January 2012 Newsletter

The American Trails International Trails Symposium (ITS) is being held at the Radisson on the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation near Fountain Hills, Mesa, and Scottsdale, Arizona in April 2013. The momentum in Arizona is already growing! We know that training and travel budgets are limited and want to make sure there will be content specific to what you need. Please take a few minutes to fill out this survey. Your answers will help shape the Symposium! Responses requested by February 3. Click here to take the survey.

By Dave Halsey

New trails, trailheads, kiosks, bridges, maps, signs and work vehicles. Enhanced safety training, law enforcement, lobbying efforts and access initiatives. The list of OHV-related projects and programs that have been funded with grants from Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. and Polaris Industries is long and commendable.

Over the past 6 years, Yamaha and Polaris have written grant checks totaling $3 million. They have funded over 270 OHV projects, in all 50 states, helping meet the needs of OHV clubs, coalitions and associations, as well as city, county, state and federal agencies....read more

by Dave Halsey, NOHVCC Contributing Writer

Riding in Idaho this year? Need a map? After reading this article, go to www.trails.idaho.gov and you’ll have everything you need.

That’s the website for the Idaho Department of Parks & Recreation (IDPR) Trail Mapping system. Click the link and on your computer screen will be a mapping application showing motorized routes on U.S. Forest Service and BLM lands across the state, where you can legally ride your motorcycle, ATV, Side x Side, highway-legal 4x4 truck or ...read more

by Dave Halsey, NOHVCC Contributing Writer

Boy Scouts, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Big Brothers Big Sisters. The U.S. is rich with organizations using mentoring programs that inspire and enable youth to realize their full potential. One that you may or may not know about adds riding dirt bikes to the mix, and has been working with kids since 1969.

The National Youth Project Using Minibikes (NYPUM) combines the incentive of riding minibikes for youth between the ages of 10 and 18, with the support through relationships that develop between participants and their mentors....read more

by Dave Halsey, NOHVCC Contributing Writer

Across the country, clubs of all kinds that involve outdoor activities -- OHV riding, hunting, fishing, snowmobiling, hiking, camping -- are faced with a similar challenge: how to get more youth involved. OHV clubs that invest in youth programs are more apt to have that younger base of support when it’s needed.

We’d like to hear what your club is doing to develop and mentor the OHV leaders and volunteers of tomorrow who will be needed to carry on your work. Send us a note on the projects, programs and unique ideas your club uses to get kids, teens and young adults involved in your OHV club or organization. We’ll share them in this newsletter. Email them to trailhead@nohvcc.org.

“Safe Kids At Rock Run” Trains Youth To Handle OHV Emergencies

Two teenagers lay on the ground, motionless, near an ATV. A doctor kneels beside them as other kids gather around. A short distance away, a helicopter is standing by. The youths listen attentively as the doctor speaks to them...and instructs them on what to do if this had been an actual crash scene...read more

by Dave Halsey, NOHVCC Contributing Writer

Editor's note: This is the copy of an article which is going into the American Trails newsletter (www.americantrails.org). It is written for an audience that is not familiar with either NOHVCC or the Adventure Trail series; and the article introduces both. It is included in this newsletter article as well as a story that may be of interest to your local clubs, associations, newspapers, etc. Feel free to send this article on. - Karen

Rascal the raccoon is geared up and ready to take children on a 20-page educational ride in the new “Adventure Trail Activity Book,” now available from the National Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation Council (NOHVCC).

Filled with illustrations of animals, and families enjoying off-highway vehicle (OHV) recreation, the activity book features a dozen pages for children to color, each with a different message about safe and responsible use of ATVs and dirt bikes. It also includes a variety of safety-related word searches, word scrambles, coded messages and a maze called The A-Mazing Trail. The new edition replaces the original activity book....read more

NOHVCC Webinars January 10-February 29
NOHVCC Conference August 21-25

Help shape the program for the International Trails Symposium

Yamaha and Polaris Grants Fund Hundreds of OHV Success Stories

Idaho Creates Trailblazing OHV Mapping System

Youth + Mentors + Dirt Bikes = NYPUM Success Story

Developing OHV Leaders of the Future - Fifth in a Series

Looking Forward