Club Membership

[John Hartwick]

I'm with the KC Jeep Club, what does the club get for the $100 dues paid?

[Steve Jackson]

The physical benefits of membership are here:

http://www.ufwda.org/joinunited.htm

But I'm sure you've experienced some closures in your area.  The real reason to support UFWDA (and other like-minded groups) is to properly fund our defense against trail closure.  While UF may or may not be doing anything in your area right now, they can do a lot when properly funded.  Having your club join and encouraging individual memberships is the first step.

[John Hartwick]

Steve, Thanks I know of all the work being done by UFWDA but I needed to hear the answer to the old question of whats in it for me. I plan on pushing my club to join and I need all the ammunition I can get

[Todd Ockert]

John

Thanks for taking the time to ask this age old question.

If you read these forums, you can see that we as an organization have been busy this past year with trail closures across the nation.
We are working with the local land managers and at the Federal Level to maintain access to our public lands.

Carla is our Legal/Legislative advocate, and is working hard on the legal side to keep trails open.
To name a couple, would include Tellico, Colorado and Utah to start.

I know some of that may be hard to quantify for your members as it is not affecting them at the present time, but if you have National Forest in your area, at sometime, they will be doing Travel Management Planning for the forest.  This takes a lot of time for them, and the local users to get informed of what the forest supervisor is attempting to do.  When you have questions about the documents that they publish, Carla and I will review these and assist with comments back to them. 

I hope this answers your question.

Todd

[Marti Pugh]

John, Thank you for your request for information!

Here’s what your club gets for the $100

One of the most helpful benefits UFWDA can offer your club is help in keeping areas open or getting areas open locally.  For instance, UFWDA offers
Recreational Trails Program (RTP) grant writing assistance.  The RTP grant can be used as a financial resource in bringing  money to the table to acquire lands for OHV parks, develop trails in an OHV area, etc.  If money is one of the issues in getting the Tiffany Springs OHV park open the RTP can be a source for that funding. 
RTP funds can also be leveraged for trail improvement expenses, turning an old route passable by 2WD into a more challenging route. 
UFWDA, in long-standing partnership with other national organizations, frequently lobbies congress to approve sufficient funding for the RTP.

UFWDA has a volunteer trail patrol (VTP) program developed to keep your favorite wheeling places open by using peer pressure and serving as the eyes and ears of local law enforcement to protect the places you ride.  If your club frequents private OHV parks then you probably already realize the fierce pressure these private lands are faced with – reducing trash, reducing illegal access, minimizing conflicts between users and the local public, and safety.  The VTP works in two ways to help keep these parks open.  First, it deters improper and illegal behavior and it reports problems before they get out of control, giving law enforcement a chance to respond before the problem is too big to handle.  Second, it demonstrates to the local public that the four wheel drive community takes responsibility for its own, through proper use ethics and proper self-policing.  If KC Jeep Club would like to take the UFWDA Volunteer Patrol Training, drop a note to Carla Boucher, our chief legal counsel.  She manages the program and teaches the brief training class via computer or telephone for UFWDA clubs. 

One of our most silent benefits is our involvement in state and federal legislative activities in order to prevent new regulations that threaten 4x4 access and use.  We keep our ears open for any new threats, such as unreasonable state-imposed bumper height legislation, and then work in partnership with local clubs, state associations, and other national organizations to engage our grass roots to stop burdensome legislation. 

As you are painfully aware, there are few public places to wheel in your area.  Our job at UFWDA is to help you stop the closure trend.  Not just this year, but next year, the year after that and the year after that.  The longer UFWDA is around the more years we can protect your dwindling 4x4 access.  Club support for UFWDA enables us to do this year after year. 

Finally, and most importantly, your 2008 club membership puts money back on the ground in Kansas City!  For every club member that joins UFWDA KC Jeep Club will receive a $3 rebate.  Your forums show a very impressive membership gain with 395 new members joining your on-line community in 2007.  If every one of those people join UFWDA through KC Jeep Club we will send more than $1,100 back to your club to use for land use issues and 4x4 access.  If just 34 of those members join UFWDA through KC Jeep Club your club dues in UFWDA will be like they are free because you’ll get a rebate larger than the $100 join fee for your club.  You’ll get all the great benefits listed above and you’ll get them for “free”!

