High five and shame on you

[goforbroke]

Went up to the take back utah rally. A high five to all those that organized the event. This is something that is very important and takes alot of time and work. The problem is I would guess only 1500 - 2000 peolpe showed up. High five if you went. Shame on YOU if you didn't. I know we all have excuses, but this event needed our support. If you didn't know about it - Shame on you again becuase you should be a member of USA-ALL or the BLUE RIBBON COALITION or one of the other 50 groups that supported this event and sent out emails, letters and reminders to try and get over 10,000 people. Just a reminder - the ones in control of federal government don't want you to be able to ride your snowmobile there. Join the cause and help support the sport we love!

Utah Snowmobile Association http://www.snowut.com/
ASA-ALL http://www.usaall.org/
Blue Ribbon Coalition http://www.sharetrails.org/

If you join Blue Ribbon for $30 you will recieve a $25 gift card to Rocky Mountain ATV. A no Brainer. Support the sport.

 

[Kevco]

Im doing this on the wii, kevco is high tech. I think you touched on a problem we have, there are to many causes and to many places to send our money. I think all the land rights peeps need to unite and follow the lead of the NRA imho our dollars would go alot further, if it werent for the NRA all we would have for hunting home protection etc. would be sling shots. Props to all who went.

 

[snowrodeo]

went up yesterday w/ goforbroke. very good event, well organized. sorry turnout from the snowmobile community. i didnt see a single snowmobile in the parade....
there was a ton of media coverage, senators and representatives from both the national and state level and alot of industry groups and organizations represented. i know everyone has to many things to do already, but pretty sad people who love this sport cant take a couple hours out of a saturday afternoon to show support.

the greenie groups were there in force as well. they are a VERY real threat to our continued use and enjoyment of OUR public lands. that pisses me off!! how do you feel about it???????

 

[Dogmeat]

I didn't make it to the event, but I watched portions of it on TV ... I can't remember what station but it was covered all day on saturday.

 

[hatchers]

i had to get a haircut

 

[hatchers]

ok just kidding....

i do support blue ribbon as they seem to find a balance between those who trash our lands and those you respect it....im one of those weirdos who picks up trash on the trail while others just say "why would someone do that?".....how bout ya STFU and pick the chit up yo

what was the outcome of this rally?....im not sure i would want to go as it would prolly land me in jail cuz some freak wants to push his ideas on me, im not down with that

 

[snowrodeo]

wow, everyone must be takin a real long summer nap! i thot i could at least stir the pot a bit with the smack i was talkin in my above post ^^

seriously, since no one seems to care much about this - do you realize how hard the greenies and all their cronies in washington are working to stop YOU from riding your toys in YOUR public lands??????

i love snowmobiling so much, it becomes very upseting to me to see our rights and PUBLIC lands constantly under attack by these wacko birkenstock-wearing, starbuck-sipping enviro-zealots. are you willing to let THEM decide when and where YOU can recreate and enjoy our beautiful outdoors and resources? if you care about this sport, and all outdoor recreation, you need to get involved and help out in these fights anywhere you can. if not, the days probably not far off that you, your family, your kids will no longer have the right to ride in your public lands.

okay, im done now. go back to sleep

 

[SledGimp]

wow, everyone must be takin a real long summer nap! i thot i could at least stir the pot a bit with the smack i was talkin in my above post ^^

seriously, since no one seems to care much about this - do you realize how hard the greenies and all their cronies in washington are working to stop YOU from riding your toys in YOUR public lands??????

i love snowmobiling so much, it becomes very upseting to me to see our rights and PUBLIC lands constantly under attack by these wacko birkenstock-wearing, starbuck-sipping enviro-zealots. are you willing to let THEM decide when and where YOU can recreate and enjoy our beautiful outdoors and resources? if you care about this sport, and all outdoor recreation, you need to get involved and help out in these fights anywhere you can. if not, the days probably not far off that you, your family, your kids will no longer have the right to ride in your public lands.

okay, im done now. go back to sleep

I was there and I must say it was great to see and be a part of the parade, wish I had taken my ATV down but drove the jeep instead.

 

[sledhead ut]

Geesh Andy, who lit your string on fire?

Wish I could have made it but had pre-planned guests in town.
I do however support BRC and SAWS with my donations and show constant support through emails and petition votes as should everyone on here.

