't know me, I amor have been an off-road motorcyclist,

mountain biker, trail runner, skier, climber and motorcycle roadracing enthusiast (black flag instigator). I recently retired from a25-year career as a physicist at Idaho State University. My fieldsof interest are optics, acoustics and Earth's atmosphere.

I am also a consultant with clients in fields from powersports to accident reconstruction to the Penn and Teller show. Ihave written or collaborated on many books, articles in scholarlyand popular periodicals and penned a column for the IdahoState Journal for about 15 years. My wife, Megan, is a clinicalpharmacist. My son, JR, is 12 and growing up way too fast.

I came to the BRC for one thing and one thing only - to fightfor a cause in which I believe. The fight for access is verypersonal for me. The time that I have spent battlingenvironmentalists and public officials over issues of access istime that I did not get to ride, ski or climb with my family andfriends. I intend to do everything within my power to ensure thatthe BlueRibbon Coalition continues leading the way inpreserving access to our public lands. My calculus is prettysimple in this regard. Anything that advances our cause is good,anything that doesn't is not. I'm far more interested in the formerthan the latter.

Our opposition is well-organized and well-funded. It's Davidvs. Goliath on many fronts. Yet despite a huge disparity inresources we are able to accomplish significant victories. We'veargued and won cases before the highest courts in the land.Snowmobiles are still allowed in Yellowstone. We've seen trailsthat were once closed re-opened. We've convinced landmanagers to soften anti-ohv stances. It's gritty, down in the

Summer 2015

Todd OckertBRC President

WOW, WHERE HAS the year gone. By the timeyou read this, we are well into Summer.Seems like I just finished my article for theMarch magazine. I hope that you enjoyedreading the new BlueRibbon Magazine thatyou received. Your Board of Directors and

Staff put a lot of time and effort to bring you a great newmagazine. I know that Clark Collins, the founder ofBlueRibbon Coalition, enjoyed it.

We have a lot of irons in the fire around the nation, asDon Amador, our Western Representative is busy with theDesert wash issues, fire restoration issues, Clear Creekand many others. We are also planning Del & Stacie’s big“Go East” trip to the Unlimited Off-Road Expo and then theBantam Jeep Heritage Festival. Later on they will beheaded off to Colorado for the Mile-Hi Jeep Club All-4-Funevent to represent BRC. They are making plans for a LandUse roundtable at the event with event participants andothers that want to join in.

As for me, I just finished installing an AdvanceAdapters Atlas in my Jeep to move it up to the next level.What a great piece of equipment that we can add to ourJeeps. In our organization, our equipment is our peopleon staff and contractors. I can tell you that they are thebest of the best and they get things done when I or MartinHackworth, our new Executive Director, asks them to getsomething done.

Martin has been working to increase our awareness indifferent areas as he brings a new perspective to our team.His background in physics and dirt bikes might seem to bedifferent ends of the spectrum, but he brings them togetherextremely well. His previous work with KLIM on helmetshas helped him partner with them on an event North ofPocatello to support BRC. Good work right out of the gate.

Our Board of Directors is planning a meeting inPayson, Utah, later this summer. We will meet to discusssome pressing issues and have a general roundtablediscussion. We seem to get more accomplished when wemeet face-to-face than via our conference calls. We will

A word from BRC’s new Executive Director

Being good ambassadors & other thoughts...—————————————— (Continued on page 3)

—————————————— (Continued on page 3)

BRC UPDATE 2 Summer 2015

by Paul TurkeBRC Lead Legal Counsel

IN THE BLUERIBBON MAGAZINE we took abit of a light hearted look at the “top tenreasons we have BlueRibbon Legal.”This article will address the inevitablemoment when many land use battles

become serious – when it is obvious they are going tocourt. A successful outcome is more likely if yourorganization has anticipated this moment, has a plan,and follows the plan.

In the twenty years that BlueRibbon Legal hasexisted, there have been numerous occasions whenOHV advocates tout a newly-unveiled need to beproactive, collect money, put our sport’s best footforward and/or build on a recent victory. These aregood thoughts, but we don’t need to reinvent the wheel.We have the tools at our disposal. We need to usethem more efficiently and more often.

