Some Current Examples of What BlueRibbon Coalition Does for You!
BlueRibbon provides: unparalleled advocacy
After 20 years of continuous advocacy for recreation, BlueRibbon Coalition (BRC) has earned significant credibility with land managing agencies, Congress, and the courts as a strong voice for recreation and access. Our coordinated efforts at local, state and federal levels have ensured that recreationists are no longer considered "politically insignificant."
- BRC is nationally respected as a valuable ally by other recreation groups and as a formidable adversary by anti-access groups.
- BRC is regularly quoted or referenced by major media as a credible and definitive national source of information on recreation issues.
- BRC was instrumental in passing the legislation that authorized the Recreational Trails Program (RTP). This legislation is still the most significant legislative accomplishment of the off-highway recreation community. BRC continues to be deeply involved in its continued success.
- As states and the Forest Service ponder the fate of 60 million acres of "Roadless" land, a BRC representative was appointed to the Roadless Area Conservation National Advisory Committee (RACNAC), a 13-member committee that is assisting the Secretary of Agriculture in evaluating state petitions on changes to management of Roadless Areas.
- The BlueRibbon Coalition plays a vital role in helping enthusiasts work with both the Forest Service and the BLM to develop and implement current travel management plans that provide enjoyable experiences while protecting resources.
- BRC works one-on-one with land managers at all levels. This complements our grassroots involvement with clubs and enthusiasts nationally, ensuring access and opportunity for generations to come.
- The BlueRibbon Coalition's alternative "Back Country Recreation Area" designation continues to gain ground and is helping resolve the long debate over Wilderness designation.
- Because scandals involving the Endangered Species Act (ESA) continue to emerge, BRC continues to vigorously oppose misapplication of the ESA. We stress the importance of sound science as the foundation of public lands management.
- Through our nationally distributed BlueRibbon Magazine, our sharetrails.org website and our web-based alert system, BlueRibbon keeps recreationists informed and up-to-date on important issues affecting recreation across the country.
BlueRibbon Legal: Taking advocacy to the courts
Our Legal Action Fund "speaks softly and carries a big stick." It has been instrumental in countering an endless stream of litigation by the anti-access crowd. Since 1996, the BlueRibbon legal team has taken the lead in dozens of lawsuits throughout the country defending reasonable recreational access. A few examples are listed below:
- Successful defense of Yellowstone snowmobile access in all courts and Congress starting in 1997.
- Filed lawsuit leading to the re-opening of Lake Powell (Utah/Arizona 2003) to personal watercraft.
- Longstanding involvement in Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and US Forest Service (USFS) wilderness study area litigation spanning numerous district (Montana, Utah) and circuit courts of appeals, and ultimately resulting in a sweeping 9-0 victory in the U.S. Supreme Court in Norton v. SUWA.
- First legal action program to attain intervenor status in critical California Desert Conservation Area litigation affecting Glamis and other popular destinations. Defended vehicle access in negotiations allowing continued riding in these areas despite BLM's admission to violation of the Endangered Species Act.
- Forced forest-wide access planning and obtained attorney fee award in trail-based litigation on the Eldorado National Forest (California).
- Temporarily blocked settlement agreement between anti-access groups and the Clinton Administration Department of Justice that altered appeal regulations (Illinois).
- Lead litigant in key "roadless" area cases since 1999, including Idaho case that temporarily enjoined the Clinton Roadless rule.
- Spearheaded defense of Clear Creek Management Area road and single track riding against ESA lawsuit (California).
- Ongoing and thus far successful involvement in court and before the Forest Service to support reasonable snowmobile access in endangered caribou habitat in Northern Idaho/Washington.
- Successfully appealed a "Total Closure" option of the Angelina National Forest in Texas and thwarted an identical effort on the Holly Springs National Forest in Mississippi.
May of 2007 marks 20 years of the BlueRibbon Coalition working together with you, and we look forward to many more. Much has been accomplished, but we are reminded daily that there is still much to do.