HOW MANY ORGANIZATIONS DO WE NEED?
WHAT IS
NAMRC?
By Del Albright
Originally published 1998; re-published with additions January 2016
I had my new TJ Jeep
hung up and somewhat wounded in a “crack” in Moab not too long ago, about to
get out the duct tape and bailing wire, when a couple dirt bikers came by. They saw my delimma (mechanically
disadvantaged that I can be at times) and stopped their bikes to watch the
show. I was grunting and moaning and
shaking my head like a guy who must know what he’s doing. They smiled, pulled off their helmets, and
settled in for a long show.
Well,
the gist of it is, they were not only mechanically knowledgeable, but also very
helpful. I gave up on the duct tape and
got out the Hi-Lift jack. Between the
jack, a few tools I had, the trusty winch on the front of “C UN RD” (Seeing
Red), and the three of us, we got the Jeep out in no time and back on the
trail.
As
we stood around and celebrated our engineering feat, I told them how much I
appreciated their stopping to help. I don’t
remember the guy’s name, but he did have an AMA (American Motorcycle
Association) sticker on his bike. But
his comment to me has stuck with me (get it, stuck?) until this day. He said: “Hey, pard, all trail users gotta
stick together!” Boy, ain’t that the
truth?
Well,
sticking together means more than just helping each other out on the
trail. We’ve got to band together
politically as well in order to keep our trails open for all to use. The importance of this cannot be
over-stated. All motorized users need to
come to the realization that the only cure to resisting the current trend to
close everything, is to band together in a unified multiple use voice.
When
the radical enviro-protectionists say they want public land closed to motorized
use, they aren’t just talking about four wheelers. In fact, if it’s got a motor or a mechanized
way of motating (like a mountain bike), they want it OFF of public lands. Heck, this even applies to quiet forms of
transportation like horses in some areas.
In other words, if you’re not doing it on foot, some folks would just as
soon have you not do it!
So
what’s the solution? Well, in my
opinion, it means dirt bikers, four wheelers, snowmobilers, ATVers,
equestrians, and anyone else who wants public lands open to their recreation
(and their children) MUST come together to the same table.
Yes,
you’re saying, the Blue Ribbon Coalition is just such a group. And BRC does one heck of a great job of being
political activists on a national level.
They are one organization I think we should all belong too because they
are activists for multiple use. We also
have many fine, and very effective national/regional/state organizations
fighting similar battles. But until now,
no such group existed that brings us all together at the leadership level just
to share information, set common strategies, identify common battles, and unify
our efforts back within our parent organizations. I say no such group; because this group I’m
talking about has no dues, no structure, and no members.
NAMRC,
the North American Motorized Recreation Council is just such a group. It is a coalition of national leaders who
come together like Knights of the Round Table, to share, inform, exchange
ideas, develop strategies to common problems and unify the efforts of all
motorized recreation. At first, NAMRC
was four-wheel drive oriented, with leaders from all over the nation gathering
at a common table. It didn’t take but
two meetings for the realization to set in that NAMRC needed to include all forms
of motorized trail use. That’s the key
to the future. All of is working
together, getting the most out of our individual and group efforts.
Many
folks have contributed to the initiation of this Council. Leadership from the East Coast Four Wheel Drive
Association suggested a similar 4wd council years ago. I started the Land Use Network (LUN) as an
email version of this very same idea back in 1994. Leaders from national snowmobile groups have
kicked around this idea in the last year.
So we’re all saying the same thing.
Let’s get together a few times a year and unify our efforts. Rest assured, this group, NAMRC, steals no
members from any organization. It is
merely a collection of leaders of already existing groups. And the activist’s activities that we do
STILL take place within our parent organizations.
At
the last meeting of NAMRC in Las Vegas on Nov. 4th, 1998, it was
resolved to include leadership from all forms of motorized recreation on our
council. As of now, we’re inviting many new groups, from all forms of motorized
trail use, to join our group. If your
organization would like to participate in NAMRC (2 meetings a year), then
contact me or any of our supporting participants.
Tom
Crimmins and myself are the NAMRC facilitators for the meetings. We make sure notes are taken and the group
stays on track with the meeting. It’s a
very productive gathering. I take a
little personal pride in the fact that it was through the LUN (neutral, no
dues, non member stealing group that it is) that I was able to get all the
major four-wheel drive leaders to the first meeting in Vegas back in November
1997. Back then we called it the Meeting
of the Minds (MOM). It took the help
of a lot of folks networking on the phone and email to get us started, but once
we hit the ground, we hit it running.
NAMRC
has now taken its place in the world of trail use
coordination/cooperation. Leaders from
all sorts of groups will be involved and helping to build an Action Plan to
take back to our parent organizations to fight to keep public lands available
and open to the public. Our parent
organizations still have the option how much they want to be included; but the
handwriting is on the wall. We all want
the same things.
Here
is the adopted MISSION of NAMRC: an alliance of many organizations that
accomplishes many purposes to include: facilitate communications; share
information, expertise and resources to enhance unity; and help the organized
motorized recreation community and other interested groups become more
effective in their efforts to maintain, improve and expand opportunities and
experiences in our many forms of recreation.
The future is now. Please offer the support of your
organization/interest to ensure the success of NAMRC. We can make a difference. Can you imagine the strength of all
motorized recreation groups banding together to unite our battles against those
who oppose our form of recreation? Stand
by radical protectionists, there’s a new kid on the block with a big (and
effective) mouth!!
Feel
free to write or email if you have any questions or concerns.
Del
Albright
AFTER
NOTE:
We
later, as a group, established this foundation:
PURPOSE: The NAMRC group proclaimed the
strengths and resources of NAMRC to be:
· Sharing
of Newsletters and information
· Ability
to collaborate and do fund-raising events
· Developing
equipment manufacturing relationships
· Regional
Networking
· Volunteer
force building
· Web page
sharing and development
· Youth
Program sharing, ideas and development
· Core
workshops for volunteers
· Internet
mailing lists
· Ability
to transfer and share knowledge and resources
· Legislative
and regulatory tracking
· Building
a cadre of youthful leadership
· Ability
to monitor CFR and Distribute Information
· Able to
tap into Dedicated Executive Boards
· Special
Event participation
· Affiliations
with Peterson media (at the time)
· Training
and other materials/resources from groups like NOHVCC and BlueRibbon
Coalition
· Sharing
of experienced competitive infrastructure, safety and sanctioning
· Lobbying
expertise and ideas.
##
Del