Let’s talk a minute about thelegislative side of the equation and thevalue of lobbying. Congress has theauthority to play legal trump on manyissues. This rarely occurs. WhenCongress does act on public landsissues, it is often very subtly, or in verydiscrete areas where enough local“consensus” is achieved to minimizepolitical risk. By now you may realizethis will not happen in a way that gutsthe Endangered Species Act orrestores travel along the 745 miles oftrails closed in your area’s last travel

plan. Playing Congress therefore presents uncertain,limited upside at substantial expense. BlueRibbonhelps where it can, but is happy to let those withcommitted budget and experience, like AMA, ARRA,ISMA, ARC and others patrol the decks in WashingtonDC.

While Congress is a big and expensive questionmark, you can bet that trail issues will be decided in thecourts. Students of government will know that asidefrom the legislative and judicial branches, there is athird branch – the executive. For land use issues, thismeans administrative agencies like the Forest Serviceand BLM. These agencies cannot make meaningfuldecisions without some right of judicial review. Sonearly every fight about access eventually end up incourt.

There are two basic litigation scenarios. “Our side”can sue, contesting closures or otherwise challenginglegal compliance or proper management. We must pick

Get On Board Today!Your support of BRC’s Legal Fund isinvaluable. These days, all too many of ouropponents would rather eliminate yourrecreational areas in court. BRC, alongwith its allies and member organizations,is all that stands in their way...

To make your donation right now, visit:http://bit.ly/brc-legal-fundor call 1-800-258-3742, ext. 105.

You can also send contributions by mail to:BlueRibbon Coalition; 4555 Burley Drive,Suite A; Pocatello, ID 83202 (be sure tonote on your check that this donation is forthe BRC Legal Fund).

DONATE TODAY and help us protectyour recreational access!

All donations to the BRC Legal fundare tax-deductable.

BRC UPDATE3Summer 2015

these battles carefully. Or, the anti-access forces cansue, because they were not satisfied that an agencyhas closed enough. We have little choice but to aid inthe defense when our opponents bring the fight. Eitherway, one cannot pretend to be a “player” in the accessadvocacy game without the ability to litigate.

One possibility is that “we” need better, smarter,and more beautiful lawyers. I will not pretend tointelligently debate, let alone answer, that question. Iwill simply observe that OHV interests have regularlyparticipated in litigation for several decades, and othermultiple use interests even longer. Those holding theirbreath for the coming of a litigation messiah haveprobably expired.

There is a community of lawyers who specialize inOHV and access litigation. The fact is that no onepractices “access law” full time, not even on the otherside. Anti-access lawyers tend to work for publicinterest law firms, like Earth Justice, which cover manyother types of cases beyond OHV issues. Maybe wecould do more if we had an access-focused publicinterest law firm? What challenges would we face ingrappling with that prospect? In some aspects of ourbroader culture there is a trend toward merger andconsolidation. Maybe access advocates don’t neednew strategies and new players, so much as theyshould better support and better utilize theresources that already exist.

hold our meeting at the Rocky Mountain MC/ATVheadquarters in Payson, Utah, and thanks to DanThomas for allowing us to use his conference room tokeep costs down.

As we get further and further into the summer, Iwould also like to put in a pitch for safety on and off thetrails. One of the most dangerous things we do on adaily basis, is drive to work, our recreation location orthe general errands we do in our home towns. AtChevron where I work, we are not allowed to use anyelectronic device while driving. I have brought thispolicy home and don’t touch my cell phone whiledriving. I would ask that you all make this pledge also.Can you do that for me?

Have a fun summer.

Being good ambassadors...by Todd Ockert..............continued from page 1_____________________________________

A word from BRC’s Exec. Director...by Martin Hackworth ....continued from page 1_____________________________________

trenches work, but it's not all gloom and doom. We aremaking headway.

As a scientist (and outspoken critic of bad science -enter my name along with Bigfoot in the search box of yourbrowser and see for yourself) I can assure you that we areon the right side of the facts when it comes to our reasonedstands on OHV access. Add to that the fact that our legalteam is, bar none, the best at what they do and the pathforward reveals itself.

One thing that I hope to bring to the forefront in ourcause is the importance of being good ambassadors for ourrespective sports. I know that everyone, ostensibly at least,thinks of this as a good idea, but our actions have to amountto more than just lip service. That means skin in the game.Not only do we have to be good ambassadors ourselves butwe have to insist that our friends and associates are as well.A fair number of our critics regard us as a fringe element ofsociety. Many of us, unfortunately, have no trouble playingup to this stereotype. We are often our own worst enemy.

