Why Tread Lightly!...?

EricW said:

I was curious Tread Lightly, how is your organization funded? I know it costs to do advocacy work and hold events. Just wondering. Thanks. EW

Click to expand...

MT Backcountry said:

Very good question EricW, As i would also like to know this?
:face-icon-small-coo

Click to expand...

Fair questions. Two quick clarifications before I dive into that... One, we do not advocate/lobby. We are a 501c3 that is focused on education and stewardship. We also rarely "host" an event, but rather attend events that are hosted by others... Usually at pro-bono.

Back on topic... We are a membership-based organization. We have members ranging from individuals to clubs to businesses that pay, and many alliance and government partnerships that do not. Our last federal analysis came back that about 90cents on every dollar of membership is returned to the ground through our education and stewardship programs. That other 10cents? Well, you gotta keep the lights on in the office, you know?

We also seek grants and funding from other sources to supplement certain projects. Our Tread Trainer program is funded primarily through the RTP funds collected by the Federal Highway Administration. These funds are supplemented (very lightly) by the course fees, although that mainly pays for the curriculum manuals and materials. We have received grants through Yamaha and Polaris for years to assist with specific projects, most recently on our Respected Access is Open Access campaigns. We also have challenge cost share money from the feds, and apply for state grants. We are currently waiting to hear back on Utah and California, through their OHV registration programs.

A list of current partners can be found here: http://www.treadlightly.org/page.php/partners-current/Current-Official-Partners.html

Last check I did, we had over 3000 paying individual members... But i'm not the membership person, so if you guys want that number, i'm happy to ask.


Does that answer the question? If not, let me know.

OuraySledder said:

Why tread lightly?

Because that is what the establishment wants you to do. That way they can control your recreational opportunities.

Using this plan you can expect your liberties to be further violated and restricted.

Click to expand...

Unfortunately, that's not really the way you should look at it... We don't "control" or "violate" or "restrict" anything. We provide guidelines and support stewardship. Its up to you to decide what actions to take... We're not babysitters and we're not cops.


Are you familiar with the "Tragedy of the Commons"? This was a principle based on the premise that a common area owned by the public, that was left to the devices of each person to manage, would ultimately be tragically destroyed. Why? Because of the selfish desire for "my needs" to be fulfilled, the needs to balance and manage for the common good of the public would be overlooked. This results in the "tragedy of the commons". I see it two ways... Without respect and management for the common good, the resources we currently enjoy can potentially be lost/damaged. I see another tragedy though, one that I didn't learn in economics, I learned years later as trails were being shut down. That is the tragic loss of access, whether it is because of that damage or over-stressing of resources or because of a fear of that resulting in a restrictive management change. Both losses carry their own weight of tragedy.

So how does this relate to Tread Lightly? Well, we provide tools and encouragement to share and take care of our public lands for ALL. Not for any single group. The U.S. is blessed with millions of acres of public lands. Much of that access has already been restricted, and we want to provide science-based guidance as to behaviors and ethics that help to ensure there is no argument to restrict more. We promote stewardship... Whether its making sure the trash you come with leaves with you, or whether its devoting a weekend to working on a trail you never use because you don't do the summer trail sports. I tell people often that the unfortunate goal of my career is to put myself out of a job... If everyone got along and everyone respected the resources and balanced their use accordingly... We simply wouldn't exist.


Now, after that... If you still want to see what we do as "restrictive" or as a "method to violate your liberties"... Then, well... Maybe we can go sled sometime and talk about it out there. I don't get out often, but do love the opportunity.

Now... onto the post I came here to make... Haha

Well... if it just hasn't been a busy couple of months.

Where have we been?
Denver St. Patricks Day Parade (Guest appearance by LightFoot, with Stay The Trail) - March 17 in Denver, Colorado
National OHV Safety and Education Conference - March 26 and 27 in Sacramento, California
Easter Jeep Safari - April 4 to 8 in Moab, Utah
Stewardship Day @ The Capital - April 19 in Denver, Colorado
Scout-O-Rama - May 5 in Salt Lake City, Utah
Overland Expo - May 18 to 20 in Flagstaff, Arizona
Master Tread Trainer Course - May 26 in Portland, Oregon
Colorado State Parks Seasonal Training - May 30 at Sylvan Lake State Park, Colorado
Grand Mesa Jeep Club Show - June 2 in Grand Junction, Colorado
Colorado State Parks Seasonal Training - June 6 at Mueller State Park, Colorado
National Get Outdoors Day - June 9 in Salt Lake City, Utah
National Get Outdoors Day - June 9 in Denver, CO (Celebrating our mascot's 10th birthday!)

