Any BlueRibbons here?

A little soapbox and/or editorial...

As many of you may have gathered, the off-road community is about as organised as the middle east. The dirt bike guys don't talk to the 4 wheelers who don't talk the ATV group who don't talk to the ... Ad nauseum. Within our own 4X4 community the Jeep guys don't talk to the Toyota guys ... well, you get the picture.

At the same time, the green community has formed, at the very least, a loose coalition that has turned into a $4.5 billion a year industry. That money finances their constant lawsuits that continues to whittle down the areas open to us.

In our normal, non-directional form we cannot hope to counter the threat from from the greens. This is where the BRC comes in. They are the only organisation out there that attempts to represent us all. However, in order to represent us they need membership dollars 'cause the bottom feeders don't work for free no matter how noble the cause.

I urge everyone in our community to join the BRC and to donate whatever extra they can when they can. At this point in time, the BRC is our only hope to counter the green agenda. Individual membership is only $20 a year and in my opinion a wise investment.

[soapbox off]

Go here to see what we are up against

http://www.earthshare.org/

Most area 4wd clubs in the south are a part of the Southern Four Wheel Drive Association (SFWDA) which is also a member of the United Four Wheel Drive Association (UFWDA). (I am sure many of you are members of local clubs who are affiliated with United.) Both organizations promote responsible land use and have political/legal committees and/or members whose job is to educate the member's and to
confront these issues at the local, state, and national levels.
The first responsible act anyone who uses off road vehicles of any type, or likes to restore and drive older vehicles, is to join an organized local club that also has national affiliations. You get to meet people with like interests, have fun doing what you like, and are recognized as a group rather than an individual.
I, personally, am not a member of the Blue Ribbon Coalition but do read some of their press releases occasionally. Also, I am not 100% in support of all of their efforts, but yes, they do try to represent the entire OHV community.
The "greens" are well organized and will impulsively send out letters, emails, make phone calls, lobby state and national leaders, and show up at meetings and rallys to further their agenda. Their organizations are not, say, a group of hikers who don't want us in "their" forests, they are members of the Sierra Club, PETA, Earth Alive!, etc., who join through a sense of compassion for a single issue but are then used to further the organization's ulterior political motives. Many times these members do not even know that their dues and donations are being used for issues other than their single issue for which they joined. They just like the "feeling" they get that they have helped our environment with their money.
I have been an officer of my local 4wd club and it is like pulling teeth to get members to go to a website, put their name on a form letter, and hit "send" to respond to an issue of great importance. I have gone as far as to print letters and envelopes, have the club supply postage and to mail the letters. All the member's had to do was to address and sign the letters and we got maybe twenty letters from them. It can take as little as a few to turn the tide on some issues but many times, we don't even have that.
Our government is a democracy. As screwed up as it is, it is still the best in the world. We all have a voice if we will just use it.
I do agree with Rockcrusher that we should all look into the BRC and consider joining. You all know that we can blow $20 in a brief stop at the auto parts store and hardly notice it gone or be able to find the parts when we get home!

AND I just joined the BRC!
It took maybe two minutes.

I want to follow what they're doing for a while. It seems like their basic ideals are right, but something seems just a little off. Maybe not. I hope my boys can still Jeep, and theirs after them (especially since it'll take that long to finish my CJ5)