I'm penning a piece for Dirt Rider on this very topic thatI hope a number of you will see. The gist of it is that I regardwhat I do these days - long, difficult dirt bike trail rides likethe Tour of Idaho – as much a top-level sport as I do climbingthe Nose on El Capitan or skiing steep terrain on telemarkskis. And having done all three I feel reasonably well-qualified to offer an opinion. But it's best, at least in myopinion, offered in a respectful manner.

Hearts and minds, one at a time. It's a long road,but I'm patient.

One of many cases BRC Legal has been involved in (more details onthis and other cases online at: http://www.sharetrails.org/legal).


by Jack WelchBRC Vice President

ON SUNDAY, MARCH 8TH I had theopportunity to become a Non-CommercialGuide under the new Yellowstone Non-Commercially Guided SnowmobileAccess program (N-CGSA). This program

allows an individual to apply for a permit at theRecreation.gov website. Next, after making a successfulapplication, I paid the use and reservation fee, for a totalof $46.00. The next step is to take and pass the online"Yellowstone Snowmobile Education Course". Thiscourse is required for each operator of each BestAvailable Technology (BAT) snowmobile. Note: The

required BAT snowmobiles can be rented at each gatefrom a concessionaire or you can provide your own. Inthe case of the South Gate, we rented from ScenicSafaris. They are located at the South Gate and can bereached 307-734-8898.

The riders in my non-commercial group, which cantotal only five machines, were Janet Feigelson and GeoffInglis from Steamboat Springs, CO, Chuck Ramsey,Wellington CO, Jeff Wiese from Colorado Springs, CO.

Here is a summary of our day's adventure. Westarted our day early with a drive from Alpine, Wyoming,to Flagg Ranch. At Flagg, we checked in with ScenicSafaris and got suited up for the adventure. Next we hada short safety talk by the Scenic Safaris representativewho covered the operation of the four stroke BAT 2015

Yellowstone Non-CommerciallyGuided Snowmobile Access program


Ski Doo machines. He reviewed the hand signals wewould use as we toured the Park. Note, Scenic Safarisprovided us with the Park Service's recommended safetygear.

The first stop as we entered the Park on the way toOld Faithful was the South Entrance Ranger Station. Atthe station we received our formal permit from RangerJohn McCudy who also gave us a final briefing on whatto expect as we traveled to Old Faithful.

We left the Ranger Station ready for the adventure tobegin! Before I start the account of the 110 mile roundtrip trek, it should be noted that, besides myself, Chuckwas the only rider that had visited the Park before bysnowmobile in the winter. The rest of the group wasabout to see first hand why the snowmobile astransportation to Old Faithfulis a special experience. Inaddition, I have ridden thePark many times in the last40 years and my knowledgewould add to the adventure!

The weather was cooland crisp, the trail was, ofcourse, the groomed summerhighway and it was verysmooth. However, we sawthat snowcoaches can leaveruts and had to watch forthem. As we headed for ournext stop, the Lewis River Falls, the riders got their firsttaste of the beautiful scenic vistas of the Park as wetraveled along the rim of the Lewis River Canyon. Theyalso saw evidence of the historic 1988 Yellowstone fires.At Lewis Falls, the folks from Steamboat Springs, CO,commented that so far the snowmobile was a great wayto experience the Park and looked forward to the rest ofthe day. Also, one of the riders, Jeff from ColoradoSprings, asked why the snowmobiles were limited to thePark's speed limit of only 35 mph? I pointed out to the Jeffand the group that the 35mgh speed limit was all that wasneeded to cover the distances between the Park's specialplaces and that the new snowmobile BAT standards onlyallowed that speed. In addition I pointed out that thesnowmobile is just one of the forms of transport inYellowstone for winter access. The group commented thatthis trip in the Park would be the major highlight of thisyear's Winter experiences!

We continued on to the Old Faithful area with a shortrest stop at West Thumb, the next stop was theYellowstone Lake overlook. During our stop at overlook

the group got to see their first snowcoach and askedabout how it fit into the Yellowstone transportationsystem. I explained that it was another form of access tothe Park. The folks from Steamboat commented they likethe snowmobile better!

We continued on to Old Faithful. The timing wasperfect! We arrived with just a few minutes before the OldFaithful Geyser went off. When the geyser finished it waslunch time. We went to the Geyser Grill for a quick lunch.During the lunch I was asked why anti groups want toeliminate access by snowmobile to Yellowstone. Iexplained the issues and how the snowmobilecommunity had solved the many issues presented by theanti-access crowd.

