A “Wise Use” Journey – Charting a Path Forward in Public
Land Policy
By Don Amador
April 14, 2026
There was a time—not that long ago—when those of us
representing off-highway vehicle (OHV) recreation didn’t have a seat at the
table. We had a place in the room, sure. But it was often along the back wall.
More than three decades ago, when I first began attending
policy meetings in Sacramento and Washington, D.C., OHV advocates were rarely
viewed as credible stakeholders. Decisions about public lands were being shaped
under laws like the Endangered Species Act and planning frameworks driven by
agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management—but
without meaningful input from the very people who used those lands for
recreation.
The Wise Use Movement of the late 1980s and 1990s emerged
as a forceful response to what many of us saw as an imbalance in public land
policy. Rural communities, resource industries, and recreationists—including
the growing OHV community—pushed back against increasingly restrictive
regulations and land-use decisions.
For me, that period was defined by advocacy rooted in
necessity. OHV recreation wasn’t yet recognized as a legitimate stakeholder. We
had to fight for recognition, for access, and for inclusion. And fight we did.
Public meetings were often contentious and legal battles
were common. The tone was often sharp, and the lines clearly drawn. At the
time, it felt like the only way forward.
But over time, something became clear—something that many
of us, on all sides of the debate, began to quietly acknowledge that constant
conflict wasn’t working.
Despite the energy and determination poured into those
battles, the results were often disappointing.
Trail projects continued to be stalled by appeals or
litigation. Decisions were overturned or delayed. Even when one side “won,” the
broader outcome rarely felt like progress.
In conversations I had over the years—with fellow
advocates, agency staff, and even long-time opponents—I found a shared
sentiment: the process had become as much the problem as the policies
themselves. The battles were not only unproductive. They were, more often than
not, deeply unpleasant.
And perhaps most importantly, they weren’t delivering
durable solutions for the land, the users, or the resources we all cared about.
That realization became a turning point.
A principle that has guided much of my work since those
early days comes from Ronald Reagan, who once said: “The person who agrees with
you 80 percent of the time is a friend and an ally—not a 20 percent traitor.” That
idea—the “80 percent rule”—became more than a quote. It became a strategy.
Instead of focusing solely on where we disagreed, I began
looking for that “zone of agreement”—the space where diverse stakeholders could
find common ground. Whether working with conservation groups, land managers, or
other recreation interests, the goal shifted from winning arguments to building
outcomes. And I wasn’t alone.
Across the West, others were reaching similar
conclusions. The intensity of the Wise Use era had revealed the limits of
conflict. In its place, a new approach began to take hold.
Today, OHV recreation is no longer an afterthought in
public land policy. It is a recognized and respected stakeholder in planning
processes at both the state and national levels. Agencies actively seek input
from the recreation community and incorporate that input into project design
and implementation.
That didn’t happen overnight—and it didn’t happen by
accident. It was earned through persistence in advocacy, commitment to
responsible recreation, and willingness to engage constructively, even with former
adversaries
The “seat at the table” that exists today was built on
decades of effort, credibility, and, yes, a fair share of hard-fought battles.
Perhaps the most important evolution has been the shift
from pure advocacy to “active stewardship”.
Modern OHV engagement goes beyond defending access. Its
proactive strategy includes trail maintenance and restoration, collaboration on
travel management planning, participation in post-wildfire recovery efforts, and
partnerships with conservation groups, Tribes, and agencies.
Programs that bring together diverse partners—whether
through collaborative forest projects, recreation strategies, or local initiatives—are
now common. They reflect a broader understanding that sustainable recreation
depends on shared responsibility.
Looking back, the Wise Use Movement did more than
challenge policy. It changed people. It changed how we engage. It changed how
we listen. And, ultimately, it changed how we solve problems.
The movement’s legacy is not just found in the debates it
influenced, but in the evolution it helped inspire—from confrontation to
collaboration, from exclusion to inclusion.
Today’s public land management landscape—with its
emphasis on stakeholder engagement, shared stewardship, and collaborative
planning—owes something to that journey.
None of this means the challenges are gone. OHV
recreation and other public land uses continue to face pressure from regulatory
constraints, competing interests, litigation, and changing environmental
conditions. Conflict hasn’t disappeared.
But we are better equipped to handle those challenges
than we were 30 years ago. And perhaps most importantly, we have a clearer
understanding that lasting success comes not from standing alone—but from
working together where we can.
From the back wall to the decision-making table, the
journey of OHV advocacy mirrors a broader evolution in public land policy.
The Wise Use era taught us how to fight and what followed
taught us how to build. And for the future of outdoor recreation and natural
resource management, that may be the most important lesson of all.
# # #
Don Amador has been in the trail advocacy and recreation
management profession for over 33 years.
Don is President of Quiet Warrior Racing LLC. Don serves as the Western
States Representative for the Motorcycle Industry Council. Don is Past
President/CEO and current board member of the Post Wildfire OHV Recovery
Alliance. Don served as a contractor to the BlueRibbon Coalition from 1996
until June, 2018. Don served on the California Off-Highway Motor Vehicle
Recreation Commission from 1994-2000. He has won numerous awards including
being a 2016 Inductee into the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame and the 2018 Friend
of the AMA Award. Don served as the government affairs lead for AMA District 36
in Northern California from 2019 – 2023. Don is a Core-Team member on FireScape
Mendocino. Don served as an AD Driver at
the FS North Zone Fire Cache for the 22, 23, and 24 wildfire seasons. Don is a
contributor to Dealernews Magazine. Don writes from his home in Cottonwood,
CA.