Thanks again for your support of UFWDA.  We appreciate it!
*****

[John Hartwick]

Marti,  Thanks I will post your response on the officers site and hopefully we will get things rolling

[Steve Jackson]

...but I needed to hear the answer to the old question of whats in it for me.

Ah yes, the age old question.  Unfortunately, this age old question is what's killing us.  Instead of thinking "what's in it for me" our community needs to think "what's in it for all of us."  When someone writes a check to the Sierra Club, they aren't consciously thinking "what's in it for me."  Sub consciously, they have the benefit of the good feeling that comes from "saving the environment" (their marketing is far better than ours), but they aren't asking "what do I get?" when they see a solicitation.

If every wheeler stopped saying, "what's in it for me" and started saying "together we can win" we would face a much less dismal outlook.  "Think of the whole, not yourself" is the mantra I'd like to promote.

I'm not giving you a hard time, rather this thread made me think of this so I typed it.

I'm sick of every wheeler who has a $20K rig, a $5K trailer, and $50K tow rig, but they can't give $100/year for land use causes.  It's pathetic, and it's why we'll be left with private parks and a few scattered trails within 20 years unless we change our way of thinking.  Keep thinking it won't happen.  4000 miles of open routes are being closed in Moab this summer as a result of the new RMP.  We went from 1.5 million acres of open cross-country travel to 6000 miles of routes and now to 2200 miles of routes.  What do you think will happen with the next RMP in 15 years?

[Todd Ockert]

Steve

Can I post your comments above on a couple of other sites?
Very good comments for all to read.

Thanks

Todd

[Steve Jackson]

Sure.  Here's how I posted it on another forum:

Changing from "me" to "we"

http://www.rockymountainextreme.com/showthread.php?t=49390

I also planned on expanding it further for a full length article, so I think we'll see some form of this in the next Voice.

[Todd Ockert]

Steve

Thanks.  I posted it over on Pirate4x4 here, and it has created a pretty good dialog all ready.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=637342
I will post it on a couple of others also.

Thanks

Todd

[Scott Heiser]

While I understand that everyone wants SOMETHING for their money, I would hope that they join to help keep trails open for future generations.  I for one do NOT want to see my children grow up in a world where Four Wheeling is outlawed.
Scott

[Jim Shanks]

Just wanted to say Thanks.

I to will be bringing the topic of joining United to our local club.  I just know that this questions will be brought up.  Being in Iowa we don't have much land to wheel on already.  We have been trying to figure out how to open up a public park ourselves, hopefully we will figure something out in that area.  Until then please keep up the good work in leaving what is already up and running open to all of us.

Jim Shanks - President
Jeep Outdoor Club of Central Iowa
www.jocci.com

[Todd Ockert]

Jim

Thanks for asking your club to join UFWDA.  We need each other to help keep trails open.  This is a team sport/event, and we need each others support.

Please, let us know if we can do anything to help you with opening a park. 

Thanks for your volunteer to the sport as being the President of your club. 

Thanks

Todd

[frostytoes]

Hello,
I am a member of the Fairbanks Offroad Lions in Alaska, we are interested in a Club Membership of UFWDA. I see on your website that our club members can join for $15. Is that for the Class 1 membership? I see there are 4 different levels of individual memberships. I need this clarification before I can present this opportunity to our club members.

Looking forward to your reply 

Thanks!
Stacy Davis - Secretary FORL
www.fairbanksoffroadlions.com

[Pat Brower]

Frostytoes,


My Apologies!!
I don't know how I didn't see this before, but I'm just reading it today.
Since I don't see a reply, I wonder if you've not been answered, or if you were PMed the information you requested?

Do you still need assistance?


Most Humbly,

Pat