Time was growing late. However, I had planned aspecial longer stop at WestThumb to tour severalthermal features on foot. Wealso had time to talk to theRanger at the Warming Hut.After the tour we returned toour snowmobiles and startedback to Flagg Ranch. Thelast stop before leavingYellow-stone Park is a verypopular stop because of thelarge Yellowstone entrancesign, a great place for grouppictures. After picture taking

we kept pushing and arrived back at Flagg at 4:30 pm.After filling the Ski Doos with fuel we started theSuburban ride back to Jackson, WY.

The entire group, and especially the folks fromSteamboat Springs, agreed that closing snowmobileaccess to Yellowstone would just not be right becausethe snowmobile provided the best form of transportationto see the natural wonders of Yellowstone Park! They allagreed that "Snowmobiling to Old Faithful wassomething they will long remember!" And going with anon-commercial guide Jack Welch, who had ridden thePark many times, was a very positive experience.

A final note: I have been riding in Yellowstone Park inWinter starting in 1969 and have only missed one year.This trip covered in this article is the FIRST time I havetraveled from the South Gate to Old Faithful andencountered only two Rangers on snowmobiles. What aspecial experience! Try that in the summer.

Please remember the BlueRibbon dedicated websitesite at www.saveyellowstonepark.com for thelatest information on Yellowstone Winter access.

"Closing snowmobile accessto Yellowstone would justnot be right because thesnowmobile provided thebest form of transportationto see the natural wondersof Yellowstone Park!"


by Del AlbrightBRC Ambassador

MEMBERS OF THE SoutheastChapter (SEC) of the NorthAmerican XJ Association(NAXJA) split their time andresources to make donations to

two National Forests that sit within the chapterborderlines, all in the name of conservation,education and keeping trails open.

On the East side of the chapter, atUwharrie National Forest near Troy, NorthCarolina, SEC President Tim Nolan, SECVice-President Andy Bagwell, and past SECboard member Glenn Fulmer were present to donate anew gas-powered auger and associated bit worth $720to Friends of Uwharrie (FOU). The funds to purchasethis needed equipment were made possible by theNAXJA SEC chapter and the national NAXJA club.

The powered auger and bit will be used by FOU tohelp maintain the trails at Uwharrie during the monthlytrail clean up days, making life easier for the dedicatedvolunteers. FOU has played a big role in helping tokeep Uwharrie open for people to enjoy by putting incountless man hours with minimal equipment. Use ofthis auger will help increase efficiency and allow effortsto be expanded in keeping the trails protected and openfor use.

Meanwhile, on the West side of the chapter, atTurkey Bay (TB) OHV which is located at “LandBetween the Lakes” (LBL) National Forest, near GoldenPond, Kentucky, other NAXJA members were makingcontributions. SEC treasurer and NAXJA Director-at-Large (DAL) Dirk DeYoung, NAXJA (DAL) Mark Morton,and NAXJA Recorder Ed Robbins attended the annualTurkey Bay Clean up day.

At the cleanup day, the NAXJA crew weed-wackedthe kids trail (a contained environment for youngstersto ride 4 wheelers and dirt bike) and collected 8 NAXJAonion sacks of trash from the campsites and around thelakeshore. Also lending a helping hand were Ed andDirk's daughters, three girls, aged between 6 and 10,

and veterans of many NAXJA runs. Later, with the help of other 4x4 clubs in

attendance, the NAXJA crew also assistedthe LBL and TB staff with the removal of adamaged fence, disassembly of fence aroundthe now abandoned American eagle nest,and painting of the boundary line. TheNAXJA crew also donated a check on behalfof the NAXJA SEC chapter and NAXJA, inthe amount of $700 to John Rufli, theExecutive Director of the Friends of “LandBetween the Lakes.” While this money is notearmarked for a specific use, Kyle Varel, theActing Manager of Turkey Bay, has indicateda need for new fencing at the front ofthe park.

From Left to Right: Chris Brower (FOU), Andy "Lowrange2" Bagwell (SECVP), Tim "UNCC_99XJ" Nolan (SEC President).

