A LASTING LEGACY

By Donald Amador

The off-road motorcycle racing community has more than its fair share of champions that include Malcolm Smith, John Penton, Dick Burleson, Scott Summers, Scot Harden, Rodney Smith, David Knight and many others. They left a gift or legacy of a very popular sport for current and future generations of competitors to enjoy. They inspired me to take up riding enduros for a time in the mountains and foothills of Northern and Central California but most importantly they fired up my passion for trail riding with family and friends. Often those outings included riding Forest Service trails and at certain state vehicular recreation areas such as Carnegie and Hollister Hills SVRAs.

When closures on some of those public land trails started to occur in the late 1980s due to restrictive land use legislation, I redirected some of my enthusiasm towards finding a way to keep OHV use from being listed as an “endangered” form of outdoor recreation. Like my racing heroes, my land-use career started by searching for off-road “advocacy” champions. Heroes I could learn from and partner with on strategies and efforts to avert what seemed to be certain doom for the powersports industry and their customers – which included me!

Little did I know unlike racing, there was not a large cadre of seasoned OHV advocates. More like a small group of folks that could all fit around one table at any McDonalds or Burger King! Fortunately, I found a seat in the corner booth with Clark Collins who had just recently founded the BlueRibbon Coalition. I flew to Salt Lake City to meet him and the board to learn firsthand what could be done.

In 1990, I decided to join the team at BRC where I honed my political and policy skills under Clark’s mentorship. In those formative years, I often worked with the organization’s attorney, Paul Turcke, on key legal battles at the national level.

Since a lot of my OHV work at BRC was centered in California, it did not take long for me to meet another OHV advocacy icon, Ed Waldheim. It was Ed who was instrumental in pushing for the legislation that launched the CA OHV Program in 1972. Ed was also a mentor and friend who taught me the value of never giving up on an issue, engaging with decision-makers, leading by example and finding/presenting solutions… kind of like having Dick Burleson teach you timekeeping for an Enduro or having Scot Harden show you how to read a Dakar Rally roll chart!

Ed and Clark are the real champions of off-road recreation. Their effective and passionate advocacy for OHV recreation is one reason that the powersports community has a seat at the table in Washington D.C. and in many state capitols to this day. Sadly, both of my advocacy heroes passed away within a week or two of each other during the 2019 Thanksgiving Day and Christmas holiday season.

However they gifted us with a legacy of continued access to public lands for current and future generations of off-road enthusiasts. Their early efforts still pay tangible dividends to the aftermarket, OEMS and dealers who sell OHVs and aftermarket supplies.

This New Year let us all resolve to leave a similar legacy so that outdoor recreationists can continue to enjoy our sport for many decades to come.

Don Amador has been in the trail advocacy and recreation management profession for almost 29 years. Don is President of Quiet Warrior Racing/Consulting. Don served as a contractor to the BlueRibbon Coalition from 1996 until June, 2018. Don served on the California OffHighway Motor Vehicle Recreation Commission from 1994-2000. He has won numerous awards including being a 2016 Inductee into the OffRoad Motorsports Hall of Fame and the 2018 Friend of the AMA Award. Don currently serves as the government affairs lead for AMA District 36 in Northern California. He may be reached via email at: damador@quietwarriorracing.com

Plea se tread l ig htly a nd t rave l onl y o n rou te s an d in are as des ignated ope n for m otor veh icle us e. R emembe r, R espe c ted Access is Open Acces s.