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Anyone here a member of "Tread Lightly"?

Greg72

Greg72

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I know that Sierra Club is not what it appears to be (ie. Not a friend to outdoor lovers who also happen to enjoy motorized vehicles)....

but I was wondering if TreadLightly.org is an organization worth supporting???

From their website, they certainly seem to be advocates of motorized vehicles, and striking a balance between sharing recreational areas with hikers and campers, etc.

Any thoughts?


:thinking:
 
I am a retail member. Great organization to be a part of and I am proud to help educate and save our trails. The best part is they don't preach against offroading in the slightest, they just educate how to better use the environment for our sport without making us look bad.

I send out info with every order. I'll be glad to send you some info. They also have started a youth program solely focused on education.

Jesse Kruger
Blazenoffroad
 
Greg, i think our club has something to do with TreadLightly. Pretty sure we support them, ask Dan.
 
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They are definitely OHV friendly. I've been a member off and on for several yrs. Right now I am. I am also a "Tread Trainer", meaning I can "officially" teach the "Tread Lightly!" doctrine with their materials. I'm going to do a class for my daughter's Girl Scout troop at the start of summer, that is why I took their class.
 
My wife and I have a policy anytime we go hiking, camping, or wheeling, which is pack out MORE than you packed in. With that said, I read about Tread Lightly and liked the idea, go out, wheel, but be concious of what you are doing and how it impacts the environment and the trails for future generations. Anyway, I thought what the heck, $20 for a good cause....BAM, I won their raffle and got all kinds of cool stuff. A mico filter, a leatherman, a cool backpack and a headband flashlight which is awesome for anybody who has had to lie on their back under a truck at night...two free hands is very useful...Anyway, I saw this thread, and how old it was and wanted to ask the original question again...anybody know anything about these guys?
 
Not anymore than what's been mentioned.

I did find out something about the Sierra Club most of their members probably don't know. The information they publish about where the money goes. Those graphs and pie charts dividing up money spent on administration, education, ongoing programs, membership, etc? It's misleading. Since this "financial report" is given to it's membership I consider it very unethical.

The pamphlets, ads, telephone solicitations, and mailings they send out to increase membership. They all include something like "Just a hundred years ago buffalo roamed the plains in the millions. Now they are counted in the hundreds" Then they ask you to contribute money or join. Somebody in the Sierra Club's administration takes that message and divides it up. Even though most people would consider my example as common knowledge it is counted as "education." So the plea for funds becomes a 75% plea and 25% education.

Of large non-profit organizations the Sierra Club spends one of the largest, if not the largest, percentage of funding on getting more funding. But with the fast one they pull on how they define type of spending the graphs and pie charts don't show it. You have to read the actual reports and books to find it.

Now my own disclaimer:D:bow: The example and percentages I used I made up, but the gist is true
 
I've had mixed feelings about the Sierra Club for years. Not knocking them but it seems to go back and forth with them and their sometimes misleading directions they tend to go. I guess I can only blame the media for this, primarily the mags such as 4WOR and Four Wheeler. I know the majority of you probably will say said mags support TR, etc., but every now and then someone speaks out with a negativity towards them and a few people will join the wagon to side with them.
Then there were stuff I read about the SC on the 'net. I'm not going into that now.

So, if someone were to ask me to contribute to the TR program, I have to politely decline and stay neutral.
 
The Club I am part of here in KY is part of Tread Lightly! As a club it is a good membership to have as it allows us to run on private property sometimes that others would not be able to, as the property owners know we will be respectful to the terrain, mindful of trash pickup, etc.
 
I was with an older jeep club, but they got kind of extreme on the tread lightly principle. I know the idea behind it and all that, but they wouldn't do water crossings more than like 9" deep I think for fear of running over a fish. If there was a branch from a tree in the way on a ride they would completely stop the ride, have on person bend the branch back while 10 others watched to make sure they didn't break the branch, let all vehicles by a .05mph then continue... Depending on the leader, some wouldn't even let us light campfires in designated areas (in national parks marked off as a designated campfire spot with a rock-surrounded pit already built) for fear of disturbing local wildlife.

That was kind of a weird situation and I didn't stay with that club for long, but as a whole most of the clubs I've been with adhere to their guidelines.
 
A fire in a designated fire pit disturbing the wildlife?

That is stupid. Given the fact that the people themselves would be the most disturbing by far.

Too bad you can't ask those nitwits how they would feel if they went home and someone was standing in their front yard!

Wildlife SHOULD be cautious around humans and humans should be cautious around wildlife. :rolleyes:
 
:haha: The whole tree branch thing is a little too hardcore for me...I know that I was out a little while ago and saw someone through a platic water bottle out and I thought that was kind of rude so I picked it up...same goes for beer cans, they are heavier to carry in then carry out so it bums me out when I find a nice secluded spot and see a case of empty beer cans...so I just through them in the back of my rig...but the day I park my truck to avoid startling a squirel who is sitting in the middle of the trail is the day I sell my rig altogehter...
 
yeah it got kind of annoying, that's why I stopped going with them. Every stream crossing they would stop and check for any crawfish in the stream to make sure they didn't get run over.
 
I'm not sure how much of that is associated with people being Nazi's about nature and the actual bylaws or guidelines of Tread Lightly... I know in the club I am in, tree branches hanging on the trail are usually at the mercy of my truck (being the widest and the tallest).
 
That reminds me... one of the best pics I think we've ever gotten on a trail ride. This fish rode beside us for probably 5 minutes without going away

fish_3653.jpg
 
I am losing the battle with a farmer that has let me use his land for the last 15 years for anything from mountain biking to wheeling. The problem is that some kids on ATV's found the trails and they've been having parties out there, bringing beer cans, stealing trucks/cars and dumping all kinds of junk out there. Last week they set a stolen truck on fire and nearly caught the entire area on fire. This is the only place I have to wheel because I have no trailer and I'd be really pissed if fences started popping up everywhere. What can I do though? I don't blame the farmer if he gates his property, even I try to keep the low life's out of there by blocking the trails with fallen trees! I've just been spoiled with access for so long it really sucks to think of it being taken away forever. :mad:
 
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