“Land Between the Lakes” andUwharrie National Forests

From Left to Right: Mark "High2By" Morton (NAXJA DAL), Ed "PacificEd"Robbins, (NAXJA Recorder), Dirk "Cottontail" DeYoung (SECTreasurer/NAXJA DAL), John Rufli (FoLBL Executive Director), Kyle Varels(Acting Manager Turkey Bay OHV Park).


by Don AmadorBRC Western Representative

MANAGING SUSTAINABLE OHVand other recreation programson federal lands is a complexchallenge in the 21st Century.Most successful programs

have these common factors; appropriatedfunds, support from line-officers, dedicatedrecreation staff, supplemental monies fromfee programs, state or other grants, andvolunteers.

For this article, I want to focus on trailvolunteers and their growing importance inthe aforementioned equation. To bolster their volunteerworkforce, the Mendocino National Forest recently helda chainsaw certification class for volunteers.

According to the agency, before Forest Servicevolunteers can operate a chain saw or a crosscut sawon a Forest Service project, they need to attend anofficial Forest Service training course on the safe and

proper use of these saws. The Forest Service hastraining courses specific to the use of saws forfirefighting and for other purposes. Usually, theMissoula Technology and Development Center (MTDC)course is the preferred crosscut and chainsaw class fornon-fire personnel. The operational and safety basedtraining course for volunteers will help both experiencedand inexperienced sawyers use chain saws andcrosscut saws for limbing, bucking, brushing, and—toa limited degree—for felling smaller and less complexmaterial. Safety is the number one elementemphasized in the chainsaw training.

The training is comprehensive. Topics include, butare not limited to: Personal Protective Equipment(PPE), area size up, proper body positioning andstance, familiarity with OSHA requirements andregulations, physics of “binds”, physics of “kickback”,sawyer/swamper communication, cutting area control,danger tree awareness, job hazard analysis andemergency evacuation plans, Forest Service radiocommunication, radio procedures and how to use aForest Service radio; parts of the chainsaw, how tosharpen chainsaw chain, and saw maintenance; andof course the inclusion of safe chainsaw handling,starting and stopping procedures, use of escaperoutes, and field practice with limbing and buckingpracticum.

Bill Aaron, a Region 5 chainsaw instructor whotaught our class, states, “Trail volunteers are animportant part of the Forest Service trails system.Without their assistance the upkeep and maintenance

Don Amador with students and instructors at Mendocino NF (April Saw Class).

Don Amador after clearing a downed tree.

Building sustainable & successfulrecreation programs

would be much more difficult, and they are an integralkey in the trails program.”

Website for FS Chainsaw Course (with volunteersection) http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/r5/fire-aviation/management/?cid=stelprdb5366863

The Forest Service also states that volunteers whohave completed saw training successfully are usuallycertified at the "A” or “B” level. The level of certificationindicates the types of saw work, along with anyrestrictions, that the volunteer can perform. The "A"level is considered “apprentice” and the "B level isconsidered “intermediate” with restrictions limiting themto limbing, brushing, and bucking.

After training is complete, a line officer (usually thedistrict ranger or unit manager) issues the volunteer's

saw qualification card. Saw training and recertificationis required every 3 years.

A skilled trail volunteer workforce is a force-multiplierand they not only help keep trail clear of trees and othervegetation, but their donated hours can be used as amatch for grants from the California Off-Highway MotorVehicle Recreation Division. Volunteers continue to bean important factor in the land-management equation.

I considered it a privilege to have been part of thischainsaw class where safety and proper cuttingtechniques were emphasized. Recent wildfires atpopular OHV areas such as Stonyford on theMendocino National Forest and Hull Creek on theStanislaus National Forest highlight the need fora skilled volunteer program.

by Kay Lloyd,BRC Board of Directors

IT WAS MY 4th year to be invitedto be a judge at this event. It isamazing to see what theseyoung engineering studentsaccomplish in making

snowmobiles cleaner, faster and safer. Fromthem has come the electric snowmobiles towork the sensitive areas at the North Pole aswell as diesel sleds for heavy duty work in theoil fields.

The 16th Annual Society of AutomotiveEngineers (SAE) Snowmobile Challenge washeld at Michigan Technological University inHoughton, MI, from March 3-7, 2015. Thisyear 21 teams from the US and Canada andone from Finland participated in the weeklong event.The members of the International SnowmobileManufacturers Association: Arctic Cat, BombardierRecreational Products, Polaris and Yamaha were proudGold-level sponsor of the event. Representatives fromthe manufacturers were involved in the event andsupported the skilled students participating from theuniversities and colleges from around the world.

