Greg Mumm Greg lives in South Dakota and his interests include 4-Wheeling, fly-fishing, and camping. |
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The Open Gate
July/August 2009
By Greg Mumm
There are times when I write this column that I feel like I am writing the same thing over and over again. I suppose in a way I am. The problem is that periodically, even I feel like Chicken Little running around shouting, “The sky is falling! The sky is falling!”
I sometimes get emails in which people make that very comment. Here is an excerpt from the latest one of those emails (please note he is talking about the BlueRibbon Magazine and website and that this is exactly how I got his email, spelling errors and all).
“I work for a motorsports company that is a member of your organization so every month I get to peruse your magamzine and articles. Today was the first look at your website.
It is my personal opinion that if you actually had a message about OHV use and bendfits other than your “the sky is falling and the environmentalist are making it happen” rant repeated month after month you may actually get some traction from reasonable people who enjoy the outdoors in other fashions. I personally sail and ski but work with a bunch of dedicated folks who love their dirtbike. I acknowledge that everyone needs a place to play but you seem to want all the places open to your play.”
He couldn’t be further from the truth.
As I was working on my latest fix to my Land Cruiser this past weekend, it occurred to me once again that my joy with the Toyota’s I’ve owned (and well used) stems from where they have and continue to take me. In my life, I have stepped from the seat of my Cruiser to stand on the mountaintop and I’ve stepped from that same seat to look across the prairie. I have taken it to the seashore and I’ve taken it to the grocery store. I have driven to meetings to compel leaders, to watch my kids perform, to the doctor, to romance my wife, to make friends and to spend time with my friends. In one Cruiser or another, I’ve been blessed to spend time recreating. I’ve gone fishing, hunting, camping, boating, canoeing, rock crawling, rock hounding and much, much more. The Land Cruisers I’ve owned have and continue to be a vehicle in my life experience and I have yet to not be delivered safely there and back.
That is why I do what I do—why we do what we do at BlueRibbon Coalition—to preserve the ability to live life as an expedition, wherever that may take you and in whatever recreational pursuit that is your fancy. Everyone is motorized at some point when they visit our public lands, even those seeking what might traditionally be considered “non-motorized” pursuits. The access we seek to defend is not just for our play, it is to protect the ability for everyone to re-create themselves from time to time on our public lands and waters. Our outreach is not intended to be a rant. It is what we do.
There are issues going on literally all over the United States that affect recreational access. Some are new, some are not. Some are political, some administrative (agency related) and some are a combination of both. Some are national in scope and others more regional or localized. All of them are important and demand attention. Recreation doesn’t start when you are loading up to go. It started when someone made sure you had someplace to go after you got your stuff all packed.
My job is to make sure you are informed, to try to spur you to involvement, to make certain you know what is going on in the “playing field,” that you know how to be involved and to ensure that you have the tools and support to be effective in your involvement. It is a partnership. So I regularly point to where you can find that information you need to know, as it is breaking, on the BlueRibbon Coalition website at www.sharetrails.org. I encourage you to join us in our efforts and I encourage you to call if you need help.
