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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BLUERIBBON COALITION, INC.
RE: BLUERIBBON COALITION HONORS RECREATIONAL LEADERS
CONTACT: Mary Jo Foster
PHONE: 1-800-258-3742 (x105)
DATE: October 10, 2001
POCATELLO, ID -- The BlueRibbon Coalition is proud to announce the
winners of this year’s Awards Program for outstanding recreational
leaders. This year the Coalition has honored a number of award
recipients who have distinguished themselves in various fields
related to multiple-use recreation. The awards were unveiled at
the Fall Board Meeting Banquet in Pocatello, Idaho. This year’s
honorees were:
Federal Land Manager of the Year was awarded to Larry Tripp,
District Ranger, Mountain Home Ranger District, Boise National
Forest, United States Forest Service. Larry is a long-time
supporter of all forms of recreation. His district has an
outstanding system of snowmobile and single-track trails. In
recent years, he has taken the lead in developing a system of ATV
trails. Larry also took the lead in planning and hosting a
successful National Off Highway Vehicle Conservation Coalition (NOHVCC)
Off Highway Vehicle (OHV) Workshop. He also was directly involved
in planning and conducting an ATV survey and issuing an ATV &
Hunting Brochure.
State Land Manager of the Year was awarded to Kim Raap, Trails
Coordinator for Wyoming. Kim has led the charge for the State of
Wyoming in maintaining snowmobile access to Yellowstone National
Park. He has supported the BlueRibbon and American Council of
Snowmobile Associations (ACSA) Legal Action Task Force in its
efforts to keep Yellowstone open. Kim has been involved in several
Forest Plan revisions and has always worked to keep motorized
access to our public lands. Last year he was instrumental in the
creation of the Wyoming State OHV Registration Program.
State Legislator of the Year was awarded to Assemblyman John C.
Carpenter of Nevada. Mr. Carpenter was the key leader and
legislator involved in the South Canyon dispute. He has
demonstrated his commitment to public access on the national
forest systems lands for his constituents by peacefully fighting
for and successfully opening the Jarbidge South Canyon Road.
Scientist of the Year was awarded to Dr. Lori Fussell of Wyoming.
Dr. Fussell helped found the Society of Automotive Engineer’s (SAE)
Clean Snowmobile Challenge. She has spoken out about the
importance of using good science in determining the effect of
snowmobiles on the environment in Yellowstone National Park. In
addition, she has written many professional articles and letters
to the editor on the incorrect data that anti-snowmobile access
groups have used to press their agenda on our public lands. She
has conducted several workshops to establish the fact or fiction
of the claims made about snowmobile emissions.
Business Recreational Advocate of the Year was awarded to Doyle
Vaughan of Wyoming. Doyle is an active business member of the
Coalition. His business is marketing Amsoil products. He has
provided display space at no charge to the Coalition for
membership outreach at many regional events. In addition, he has
worked tirelessly to help educate snowmobilers on the issues
related to snowmobile access to Yellowstone National Park. He
successfully convinced all the outfitters in Jackson, Wyoming, to
use only synthetic snowmobile oil in their machines to help solve
the emission concerns. He and his wife Diana have worked closely
with the Wyoming Congressional delegation on recreation issues and
helped to initiate a dialog between the recreational community and
Vice President Cheney.
Individual Recreation Advocate of the Year was awarded to Bert
Smith of Wyoming. Bert has been a member of the BlueRibbon
Coalition since we were founded almost fifteen years ago. He has
been a strong advocate of recreation and the goals of BlueRibbon.
He has helped at county fairs with letter-signing campaigns and
has manned booths at regional events representing BlueRibbon. He
has been active on the Internet with outreach about the
Yellowstone National Park and snowmobile access issue. Bert has
also taken land managers on snowmobile outings to show them the
positive side of this form of recreation. He has made the time to
attend both the BlueRibbon Coalition General Membership Meeting
and regional meetings.
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