The University of Wisconsin – Madison bested thetough competition and was announced the winner of theInternal Combustion Engine Division. The second spotfor the overall competition went to Kettering Universityfrom Flint, MI.

The competition featured a new Diesel Utilitycategory where North Dakota State took first place. The

diesel category is new this year and was created asdiesel sleds have different characteristics than gasolinesleds and there is growing demand for snowmobile usein the agricultural and hard work categories that woulduse diesel power. Second place in the Diesel categorywas awarded to SUNY -Buffalo.

The Finnish team of students from LaplandUniversity of Applied Sciences celebrated their first yearas the top Zero-Emissions team (Electric)!

Michigan Tech University has hosted theSnowmobile Challenge for the past 13 years andexperienced a beautiful snowy winter with temperaturessolidly in the freezing range providing ideal conditionsfor the SAE Collegiate Design competition.

Building off successes from previous years, arecord-setting 11 teams completed the 100 mile


2015 SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge


OMTA Ohio, your mid-west state organization?by William KaeppnerBRC Board of Directors

IN THE BLUERIBBON MAGAZINE, I wrote aboutthe importance of local clubs, state, andnational organizations for pushing ourpassion – how we are the building blocks.We know that in every mechanical drive

train, every link is important. Our working together supportsthe national organizations like BRC, who, in turn, supportyou. There is a good chance the OTMA is not an Ohiorider’s Midwest organization. Ohio is in the top 10% inpurchase of motorized recreation. YET the great majorityof folks who ride or wheel in Ohio do not belong to a localclub -- OMTA, or anyone. They will, and do, travel to otherstates to ride. You would think someone driving out of statewould want to change that. No matter which state you livein you are probably in a minority. You are the “someone”who is actually interested in changing what is going on.

“If you are the state organization, why haven’t you” [putyour own favorite question here].” Those of us who areconsidered active hear this a lot. In a “real” club, it is easierto respond to a fellow member. You are face to face andhave a relationship with that person. They could becomepart of the answer.

Today in our “connected” society, we have virtualclubs -- the Internet Clubs with no dues or requirementto support the sport. On one hand, they have theopportunity to reach a lot of folks with information. On theother hand, they are folks who ask why something doesor does not happen so they can seem “with it,“ to be “into

it” without the hardship of actually contributing.I welcome critical thinking and suggestions from folks

willing to “put their money where their mouth is.” Today, inour lawyer-driven society, the virtual clubs do not contributethe mother’s milk of the court system, MONEY!!

It is an amazing fact that there are folks who will neverhave the ability, never have the time or money, and nevereven take a walk in the wilderness. Yet they will sendmoney to the haters – send it on a regular basis to stop ourrecreation. The haters say you are dumb and do not care!Challenge your friends to join real clubs and participate.Prove the haters wrong!

The state of Ohio has more miles of horse trails thanall the surrounding states combined. How did they do it?They wrote letters, real letters! If every operator of arecreational vehicle wrote one letter a year (or more), theywould be asking us instead of us begging them. Ifeveryone wrote one letter a year, our reps would see 2000letters a day. Do you think we would have moreopportunity?

Here is a simple plan of action to get more recreationalaccess and push back the anti-access folks:

• Join a face-to-face club. Be active and get yourfriends to join

• Join your state organization as a person and as aclub

• Challenge your real and virtual club friends to writeletters

• Join a national organization • Last is the easiest part, send a few bucks a

months for the good fight

endurance run to Copper Mountain. In addition to engineers and other supporting

groups, the United States Forest Service is verysupportive of the Challenge. Forest Servicerepresentatives believe that the snowmobile industryand clubs have made great strides, and this partnershipwith the Snowmobile Challenge is a great opportunityfor the students to help move forward in a partnership.

The SAE Snowmobile Challenge includes suchactivities as:

• Endurance Run from Houghton, MI, to CopperHarbor, MI

• Technical presentations on emissions and designparameters

• Subjective handling event

• Acceleration Test• Scientific testing of emission levels and sound

levels.

Plans are underway for the 2016 Challenge whichwill again be held at Michigan Tech beginning March 7,2016. The snowmobile manufacturers will work with theMichigan Tech planning team in helping design eventactivities and more.

