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Dedicated to conservation and multiple use of public lands for recreation opportunities Edited by: John Stewart |
United Four Wheel Drive Associations Director of Environmental Affairs
The 4x4Wire is proud to announce that John Stewart, Recreation Access and Conservation Editor has been elected Director of Environmental Affairs for the United Four Wheel Drive Associations.
As Director of Environmental Affairs for United Four Wheel Drive Associations, John will be providing member clubs and associations with information and assistance in organizing and dealing with environmental issues they encounter. The issues include public service activities such as trail cleanup and maintenance and fighting land and trail closures. The DEA also serves as the United's outreach contact to other recreation groups with similar interests.
As a member of the Tierra del Sol Four Wheel Drive Club of San Diego since 1994, John has served on the club Board of Directors for three terms, Conservation Chairman for six years, and is the current web master for the club web site (www.tds4x4.com).
TDS is noted for its annual Desert Safari run that has been held the first weekend of March for the past forty years and has attracted over 1,000 registered attendees for the past three years. John has held several positions in supporting that event including Trail Boss and Safari Chairman. As Safari Chairman for 2001 and 2002 events, he promoted a theme of Responsible Recreation and arranged for attendance by land use representatives from Blue Ribbon Coalition, United, California Off-Road Vehicle Association, Cal4Wheel and the San Diego Off-Road Coalition. These organizations were able to promote membership and inform the attendees of issues impacting access to public lands and both events collected significant donations to the Blue Ribbon Coalition Legal Defense Fund.
In February 2000, John began an affiliation with the 4x4Wire web site (www.4x4wire.com) as the Recreation Access and Conservation Editor and used that forum to alert the recreation community of threats to recreational access of public lands and encourage people to submit written comments to proposed land management plans.
Advocating open access to public lands carries a responsibility to be part of the solution for managing the lands. John is a strong proponent for Adopt-a-Trail participation and other community service activities where the recreation community is a participant in keeping access to lands to maintain access to public and private lands.
In accepting the position, John stated, "Access to public lands is not isolated to the United States. Canada and Mexico are also facing increased restrictions on motorized recreation on public lands. The driving force behind the increasing restrictions is a little known concept dubbed “The Wildlands Project”. Learning about and understanding how this concept is applied to designate wilderness areas is important to the recreation community. The Wildlands Project transcends geographic and political boundaries. To counter that, we, as motorized recreation, need to grow and embrace the new owners of off-highway vehicles. As recreationists, we need to transcend the differences of motorized, mechanical, equestrian and other recreation interests to preserve access to the outdoor experience."
"The threats to outdoor recreation, whether you ride, drive or hike, use motor vehicle, mountain bike, or horse, are continuing to grow."
"We, as recreation enthusiasts, have the ability to make a difference at the ballot box on November 5th. Our hope for public land access lies in electing federal, state, and local representatives that will represent our interests. Recreation access to public lands and private property rights are interwoven elements. The Sagebrush Rebellion and Sawgrass Rebellion show that access to public lands depends on private property rights."
"The Wildlands Project is the major threat faced by property owners and recreationists. It is alive and well in California and Florida and many states in between."
Access For All needs Responsible Recreation. It is all about access.