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By: Robert Janis
The Arkansas
OHV Conservation Association:
Getting the Grass Roots Involved
They say that change is better achieved from
the bottom up than the top down. That appears to
be the philosophy of the Arkansas Off-Highway
Vehicle Conservation Association (AOCA). The
organization was created in January 2008 to
represent off-highway vehicle interests in
Arkansas and to work on issues in cooperation
with land managers, legislators, and educators
to conserve, expand, enhance, and protect
responsible OHV recreation opportunities.
According to Darren Linn, president of the
association, it does not have lobbyists to push
its issues with the state government. Instead,
it relies on its members to lobby, educate, and
work with the state to solve issues of interest
to the OHV community. “Our influence is on a
personal level,” said Linn. It encourages
individual members as well as local clubs to get
involved. “Individual membership in the AOCA is
important; however, we also stress the
importance of local organizations. The AOCA is
an umbrella, and the local clubs are the heart
and soul of any successful OHV state.”
With
this in mind, it encourages the importance of
organizing. It helps to create local clubs using
materials from the National Off-Highway Vehicle
Conservation Council (NOHVCC). These materials
provide step-by-step information on how to form
a club.
The AOCA also gets involved and
provides support to “anything the local clubs
are doing,” said Linn. This can include helping
to organize events, work days, and more.
The
AOCA informs, educates, and motivates its
members by showing how each issue relates to
them and what the consequences and rewards can
be for the community as a whole if they get
involved. The group directs members to the
appropriate agency or legislator depending on
the issue. Members are also encouraged to get
involved with national organizations related to
off-highway vehicle recreation. These groups
include the National ATV Association, the
American Motorcyclists Association, Tread
Lightly, the BlueRibbon Coalition, and more.
Like with most off-highway vehicle associations
around the country, the major issue for the
Arkansas Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation
Association is access. “It’s access with a
capital A,”quipped Linn. “Arkansas has just
undergone the Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM) in
both national forests. We have no motorized use
on State Parks. This issue covers both the
recreational riders and racers.”
Linn
admitted that the AOCA is about “10 years too
late. We are having to start from scratch,” said
Linn. “We are currently spending a lot of time
developing relationships with our land managers.
We are also trying to build and develop a good
base of local clubs. Also, we are working the
education trenches. The NOHVCC has brought in
three workshops for us in less than a year, and
it is currently planning a fourth.”
The group
does not get involved in lawsuits. Instead, it
meets with forest service land managers and
tries to assist with their processes that can
affect OHV recreation, explained Linn.
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