The competition amongst the universities and thequality of the products produced continues to improveand the overall competition is getting more challengingeach year.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of thesnowmobile manufacturers for giving the BlueRibbonCoalition a grant which helps fund snowmobileactivities as well as helping me attend as a judge.

Editor’s Note: This is an awesome success storyout of Western Idaho from BRC member club, theBoise ATV Trail Riders. We thought our membersand readers might enjoy learning about the SinkerCreek project, as it is an excellent example of whatcan be accomplished when diverse groups worktogether to a single purpose.

Story by Pauline JonesBoise ATV Trail Riders(http://boiseatvtrailriders.org)

THE SINKER CREEK drainage in the Owyhees hasabout 44 ATV/Motorcycle/UTV stream crossings.Last year there were rumblings from Fish and Gameabout restricting access to the Sinker Creek area inthe Owyhees due to the Red Banded Trout in thecreek and what effect crossing the creek was havingon the Red Banded Trout population. So the questionof what to do came up.

Pam Harrington from Trout Unlimited (TU); ToddWarnex from Idaho Department of Parks & Recreation(IDPR); Beth Gilman from Kuna Trail Riders; PaulNettleton, a local rancher, and Steve Huffman met todiscuss solutions. The best option was to removeeleven of the some forty crossings of the creek bylaying in approximately one-quarter mile of new trail.

Members of the various Treasure ValleyATV/UTV clubs were notified and asked forvolunteers.

Project Summary:Todd and Bill from IDPR hauled in equipment onThursday, April 23, and flagged the new trail.Members from the Emmett Rough Riders, Kuna TrailRiders, Canyon ATV Trail Riders and Boise ATV Trail

Todd W. from IDPR loading rocks in an ATV wagon for thecrossings.


Boise ATV Trail RidersComplete Sinker Creek Reroute

(Pictured: New trail above the creek.)

Rider clubs brought in their recreationalvehicles and set up camp near the “end ofthe pavement” (EOP) parking lot off SilverCity Road.

Friday, AJ from the Idaho State LandsDepartment and a couple of fire crewsbegan to clear brush for the new route.

Club volunteers assisted the fire crewsin removing the brush and setting aside thelarge Junipers that were removed from thenew trail.

Saturday, club volunteers removed thelimbs from the Junipers and “skinned”them for use in the turnpike (rock bedacross the creek).

Geotex fabric was laid on the creek bedto eliminate stirring up the mud when the creek iscrossed.

The Juniper logs were placed on each side offabric and staked in place. This crossing is 60 plusinches!

Todd and Bill used the trail dozer bucket to loadrocks of various sizes into ATV trailers pulled by Carlfrom Canyon, and Ray from Emmett.

The rocks were used in the one large rock bed(shown, upper right) and three smaller ones alongthe new trail. A new fence gate was installed at thelarge rock bed to keep Paul’s cattle from crossingthe creek.

Other club volunteers blocked off the old creekcrossings with the cut brush and logs.

Sunday, volunteers, Todd and Billtoured the new trail and identifiedunfinished work/maintenance to becompleted in the future.

This Sinker Creek reroute project wasa win-win for all parties involved. Thanksto all the volunteers for their assistance.----

About Pauline JonesPauline is retired and has been riding ATVs forover ten years. She has been actively involvedwith the Boise ATV Trail Riders Club (BATRC)as the Membership Coordinator, Club StoreRep, Newsletter Editor, Treasurer, VicePresident, and now Web Admin for ourBATRC website.


Finished rock crossing. Gate was installed to keep cattle from crossing thecreek. Be sure to close it after you have passed through!

Photo of volunteers. (Note: not all the volunteers were present for this shot)

Volunteers clear brush out of the new trail.

The newsletter you have in your hand is a valuable tool that allows usto get information to you. But in today’s high-speed world, that’s oftenjust not fast enough by itself. To keep up with the growing pace of eventsin the public lands recreational access arena, the BlueRibbon Coalition(BRC) has put in place a set of online tools to quickly get that vitalinformation to you and other recreational supporters across the nation.

The BRC Website(http://www.sharetrails.org)The BRC website is organized by easy-to-use tabs:

HOME TABThe BRC Webzine. Under the home tab, you will find a quick reference blurbfor pretty much all the articles published recently. It’s probably the easiestpage to use and a great place to visit regularly to be updated on events inthe recreational access arena. Here you can get your first look at the latestalerts, media releases, news and much more.

