Tread Lightly News Releases:

Scott Brady

Founder
As a Master Tread Trainer, I receive all of the Tread Lightly new releases. I thought some of you would appreciate the updates on what they are doing...
 

Scott Brady

Founder
Tread Lightly KIDS

Tread Lightly! News Release
Contact: Monica Clay
(800) 966-9900

TREAD LIGHTLY! UNVEILS NEW KIDS' OUTDOOR ETHICS WEBSITE

OGDEN, UT (September 23, 2005) — The nonprofit Tread Lightly!® has just gone live with its interactive kids’ site—- www.treadlightlykids.org. The site is part of the organization’s raised efforts to teach outdoor ethics to a growing number of kids recreating with vehicles like dirt bikes and ATVs.

The site features Tread Lightly!’s squirrel mascot, Lightfoot™, and several of his animal friends. From the colorful homepage, kids can click on to an outdoor quiz, ATV trail maze, hiking checklist, a story builder and coloring pages with crayons.

Each section also contains helpful tips to be responsible such as-— “keep your feet, bikes and ATVs on the trails” and “wash your bike and clothes after every trip so you don’t spread weed seeds.”

“This site rocks!” said 8-year-old Kyle Woolstenhulme from Cedar Hills, Utah. “I am always hiking or riding my bike, so it’s pretty cool to have a website like this. I learned some stuff and had fun coloring, making a funny story and doing the maze.”

Tread Lightly! is also making available a “Youth Outreach Kit” to government agencies, educators, and other organizations to download from the site. The printable kit includes pledge cards, a kids’ principles sheet, a poster, kids’ web banners and coloring book pages.

“Thousands of kids are hopping on motorized and mechanized vehicles every year, but a website like this just hasn't existed,” said executive director Lori Davis. "We're excited to make a difference with this generation."


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Tread Lightly!(R) is a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to empower generations to enjoy the outdoors responsibly. Tread Lightly!’s strategic educational message, along with its training and stewardship initiatives are designed to instill an ethic of responsibility in outdoor enthusiasts and the industries that serve them. The program is long-term in scope with a goal to balance the needs of the people who enjoy outdoor recreation with the needs of the environment.
 

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Scott Brady

Founder
I really like LNT ethics. It is a complimentary role to Tread Lightly.

I started some research on training for LNT, and need to spend more time on it. Maybe next spring...
 

DesertRose

Safari Chick & Supporting Sponsor
expeditionswest said:
I really like LNT ethics. It is a complimentary role to Tread Lightly.

I started some research on training for LNT, and need to spend more time on it. Maybe next spring...

Scott,

When I was exec director of Sky Island Alliance, I had an interesting experience that shows that battles are not always on opposite sides of the supposed fence. We had a cool project in the Dragoon Mountains down here in southern AZ, working with a local landowner/developer who owns a huge swath of grasslands from the mountains down to the San Pedro River, and who cut it up into "ranchettes." He also built an amazing house of his own up near the Council Rocks. Voila, an epiphany - he wanted to work more on conservation! So we worked with him on some setbacks, wildlife corridors, and grassland monitoring; he put in some wickedly good CC&Rs on the lots, and it's working well.

Anyway - he called and let us know about some severe use-damage happening on the public lands (Forest Service) nearby: lots of camping sign in a previously little-used area, including new tent sites hacked out of grasslands, new unplanned/unengineered trails - and new erosion starting to have an effect in a once-pretty-"pristine" canyon area. It wasn't cows - it was people.

Some investigation revealed that the group responsible for using the same area over and over and over, bringing hundreds of people a year to the same site - creating unauthorized new tent sites, social hiking trails and pretty much trampling through a nice riparian area - was the National Outdoor Leadership School's Leave No Trace training program!!

They were not too responsive to my nice phone call seeing if maybe we could, um, assist them in restoring some of the damage. They had their permit to use it and by gollly that was that. Never heard back from them.

Hmm. I'm sure it's just one person's attitude - and ya gotta do the training somewhere - but it made me laugh, if somewhat bitterly. :(

I don't think, personally, anyone having active discussions on this forum NEEDS special training on how to leave no trace. You're already way beyond LNT basic training, believe me - I've seen it in action!

Roseann

(And btw, some subtle pressure at Forest Service district offices got the site fixed up pretty well - but I think it might have been FS employees, our tax dollars in other words, fixing up an area damaged by a group making income off our public lands.)
 

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flyingwil

Supporting Sponsor - Sierra Expeditions
Scott, or any one who might know-

I am looking for an organization that (hmmm how do I explain this?) fights companys who produce and publicize, wrong images of OHV's on TV. I am sick of seeing shows where they end a show with "go out there and tear it up" or commercials that show off trail use and destroying the environment. I would like to find an organization that will help put a stop to this and support that organization. Even though I would rather put the money into some well needed modifications to my truck, I feel that if I put $_____ into my truck to make it more trail capable, I should also put some money towards protecting those trails I like to go out and enjoy. What would be a good organization that helps eliminate the view of off road as "tearing it up", and helps fight publicly showing OHV’s off trails?

My letters aren't working and I need more assistance. We all know that education is the key, but if a TV show or commercial is demonstratng otherwise, average Joe Smoe will go out and do what he saw or heard, not knowing the impacts of his actions. I want to support an organization that fights this.

Thanks!
Wil
 

DesertRose

Safari Chick & Supporting Sponsor
Flyingwill,

Boy do we empathize! I would recommend checking out Tread Lightly - give them a call (Scott - maybe you have some contacts?). While not a donor org, that I know of, they are putting funds into good campaigns to counter the dunderhead-version of OHV use.

I'll put some more thought into reasonable-use groups (real ones, not industry-supported ones - I have to admit, I am highly suspicious of some of the groups that have names that SOUND like advocacy groups - "Citizens for Responsible Use BLah Blah" - but in fact are more like shills for wise-use type groups that are promoting the very things we detest, through those high-rev ads and supporting opening all forests/wildernesses to mechanized use).

Roseann
 

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