And on the heels of that, where are we going?
Master Tread Trainer Course for Stay The Trail - June 18th in Denver, Colorado
Sun Valley Adaptive Sports / Higher Ground Week - July 2 to July 6 in Sun Valley, Idaho area
FJ Summit (Including stewardship trail run day!) - July 18 to July 21 in Ouray, Colorado
Master Tread Trainer Course - August 28 to August 29 at Camp Sol R Crown in Wilmot, Wisconsin
National Order of the Arrow Conference (Boy Scouts of America) - August 1 to August 4 in East Lansing, Michigan
Master Tread Trainer Course (NOHVCC Conference) - August 21 in Great Falls, Montana
NOHVCC Conference - August 21 to August 25 in Great Falls, Montana

That sort of covers it... Please pay attention to our Tread Trainer Course listings for additional courses if you're interested in helping us promote the Tread Lightly! message throughout your area.

Tread Lightly! has also instituted a blog to give weekly updates on our goings-on. Have a look! http://treadlightlyoutdoors.wordpress.com/



Jason, Lori, and Justin with the mobile billboards sponsored by Drive Off-Road in Moab during EJS


Justin doing a workshop with seasonal employees from Colorado State Parks


Lightfoot with Woodsy and Smokey, at National Get Outdoors Day in Denver


Hanging out with Del from BRC and Matt from Stay The Trail Ambassadors, at the Grand Mesa Jeep Club Show

In addition to the stewardship grants program ( http://www.treadlightly.org/page.php/stewardshipgrants/ ), we are also about ready to start round 2 of our interpretive panel program. Over 2000 of these panels were placed last year on public lands throughout the country, promoting responsible use under our Ride On (motorized) and Respected Access (recreational shooting) campaigns. We are looking to place at least that number out again this year, so keep your eyes peeled.

http://www.respectedaccess.org/resources/kiosk-program/

We have some really big things coming down the trail at Tread Lightly!. Our memberships are up, our exposure is increasing through numerous outlets and partnerships, and we've had a huge response for donations for our annual eBay charity auction coming up later this year. We would like to say THANK YOU to all of our supporters, members, member clubs, and partners. Without your help, this wouldn't be possible.

Please consider joining Tread Lightly! and helping us continue to proactively maintain responsible access through ethics and stewardship. The list of benefits is long, but most importantly, you're helping to protect America's public lands and waterways for continued future use.

Good morning everyone, and welcome to August! Another month closer to winter :hail:

We've been busy, yet again... What's that? You'd like a quick run-down? Absolutely... Here goes:

Where we've been-
Master Trainer Course (hosted by Stay The Trail Colorado) - June 18 in Denver, CO
Awareness Workshop for Cheyenne Mountain State Park - June 28 in Colorado Springs, CO
Tread Trainer Course (hosted by Sun Valley Adaptive Sports) - July 2 in Sun Valley, ID
Mountain Bike Nationals at Sun Valley - July 4-6 in Sun Valley, ID
FJ Summit - July 19-21 in Ouray, CO
Master Trainer Course at Camp Sol R Crown (hosted by the Boy Scouts of America) - July 28 and 29 in Wilmot, WI
National Order of the Arrow Conference - July 31 to August 4 in East Lansing, MI

Where are we headed?
Bass Pro Shops Land and Wildlife Expo - August 10-11 in Nashville, TN (Tread Trainers staffing)
CAST for Kids - August 11 at Strawberry Res, UT
NOHVCC Conference - August 21-25 in Great Falls, MT
Tread Trainer Course (hosted by Northeast Ohio 4x4) - September 31 in Windham, OH
Master Trainer Course (hosted by Rausch Creek Off-Road Park) - October 6-7 in Tremont, PA
BSA Outdoor Ethics Conference - October 24-27 in Hot Springs, AR
SEMA - October 30 to November 2 in Las Vegas, NV
Master Trainer Course (hosted by Uwharrie Off Road Training Center) - November 16-17 in Uwharrie, NC

