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By: Robert Janis
Trails and More
Trails Is the Focus of the Northern Virginia
Trail Riders
Many off-road associations get involved to
assure that access to off-road riding trails are
achieved. One such group is the Northern
Virginia Trail Riders (NVTR).
Founded in 1970, the mission of the NVTR is
to promote the sport of off-road motorcycle and
all-terrain vehicle riding. “Our goal is
benefiting the sport--and ourselves--by
identifying riding areas, sponsoring
competitions, fun events, and public awareness
programs,” asserted Jim Cowgill, legislative
officer for NVTR. “The aim has always been to
provide high quality riding experiences for our
members.”
Trail access is most important to the
organization. That is why it has developed a
history with the George Washington National
Forest. “To pursue our goals, our club, in
cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service, builds
and maintains multi-user trails in the George
Washington National Forest,” said Cowgill. “Our
club coordinated closely with the Forest
Service, helping to craft a user fee system that
returns all fees paid exclusively for trail
construction and maintenance in the Tasker Gap
OHV Area near Edinburg, Virginia. Also, we are
the only organization in the area applying for
and receiving approved Federal RTP Grants for
maintaining the trail system for ATVers and
other users.”
The group also helps to promote the sport of
ATV racing and recreation by having its ATV
members participate in the NVTR Spring Trail
Ride, an AMA-sanctioned non-competition event.
In addition, the group holds a Spring Trail Ride
each year that raises several thousands of
dollars for the Optimist Club Youth Scholarship
Program in King George County, Virginia. The
event actually garnered $4,000 in 2008. “This
not-for-profit off-road riding club also
sponsors a sanctioned motorcycle Observed Trails
Competition each September in the Shenandoah
Valley of Virginia,” added Cowgill. And members
have participated in well known off-road racing
events. For example, club president Brad Convis
races in the Baja 1000; member Joey Giordano
raced in the “Last Man Standing” off-road race
and won a silver medal representing the U.S. in
the International Six-Day Enduro in Chile. The
event is a world-class, Olympic-level
motorsports competition, added Cowgill.
“Members assist the organization by
participating. They perform all tasks necessary
for conducting events such as trail rides;
observe trails and participation in the Suzuki
National Shenandoah 500 Dual Sports Ride as well
as in legislative projects. Members are also
active in planning and supporting events
sponsored by other clubs like the Green Marble
Enduro,” said Cowgill.
Benefits of being a member include riding
opportunities, access to subsidized camping and
the chance to participate in unique civic
activities. For example, NVTR members pre-ride
and screen the course for the 100-mile horseback
endurance and entered the first motorized
off-road riding unit in the National Memorial
Day Parade in Washington, D.C.
According to Cowgill, the most urgent issue
confronting ATV riders in Virginia is access to
legal riding areas. “Availability of legal
places to ride threatens all motorized off-road
recreational riders in Virginia,” said Cowgill.
The organization is confronting the issue by its
participation in the Tasker Gap OHV Area of the
George Washington National Forest, and it has
also coordinated access to land of private
landowners for conducting riding events.
Cowgill volunteered that every member is a
lobbyist for the NVTR agenda. “While we have
only one elected legislative officer, each
member is responsible for alerting the
membership to legislative issues of interest and
for advancing the club’s position by legal and
constructive means,” said Cowgill.
Lobbying of the Virginia Legislature is done
by direct contact with key legislators via
telephone, e-mail, and snail-mail letter
writing. “At a recent meeting, every member
present wrote a personal letter to the chairman
of a committee considering a bill restricting
children’s dirt bike riding,” said Cowgill. “The
bill never made it to the floor of the
legislature. We also successfully opposed
draconian ‘anti-noise’ legislation that, if
enacted, would have foreclosed off-road riding
in general.” And the one lobbyist for the group
not only works the state but also the federal
government. For example, he attended a full U.S.
Senate Committee hearing on ATV management on
public federal lands.
The NVTR supports court actions taken by
advocacy groups as plaintiffs. In this endeavor
it has supported the American Motorcyclists
Association and out-of-state organizations on
issues of merit. “We attend National Forest
Master Plan public meetings and we submitted out
goals concerning increasing trail mileage for a
recent meeting on the George Washington National
Forest,” added Cowgill. “And a representative of
the club attended the U.S. Senate Energy and
Natural Resources Committee hearing on ATV
management on federal public lands.”
In addition, many of the organization members
are members of such groups as the BlueRibbon
Coalition, The National Off-Highway Vehicle
Conservation Council and other recreational
trails organizations. “These members keep the
rest of us informed of these organizations’
concerns and activities through sharing
newsletters and alerts,” said Cowgill.
The group also has a website (www.nvtr.org)
which is used to highlight riding areas as well
as past and future events and disseminates
information about NVTR.
Cowgill concluded that anyone who has an
interest in off-road riding can join the NVTR.
The only requirement is that they also be a
member of the AMA/ATVA.
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