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By: Robert Janis
Americans for
Responsible Recreational Access Is a Major
Advocate for Public Land Recreation
If you are member of a state or local
off-road vehicle recreational association or
club, then you know that access to trails on
public lands is a major issue. It is also a
national issue. A major advocate concerning this
issue is Americans for Responsible Recreational
Access (ARRA).
Based in Washington, D.C., the ARRA was founded
in 2000. Today it is financially supported by a
host of organizations that favor off-road
recreation including the Motorcycle Industry
Council (MIC) and the Specialty Vehicle
Institute of America (SVIA).
The group’s mission is to ensure that Americans
are not arbitrarily denied the right to
responsibly experience and enjoy public lands.
“We have found that some people and
organizations are opposed to off-highway vehicle
recreation on public lands,” explained
Larry
Smith, executive director of ARRA. “Rather than
to try and work cooperatively in solving
conflict issues, some anti-access groups only
support banning OHV access to public lands.
ARRA’s mission is to find solutions to conflict
situations so that OHV access can be maintained
for all to enjoy and especially future
generations of OHV enthusiasts.”
Being a national advocacy organization, the
focus of the ARRA is the Congress and the main
federal land agencies including the U.S. Forest
Service, the Bureau of Land Management and the
National Park Service. “ARRA actively
participates in legislative forums on Capitol
Hill such as testifying before congressional
committees and subcommittees and generating
ideas for legislative solutions to an array of
issues affecting access to federal public
lands,” explained Smith.
Smith performs the lobbying work for the
organization. He is backed up by a number of
research assistants who track legislative and
regulatory issues. Moreover, the group works
closely with other organizations to increase its
clout on Capitol Hill and with the land
agencies. These groups include the All-Terrain
Vehicle Association (ATVA), the BlueRibbon
Coalition, (BRC) the American Motorcyclists
Association (AMA), the National Off-Highway
Vehicle Conservation Council (NOHVCC) the
Off-Road Business Association (ORBA), the
American Council of Snowmobile Associations
(ACSA) and more.
Although the group focuses exclusively on the
national level, it does provide counsel to local
groups who are battling local access to public
lands issues.
ARRA uses its website to educate and motivate
its members. According to Smith, “We communicate
with our members through our website on a
regular basis by providing up-to-date
information on federal legislation and federal
regulatory issues affecting our public lands. We
seek to offer our members opportunities where
they can provide input with the appropriate
officials when decisions are being made that
could affect policies governing public land
use.” The website (www.arra-access.com)
also includes news on regional access issues,
federal legislative and regulatory updates and
other relevant news.
The organization claims to have 50,000 members.
Smith explained that a number of national user
organizations belong to ARRA as well as
thousands of individuals who register on the
ARRA website. “Members are a key resource of
information on what is happening in the 50
states,” said Smith. “With ARRA being based in
the Nation’s Capital, it’s impossible to know
all that is happening on access issues in the
states. We have two-way communication with ARRA
members. We send them information about what is
happening in Washington and they send us
information about what is happening with the
federal lands agencies in their respective
states and communities.”
Benefits of being a member of ARRA include being
in the loop concerning all major federal
developments having to do with OHV recreation
and access and it provides a platform for
members to influence federal policies by
contacting representatives in Congress and
federal land managers on issues that affect
outdoor recreation.
Any outdoor recreation enthusiast who acts
responsibly when visiting and recreating on
public lands and who wants to make a difference
when it comes to policies governing ATV and
other OHV recreation federal access issues is
encouraged to join ARRA.
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