If you are interested in participating or hosting a Master Trainer or Tread Trainer course in your area, please check the website. We will be getting the 2013 schedule running soon - http://www.treadlightly.org/page.php/programs-treadtrainer/treadtrainer.html


Our educational posters program is up and running, including making these posters available for purchase by land managers and partner organizations. These can be fully customized to address the needs of the area, including over-the-snow uses. For more information on this program - http://www.treadlightly.org/page.php/programs-rapanels/




A few pics for you all:


Jason covering learning styles with a Master Trainer course in Sun Valley, ID


Our new Master Trainers with the Boy Scouts


Justin teaching awareness courses at the National Order of the Arrow Conference in East Lansing, MI


Our Stewardship run group at FJ Summit in Ouray, CO


And because they're fun... A friendly "tip of the day"

Under the principle of "Do Your Part", as we move into the later days of Summer (thankfully), there is still plenty of time to be involved outdoors. Keep your eye out for stewardship opportunities in your area and lend a hand. Taking even a tiny bit of time out of your day to pick up trash or fix a trail issue helps to promote the positive side of our community. A recent blog post from our Education and Stewardship Programs Manager going into a little more detail on the topic - http://treadlightlyoutdoors.wordpress.com/2012/07/10/because-sometimes-its-the-little-things/


Happy snow dancing...!

EricW and MT Backcountry... Did that post answer your questions about our funding sources?

Good evening all!

We hope that you've all been having a great trail season, and especially hope that everyone got a chance to see the fantastic changing of the colors going on throughout the country.

As the trail season winds down, and gear and your trail machine are getting stowed for the season, we'd like to encourage everyone to take that few extra minutes during the pre-storage maintenance to put in a little cleaning time. As with our riding season recommendation of cleaning your bike/quad/4x4 to help stop the spread of invasive species, the pre-storage cleaning provides a perfect time to take a fine-toothed brush to it and really clean out those wheel-wells, skid plates and undercarriage, floorboards, and the like to get rid of any unwanted hitchhikers. As our mothers always told us... "Your room will be easier to clean if you just KEEP it clean". Well thanks Mom, we get it now. Keeping our trail vehicles clean after our adventures makes it easier to clean up next time, and helps us all by keeping native plants where they belong.

And for the family haulers, tow-rigs and 4x4's, here's a great solution to containing the snow, slush, dirt, grass, and anything else your shoes may pick up outside once you've gotten that rig all spotless... New floormats! And since you're getting new floormats... Maybe some that say "Tread Lightly!" like these from our proud partners at Drive OffRoad.com???

So. Once that snow falls, and the trail rig goes to sleep for the winter (unless you're like us and don't mind a little snow-bashing here and there) please consider taking that extra step. Your gear will thank you, and so will we. Have a great upcoming weekend everyone!

Happy Sunday everyone!

Just wanted to pass on a little update with a couple big items...

First, as you've all probably seen with prior posts, we have been steadily increasing our involvement with the Boy Scouts of America and their Outdoor Ethics programming since we signed our agreement with them in 2010. Complimenting the human-powered backcountry ethics provided by Leave No Trace, Tread Lightly! has been asked to directly provide responsible use training and education concerning the mechanized, motorized (including snowmobile), and shooting programs within the BSA. Over the last week, we attended the Outdoor Ethics Conference in Arkansas, providing a Tread Trainer course specifically tailored to those programs for over 60 council educators from across the country, as well as other coursework and sitting on an ethics panel in cooperation with LNT. This is sparking a huge opportunity for Tread Lightly! as we move towards further integration into those specific programs in the Nation's largest youth serving organization. For Scouts and leaders, stay tuned to the BSA Outdoor Ethics page for further information, including the soon-to-be announced new award structure for Outdoor Ethics. http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/OutdoorProgram/OutdoorEthics.aspx



Second... For those of you heading to Las Vegas for the SEMA show this coming week, please make sure to visit Tread Lightly! and meet the staff in cooperation with our friends at Omix-ADA. We'll be meeting with our partners, developing new partners, and looking to increase the resources and support that help us provide quality, relevant resources as we strive to increase the balanced protection of natural resources and continued access. More info- http://semashow.com/

Last but certainly not least... Don't forget that our annual eBay charity auction will open early on November 1st. Get those bids in on products for your outdoor adventures, taking advantage of bidding that begins well below retail value. http://www.treadlightly.org/page.php/auction/auction!.html

And until next time...
Happy Trails.