ISSUES TABThis tab leads to BRC’s Public Lands Page – It offers many resources,including alerts (very important!), current legal action, advocacy resourcesfor our individual activists (that’s you!), our Rapid Response Center forcontacting your congressional representatives and senators, and quick linkfor BRC’s many issue driven pages (such as Sage-grouse, FS Planning Ruleand the ongoing Yellowstone issue). There’s so much to see, it’s impossibleto describe it all here. We recommend a visit. Drop in and familiarize yourselfwith the issues that affect your recreation.

PRESS ROOM TABThis is where BRC posts all of its official news releases. While the sectionwas designed primarily for the media, the articles are usually aboutimportant, hot issues and make informative reading for our members,supporters and advocates as well.

MEDIA TABThis section is two-fold: 1) This is where we post editorials, announcementsand columns by our staff. 2) This is also where we share the news releasesof BRC’s allies and friends (other recreation-related organizations andadvocates), and op-eds by members and other recreation advocates(including some fun trail rides!).

JOIN / DONATE TABThis is a quick and easy place to go to support BRC’s efforts to protect yourrecreation, by providing much needed financial support. BRC is a grass-rootsorganization, and we continue to operate with the financial support of ourmembers and people just like you.

ABOUT TABHere you can find out more about the BlueRibbon Coalition. Its history andfounding; its accomplishments over the last three decades; the BRC Mission,Vision and Values; Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs); the BRC Bylaws;BRC’s 990 filings; a list of excellent recreational links (external sites); BRC’sofficial Policies and Positions; BRC’s Recreation Code of Ethics (a popularlist shared by many); and a listing of our organizational and businessmembers by state.

Special Pages(http://www.sharetrails.org/public-lands)Organized primarily through the Public Lands section of BRC’s website,these pages are incredibly vital to the many activists focused on aparticular issue or locale. While we encourage all individual activists to

look at the broader picture of recreational access as a whole, the specialpages give an organized and easy-to-use structure to BRC’s efforts inspecific areas.

Each special page is organized around a particular issue or locale, witharticles and links pertinent to that issue (as, for example, the SageGrouse issue).

BRC’s Legal Action Page(http://www.sharetrails.org/legal)No public lands advocacy effort can affect access on the ground withouta continual and effective presence in the court. See what legal casesare currently being fought and what the status of those cases is. Thissection contains both current legal cases, as well as archival informationon older cases.

Or have it delivered to you…For some people, the tools above are a perfect way to stay informed.They can visit whenever they can (we suggest frequent returns!) andget updates on what’s happening on the recreation access front.

However, for some, it’s hard to remember to check-in on a regular basis.It’s understandable. We all lead busy lives, and it’s only natural thatthings like volunteer activism and recreation issues take a back seatsometimes. For such individuals, we offer a number of tools to keep upon issues by having that information come to you, rather than the otherway around.

BRC’s Facebook Page (http://www.facebook.com/BlueRibbonCoalition)If you are at all familiar with this incredibly popular social networking site,then you know that all you have to do is “Like” our page on Facebook andyou will get notifications when BRC posts new items. Pretty much all articlesposted to the website are also posted for notification on our Facebook page.This is a really popular way to stay informed.

BRC On Twitter(http://www.twitter.com/sharetrails or @sharetrails)Like Facebook, Twitter is another way to get BRC’s posts. Become a BRCfollower and everything we post will be instantly “tweeted” to you via yourown twitter account. To your page, to your phone, to your portable device,or however you have your Twitter set up.

BRC’s RSS Feed(http://feeds.feedburner.com/BlueRibbonCoalition)If you don’t care for social networks, but still want BRC’s news items to beelectronically delivered to you, an RSS feed is the way to go. Just visit thewebsite above and subscribe to BRC’s RSS feed with your preferred RSSReader.

BRC’s Action Alert List(http://brc1.us/alertsubscribe) Subscribe to our Action Alert List and keep abreast of what’s happening inthe area where you live and/or recreate, as well as what’s happening nation-wide. We recommend that you sign up to receive alerts even if you arealready getting BRC articles via another route. Alerts often contain time-sensitive action items and the sooner you can jump in and help, the better.Once you are subscribed, BRC will notify you of pending legislation, nationalforest planning and other issues of interest to you, as well as information onwhat you can do to help.


summer 2015 a word from brc’s new executive...

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