Well enough from me, I gotta get a hair cut.

 

[indyman96]

What was accomplished by this "rally"? What specific trail was re-opened because of this event? I'm all about supporting our organizations, but IMO 1,500-2,000 riders holding up signs in front of the capitol building makes us look more like rebels. I think we would gain more respect by having 2,000 riders scatter around the Utah's biggest trail systems and picked up trash or something productive like that. People driving around their quads downtown SLC attempting to "Take Back Utah" makes us all look ignorant.

 

[goforbroke]

What was accomplished by this "rally"? What specific trail was re-opened because of this event?

Showed that people are passionate about public access and not willing to quietly stand by while another wilderness bill is signed into law. No specific trail is re-opened, but shows support for the many areas in utah that are being threatened. If the forest service knows that 2500 people are going to show up outside their door in protest it might change the way they do business because right now they know that they will face a lawsuit from the environmentalist if they don't do it their way.

I think we would gain more respect by having 2,000 riders scatter around the Utah's biggest trail systems and picked up trash or something productive like that.

Several trail rides and cleanups were being advertised at this event and again - be involved.

People driving around their quads downtown SLC attempting to "Take Back Utah" makes us all look ignorant.

It was an organized parade not people doing burnouts on the lawn. If we can't find support from our own we have more have a battle to keep lands open than I thought.

 

[Skidoox]

Take Back Utah Is a Success

If you haven't heard already the capitol parade and rally was a huge success. We had about 3500+ attend the rally! The parade took over an hour from the first vehicle leaving downtown and the last arriving at the capitol building. There were many different groups represented and a atmosphere of unity and strength was felt by all.

Every single local TV station covered our event as did both major Salt Lake news papers. Some reports were more accurate than others. Some can't help themselves and have to spin everything the report on. Channel 2 was the most favorable and Channel 5 (KSL) was the most inaccurate with downright shoddy reporting. A previous version of the one we have linked to claimed, "that hundreds" participated, and they made reference to environmental concerns that ATVs are often the culprit of wild fires. They have since moderated their story. We will include a full list of media coverage on our website. This should be updated by late tonight or early tomorrow. Sorry for delays we really are a small grass roots movement so things (website updates, etc) don't get done as quick as we all would like.

During the rally we were pleased to hear from many different speakers and be entertained by talented artists. We wanted to thank all involved. 2 days prior to the event we found out we could broadcast it live to the entire state. We had to do many last minute changes and it changed how we conducted the rally. We appreciate everyone's willingness to work with us on that.

We were most impressed with the behavior of the rally and parade participants. I personally was so proud of everyone. There was not a single incident or problem with anyone. All were on their best behavior. All were passionate yet under control. The SL police department commented on how well it was planned and executed. I especially want to thank the nearly 100 volunteers we had. These individuals took ownership and control of their responsibilities. Planning such an event was a big undertaking for us. None of us have professional event planning experience. This really was a grass roots effort. The planning committee made up of myself, Chris Brimhall, Rick Whiteside, Shawn Taylor, Chad Booth, Braxton Southwick, and Representative Mike Noel. These guys deserves a HUGE pat on the back. They all gave much time and energy to make this happen.

For those who felt the rally may not have hit their issue or been what they expected, fear not. This really is just the beginning. There will be more rallies, more events, and much more to come. We know there were some mistakes made on Saturday and we will get better at this as we do more events.

We want this movement to sweep the western United States. We intend to facilitate that. We first and foremost want to protect our interests as citizens of Utah. But we know this is something that neighboring states need. Take Back Utah will begin to be a leading voice on state's rights issues. Protection of access to public land will be a key and leading issue for this movement.

If you were impressed by what you saw at this rally consider donating to our cause. It costs an incredible amount of money to pull this event off. We are still paying for it. We would like to do more events to inspire even more people to get involved. We have provided a link in this email if you would like to donate and help us do this. Your dollars will stay in a restricted account to help do future events and protect access to public land.

The event on Saturday brought much needed attention to the issues of access to public land, it showed a unified broad cross section of the public, it made political leaders want to act, it gave leading organizations like USA-ALL a larger voice and more influence with political leaders, it brought many new individuals, organizations, and businesses into supporting our movement. Also notice was served to our opposition that we are not going to lay down and let them take away our rights, our quality of life, control our government, or harm our citizens.