OuraySledder said:

I have read this response and the funding response, which I was also very interested to see.

Please stop trying to take money from my state, where I pay taxes. I do not desire nor require your services here, and I certainly do not want to keep paying your wages for some touchy feely project of yours.

I don't know what state you're from (although I can assume CO), but i'll say this... If you feel that promoting responsible behavior and stewardship is nothing more than our "touchy feely" project, you are more than welcome to comment on the public review section of our grant applications within the OHV programs (assuming we've applied for one there). We always welcome constructive criticism.

You might not enjoy sledding with me, I can't seem to find those lines painted in the snow. Late Feb, early Mar is the best riding though, come on down, we'll scare the pants off ya.

Thanks for the offer. Might have to send one of the few full-timers down for that though, since I personally don't work for TL fulltime, and will be up in Alaska working for a heli-skiing company that time of year. Maybe you want to sled the Chugach?

I just do not feel this is something we need when times are tight folks. Teach your damn kids and we wouldn't need these clowns. Teaching your own kids is rewarding and free. I even take others out and teach them for free, be it auto mechanics, sledding, hunting, off-road driving. I have personally been a part of sharing the hows and whys of spending time in the woods for decades. The difference is, I do it for the right reasons, you guys do it to get paid and live this vacation-like life attending events for free... well on the taxpayers dime. Get off the tit man, then you might see some respect.

"off the tit". That's funny. Anyway, I will not disagree that part of what we do is/should be common sense. Sadly, I think we can all agree as well that common sense is not so "common" anymore. I applaud you for doing what you do to teach; hopefully its helping to keep responsible access in your area.

Since you did bring up an assumption on motivation... I wanted to clarify that I do this because I grew up in Colorado and want to be able to continue doing all the things I have grown up doing (sleds, dirt bikes, my money-pit Jeep, shooting, climbing... you get the idea) in the future. I, like you, spend my personal time (read that: unpaid) in the outdoors with friends being a teacher and mentor and trying to get more folks outside. I volunteered through the Boy Scouts, OHV groups, and other educational groups for years before I was offered any job doing this. I have since returned to volunteering and a little part-time work here and there, but the motivation is still there. Keep our public lands in great condition while allowing for the traditional uses we've enjoyed for decades. Everyone can play. As to the "vacation" comment... Well, outside appearances may seem to support that... but i'll assure you that the folks on payrolls in this industry spend a lot of time staring at management plans and studies and in meetings and conference calls trying to give land managers tools to encourage and allow responsible use versus closing them off; not just outside playing. Just saying.

I also question much of the content you put forward. We as outdoor recreationalists need to be fighting to open more opportunitites, not to follow the lead of our supposed "leaders". That process is badly corrupted. More and more land is legislated "off limits" every year. That is just plain wrong and preaching it is our own fault, showing shot up signs, is absolutely the wrong tact. You are on the wrong side. Your actions enable the liberals to continue to lock land up, and we continue to fund it. Maybe I'll forgo the registration on my sleds this winter as a protest. Maybe I should write the state in protest of your funding...

Click to expand...

Not the first time that argument has come up and I welcome the question. Some of our advertising has been focused on the issue itself, some of it on modeling the proper behavior. Why? Because no single type of advertising, outreach, etc will resonate with everyone. So we switch it up from time to time. I'll invite you in the same way I did the last guy who brought up the negative messaging... Please feel free to contribute your thoughts on what you think will work to promote/support continued responsible access.

As to us "fighting to open more"... We are not in the business of lobbying, but i'll say this. Fighting for more includes having realistic expectations as to what the condition of that land will look like with recreation (or any other managed use for that matter), and having positive examples of behaviors that balance the access we all want with conservation of the surrounding resources is one of the best tools you can take to the table. Even BRC and NOHVCC use responsible use as a part of the foundations of their efforts.

Forgoing the sled registration? Whatever works for you, but 2 things to keep in mind with that... 1) We probably don't get any money from your sled registration fees. I'm not certain we've ever applied to a state snowmobile program for funding. 2) Sled fees usually help to fund grooming, parking area construction, etc.

Anyway, i'll wrap this up... And to do so, I offer you this.

"A difference in opinions is what makes horse racing and missionaries" ~Will Rogers

Cheers.

-Justin