UFWDA Launches “Million Voices” Campaign

[RichardD]

United Four Wheel Drive Associations (UFWDA) today launches its “Million Voices” campaign to motivate new membership in the more than 30-year old organization. Individual membership for all new members is being offered at a discounted rate of $28 per year. The deadline to enroll with this discount is June 30th.

“The challenges before us to maintain access to public lands requires not only dollars but a strong and clear voice,” says Wayne Groom, President. “That's what this campaign is really about, the ability for us to have all the resources we need to be there and represent those who value and appreciate public lands.”

The bond among UFWDA’s members is the enthusiasm for the outdoors and the camaraderie enjoyed at 4-wheel drive events. Since the mid-1970s, the organization has served to speak on behalf of its members, ensuring that public and private trails are accessible, specifically for 4-wheel drive vehicles.

“Our public lands are being locked up in massive wilderness bills. Our favorite trails are threatened or are already closed. This is happening in your back yard or will soon,” says Dave Logan of Southern Four Wheel Drive Association.

On March 25, the Omnibus Public Lands Act put forward as the Battlefield Acquisitions bill won U.S. House approval in a 280 yea – 140 nay vote. It’s now ready for the president to sign into law. It provides the government's highest level of protection on land such as:

• 517,000 acres of wilderness in Idaho’s Owyhee-Bruneau Canyonlands
• 256,000 acres of wilderness in Washington County, Utah, including in Zion National Park
• Almost 250,0000 wilderness acres in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado
• 128,000 acres of wilderness around Mt. Hood in Oregon
• 53,000 acres of wilderness in Jefferson National Forest in Virginia

Logan continues, “Change is in the air. So, we have a choice. We can work together and spot each other through the obstacles by working slowly and carefully or we can turn around and go home.”

New members can join by going to the UFWDA website.

Contact:
Geraldine Grady
Director of Public Relations
804-381-1153


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United Four Wheel Drive Associations (UFWDA) is the leading representative for four wheel drive enthusiasts. UFWDA is a group of individuals, clubs, state, regional, provincial and national associations and businesses in the United States and around the world; our members span the globe from the U.S. and Canada, New Zealand, Australia, England, Japan, South Africa, and Iceland. If you would like more information on how you can be a part of this effort contact United Four Wheel Drive Associations today at 14525 SW Millikan Way #22622, Beaverton, OR 97005-2343, 1-800-448-3932 or visit the UFWDA website.

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[Utah_jeepster]

Now I know most of you are active jeepers in your neighborhood. And care what is happening locally, but I would like to add my adornment to Richard's. As most of you know, I am active in Utah's local political arena for the protection of the open access of Moab, Washington County (Zion National Park) and the San Raffle Swell. As I write this, I can look over to a shelf and still see the Draft RMP/Deis folder that the BLM field office handed out. I can still remember the hours spent in meetings and the hours spent on my letter writing campaign to keep it open for the next five years.

But this nothing compared to a bigger voice that we need in Washington, UFWDA just does not go to bat locally, but takes on the bigger political arena in Washington to keep all of the open places, well open. With people like Senator Durbin (D-IL) and Representative Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) introducing a bill to lock out Moab from being open access here in Utah we need a voice in Washington to stop these sort of laws from being enacted. First, why is a senator from Illinois and a representative from New York poking their nose into Utah? Without out UFWDA’s help we do not have the money or means to fight this in Washington.

This is a group that not only fights local groups like SUWA (Utah) (Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance) but also the bigger groups with there corporate sponsors.
Your well wishes are not enough; with a small donation (less than an oil change), you can add your voice in this very important cause. This is not a local problem we are facing but a national one. If we do not help, we could lose thousands of acres of wilderness area open to the four wheel drive community, without as much as a squeak from the people who will use it the most.