With your continued support of this movement we will accomplish our goals and not only take back Utah but we will take back our country.

Spread the word, get on board, we're going places!

 

[indyman96]

Well i hope your "organized parade" has a good outcome. I think the only group that came out ahead from all this was Rocky Mountain ATV from wearing out your quad tires on a concrete road.

 

[snowrodeo]

What was accomplished by this "rally"? What specific trail was re-opened because of this event? I'm all about supporting our organizations, but IMO 1,500-2,000 riders holding up signs in front of the capitol building makes us look more like rebels. I think we would gain more respect by having 2,000 riders scatter around the Utah's biggest trail systems and picked up trash or something productive like that. People driving around their quads downtown SLC attempting to "Take Back Utah" makes us all look ignorant.

i had answers for your questions, but they've been answered quite well by goforbroke and skidoox. if you had been there, you may not have needed to ask them?

thanks for your support in keeping our sports alive and our riding areas open

 

[Sunridge Sledhead]

Kudos to all who attended the rally! I, unfortunately, was not able to attend. I do strongly support ALL efforts to keep public lands open to our access. We need a lot of positive press and continued efforts to fight against some of the self absorbed views of many environmentalists and non-motorized users. I, as Kevco mentioned, am concerned about the number of groups fighting for the same rights. I try to support all of them, but I would much rather write one larger check to a larger, stronger, and singular organization! Curious if anyone else has considered this dilemma??

 

[snowrodeo]

kim, you and kev do bring up a valid point. there's only so many $$ to go around to all these good, hard-working groups. how to pick-and-choose and allot your contributions??? so, i try to donate what and where i can, and then get involved. volunteer some time. im just one person, but if every outdoor enthusiast in the state, the western u.s. would give a few hours here and there, that could amount to a very significant army of volunteers. how to get em all on-board??? good question.
but anyone who has taken the time to look into the agendas of the "greenie" groups know that these are very serious threats to our right to enjoy our recreation as we see fit. we all need to work together to prevent it.

I try to support all of them, but I would much rather write one larger check to a larger, stronger, and singular organization! Curious if anyone else has considered this dilemma??

since you dont have much else going on right now - you wanna take on this project???

ps: how's the shoulder?

 

[sled_guy]

i had answers for your questions, but they've been answered quite well by goforbroke and skidoox. if you had been there, you may not have needed to ask them?

thanks for your support in keeping our sports alive and our riding areas open

I've watched or actually read this thread with interest.

The thing that comes to mind is that when you throw rocks you don't always know who might throw them back.

I guess shame on me for not attending this "rally". I suppose the many hours of time I've spent in public meetings, talking to land managers, donating money and time is disqualified because I didn't attend this rally.

In case you all missed it, the SUWA rep got more coverage on TV than the rally participants did.

I guess what I'm saying is that kicking the very people you want to have support from for not supporting your particular event may not be the best way to gain additional support.

But what do I know, I didn't attend this rally.

And until we (shared access supporters) learn to play the game like the other side we will NEVER win.

sled_guy 'shame on me'

 

[goforbroke]

I've watched or actually read this thread with interest.

The thing that comes to mind is that when you throw rocks you don't always know who might throw them back.

I guess shame on me for not attending this "rally". I suppose the many hours of time I've spent in public meetings, talking to land managers, donating money and time is disqualified because I didn't attend this rally.

In case you all missed it, the SUWA rep got more coverage on TV than the rally participants did.

I guess what I'm saying is that kicking the very people you want to have support from for not supporting your particular event may not be the best way to gain additional support.

But what do I know, I didn't attend this rally.

And until we (shared access supporters) learn to play the game like the other side we will NEVER win.

sled_guy 'shame on me'

I started this thread to try and raise awareness for the need to participate. If you already are, great keep doing it. Blue Ribbon Coalition reports that less then 3% of registered ATV owners belong to an organization. We need more help.

Obama is trying to restore all the wilderness and roadless areas that Clinton started. We need to fight it. Join and support USA-ALL or BRC. Good on ya if you do already, if not, Please do!

 

[snowrodeo]

In case you all missed it, the SUWA rep got more coverage on TV than the rally participants did.

not across the board. on one channel, ksl, they definately did. this is because one of the producers @ ksl new is married to someone on the suwa executive board. the other stations gave much more objective coverage.