DONSTRADAMUS - OHV RECREATION PREDICTIONS FOR 2026

          

                                             

           OHV RECREATION PREDICTIONS FOR 2026

 

 

The Great Donstradamus has emerged from his cabin deep in an oak savanna located at a secret location in the Pacific Northwest with his OHV and resource management predictions for 2026.  He offers insights into key topics of the day such as a new “Trail Czar”, Moto Moms, OHV Safety, Presidential recognition, Health Food, Wildfires, hybrid or all electric OHV, and other issues that affect the outdoor recreation community.

 

 

10- A statewide alliance of CA OHV groups introduce legislation to create an online E-Course OHV Safety  Program to help educate new users of motorized vehicles about trail ethics, wearing safety gear, regulations, different land agencies, law enforcement, and conservation practices related to managed OHV recreation.   

  

9 -There will be at least one participant ride a hybrid or all-electric motorcycle in the famous Oakland Motorcycle Club’s Annual SheetIron Dual Sport/ADV Ride.  This is the largest DS/ADV coastal range-based DS/ADV event on the West Coast.   This event will test the bike’s range and reliability.

  

8 - Health experts and nutritionists within the outdoor recreation community rediscover a potent high protein diet to be used by trail enthusiasts who want to build/repair muscle, increase mental acuity, and promote a strong gut.   This health program consists largely of steaks and other cuts of meat from wagyu or Angus beef raised on family-owned cattle ranches.   These steaks and other cuts will be offered in select stores or can be purchased online.       

 

7- DOGE effort helps refocus Forest Service leadership to redirect fiscal and other resources out to local units to empower District Rangers and Forest Supervisors to increase the pace and scale of on-the-ground projects that benefit natural, cultural, and recreation programs.

 

6- Ivanka Trump purchases a dirt-bike for her 10-year old son, Joseph, so he can pursue his passion to become a MX star.  Ivanka also starts a new “Moto Mom” clothing line for those moms out there who support their sons and daughters who want to ride off-road motorcycles.

 

5- President Donald Trump recognizes the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship non-profit trail organization for their vision and hard work on their “Connected Communities” project to connect numerous small towns in the Sierra Nevada with a 500-mile network of multiple-use routes. 

 

4- Forest Service Chief, Tom Shultz, creates a new “Trail Czar” position in the agency to promote the designation of roads, trails, and areas for OHV and other outdoor recreation activities.   That new Czar will spend a lot of time in the field meeting with National Forests that already have a high quality trail recreation program and, most importantly, those Forests that do not to encourage them to get on the trail recreation train.

 

3- CA State Parks reverses course on creating and maintaining artificial man-made vegetative islands that   that can be used by skunks, raccoons, and foxes to more easily access snowy plover nesting grounds near the beach at Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area and adopt the mechanical removal of man-made vegetation structures used at the OR Dunes National Recreation Area so as to inhibit easy access by predators to the plover nesting sites.   This change in management direction could restore a significant amount of acres closed over the last 15 years by the aforementioned mitigation measures.

  

2- After significant push-back against the Coyote Creek Solar Project from OHV interests, conservation groups, and Indian Tribes, the Solar Industry commits to robust stakeholder engagement during pre-scoping and formal scoping periods to avoid proposing solar projects that directly impact popular OHV recreation areas such as the CA State Parks Prairie City State Vehicular Recreation Area.

 

1- National and regional motorized and non-motorized outdoor recreation groups will continue to collaborate and find common ground on a growing number of access challenges realizing there is strength in numbers.  Those collaborative efforts take on even more importance as they address  new problems and find solutions.  

 

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  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.