Is the government cracking down on responsible off-roaders too much? Are the ignorning those that are abusing our off-road parks and trails? What are you doing? Who is making a difference?  

Hey guys, if you want a good resource on the current legislative environment as it impacts the off-roading hobby, this site is an excellent resource: http://www.semasan.com.  

I'm so glad that I've finally found a site that tracks all the latest developments in land use!  I swear that if I were to have a reason to start my own militia it would be because of stupid land use legislation.  

Right now I'm in the middle of a battle with the management of a certain central Texas Army installation over their land use rules.  This sema site I'm sure will arm me with at least one case study to refer to in this long drawn out battle.  Thanks for the post!  

Texas is almost entirely privately owned and BLM is a 4-letter word!  Altough there are a few private off road ranches its just not the same as hitting a trail with some buddies and your trucks packed to the hilt with enough camping gear for a Lewis-and-Clark-esque type of journey for the weekend.  

Anyways to reply to the post, I think that the government is not all to blame.  I'm sure that the environmentalist nut jobs have something to do with it!  The guys that I wheel with are the ones that pick up trash along the way and report misuse of land if we see it.  I wish there were a way to crack down on the ones that are doing the damage rather than just going to the extreme and closing things down.  

My local organization is trying to work specifically with the ones that make the legislation so that we can prove we're not the bad guys.  By showing a strong support of the Tread Lightly! organization I think organizatiosn are much more likely to not cause any more black eyes for the offroading community.  So do the right thing, all you knuckleheads!  

I think SAN could be a good resource for you guys. They are very well-versed in dealing with government at all levels in regard to protecting enthusiasts' rights. I would contact them if you have any questions about the status of any areas.

It's true environmental activists have perhaps been overzealous in their protection of obscure species, and a lot of recreational areas have been closed or severely limited as a result.

Anyway, please consider this your home for discussion, opinions, rants or whatever else about land use. Please try to keep it civil, though. :-)  

This is not really an issue of land use,but land loss. Paragon Adventure Park in Hazelton Pa. may be forced to close because the owner that leased them the property for 25 yrs. is trying to get out of it to sell the property at only 3 yrs. The mentioned price is 30mil.

I wish there was a way that we could raise the money for a buy-out to keep this trully awesome park open.(please do not publish this though,nothing is set in stone yet,but it doesn't sound good)

I'm just looking for ideas to help out the owners,it is posted in their forums at www.paragonap.com/  Thankyou!  

Things have changed a bit,everyone is looking for high media coverage on this issue,there's an online SAVE PARAGON PETITION to be signed by ALL! Please encourage evryone you can to sign. E-mail state senators on this matter.It may only be one more off-road park now,but it could be yours tomorrow.Let everyone know how we feel about our ORV use, to protect this invaluable hobby for us,our children,our grand children and so on.  

imagine public land that is off limits to the public. i remember a certain president in the '90's making that dream a reality for folks like the sierra club. anytime you have certain political types in positions of power, you can watch your freedoms slowly disapear.....be it off roading, hunting, firearms ownership or anything else that the do gooders don't like.  

The SEMASAN site has a lot of good info.

I am also the Director of Environmental Affairs for United Four Wheel Drive Associations (www.ufwda.org).  Take the time to check out our forums also, as I post a lot of land use/access info there.
www.pirate4x4.com has a lot of land use info, and for those that know Del Albright, he is on the pirate board a lot, and will answer questions there also.  

But to answer part of the question originally posted here.  I think the government is just reacting to what has been pushed to them by the anti-access groups.  Those of us that wheel, do very little to help our sport!  Most go wheeling, and then throw some money at the groups who they think will do the most for them.  It takes more then just that though.  
We need letters from the people in the different parts of the country, to the respective congressional representatives to help our position on these new and pending Wilderness bills.  
I posted info on the 20 current 2007/8 wilderness bills on the UFWDA forums.  
The government is just reacting to who is the squeeky wheel.  We need to become that squeeky wheel though...

Todd
Navy-Jeepster  

I keep informed via the orgs in my signature plus a few others. I try to do more than just give them $

2007 FJ Cruiser built for trail & street.

www.sharetrails.org www.corva.org www.nohvcc.org www.tlca.org www.treadlightly.org www.ufwda.org

www.nevadabackroaders.com www.santabarbara4wdclub.com www.snlc.org www.vv4w.org  

it really doesn't take money to get results, you'd be surprised at what a bunch of letters and e-mail will do. when politicians see grass roots efforts like that, they take notice, i'm involved with the nra, so i know this to be true. you gotta remember, the politician wants to keep his job, and the only way he can do that, is to pay attention to his constituants, or start looking for a real job.....sorry, didn't mean to get on my soap box.