OPINION
Quiet Warrior Racing LLC
August 7, 2026
AB 1613 - Why Process Matters as Much as the Product
Over the past 35 years, I have been fortunate to participate
in numerous collaborative efforts involving recreation organizations,
conservation groups, industry representatives, local governments, state and
federal agencies, tribal governments, and elected officials. Some of those
efforts have produced lasting successes, while others have struggled to achieve
their intended goals. Throughout that journey, I have learned one lesson that
continues to shape my view of public policy: people are generally willing to
support difficult decisions—even decisions they may not completely agree
with—if they believe the process was fair, transparent, and respectful of
everyone's contributions.
That lesson has been on my mind as California continued
its discussion of Assembly Bill 1613, the proposal to establish a statewide
Off-Highway Vehicle Safety and Stewardship Program, at the August 6 OHMVR Commission
meeting at Kings Beach, CA.
CALSPAN VIDEO OF COMMISSION MEETING
https://cal-span.org/meeting/ohmvr_20260806/
Before anyone misunderstands my perspective, let me be
perfectly clear. I support improving OHV safety. I support rider education. I
support responsible recreation and stewardship. In fact, I have spent much of
my professional career working toward those very goals. The question before us
has never been whether California should improve safety. The real question is
whether the process used to reach that goal honors the collaborative work that
made the idea possible in the first place.
For four years, California State Parks convened annual
OHV Safety Summits that brought together an impressive cross-section of the OHV
community. Recreation organizations, conservation interests, law enforcement,
federal land managers, OHMVR commissioners, volunteer non-profits, local
governments, rider training providers, and State Parks staff all came to the
table. Many of us invested hundreds of hours discussing safety trends,
identifying emerging challenges, and searching for practical solutions that
could improve rider safety while preserving recreational opportunities. Those
meetings were not always easy. There were disagreements, spirited debates, and
difficult compromises. But that is precisely what meaningful collaboration
looks like.
Over time, common ground began to emerge. We were not
simply concepts of creating an online OHV safety education program; we were
building relationships and developing trust. That trust became every bit as
valuable as the recommendations themselves.
Today, much of the frustration expressed at the
commission meeting concerning AB 1613 does not appear to stem from opposition
to safety education. Rather, it comes from the perception among many
participants that the collaboratively developed work product was not fully
reflected in the legislation that ultimately advanced through the Capitol.
Whether everyone agrees with that perception is almost beside the point. The
perception itself has become a significant issue because collaboration depends
as much on confidence in the process as it does on the final outcome.
One irony has not been lost on many stakeholders. The
current version of AB 1613 calls for the creation of yet another stakeholder
process to develop the details of the new safety program. That raises an
understandable question. If participants believe the recommendations from one
four-year collaborative effort were not fully carried forward, what confidence
will they have that a future stakeholder process will produce a different
result? That question extends well beyond this bill. It speaks to the credibility
of other state-led collaborative governance model.
My perspective on this issue has also been shaped by
experiences where collaboration worked exceptionally well. One of the best
examples is FireScape Mendocino, where I have served as a Co-Founder and Core
Team member. FireScape brought together the U.S. Forest Service, CAL FIRE,
conservation organizations, county governments, private landowners, scientists,
and community leaders to address forest health and wildfire resilience. We
certainly did not agree on every issue, but participants trusted the process.
Ideas were openly debated, recommendations were refined together, and everyone
understood that their contributions mattered. That trust allowed FireScape
Mendocino to become a nationally recognized example of collaborative
conservation.
Yesterday's California OHMVR Commission meeting
illustrated why this issue deserves careful consideration. The public testimony
reflected genuine concern from several long-time OHV leaders regarding the
current direction of AB 1613. Interestingly, none of the speakers argued
against improving OHV safety. Instead, the discussion focused on stakeholder
engagement, legislative intent, governance, implementation, and preserving the
integrity of the collaborative process that had taken place over the previous
four years. The Commission recognized that these concerns warranted additional
discussion and requested that State Parks provide a future report to help
clarify the issues. That was an encouraging step because healthy organizations
ask difficult questions, and effective collaborative programs welcome those
conversations.
One concern that particularly resonates with me is the
potential long-term effect this experience could have on future stakeholder
processes. California increasingly relies on collaborative groups to address
complex issues involving recreation, forest management, wildfire resilience,
watershed restoration, wildlife conservation, and public land management. These
collaborations succeed because people often volunteer their time with the
expectation that their knowledge, experience, and recommendations will receive
meaningful consideration. If participants begin to believe that years of
collaborative work can simply be set aside without explanation, it becomes much
harder to convince experienced stakeholders to invest their time in future
public processes.
I remain optimistic that California can develop an
outstanding Off-Highway Vehicle Safety and Stewardship Program. The objective
is worthwhile, and I believe there is broad agreement within the OHV community
that education and stewardship should continue to be strengthened. But I also
believe we have an opportunity—and perhaps an obligation—to ensure that the
final legislation reflects the collaborative spirit that originally inspired
the effort.
As someone who has spent much of his career working
around collaborative tables, I hope California chooses the path that
strengthens, rather than weakens, confidence in stakeholder engagement. Good
public policy is rarely built by the loudest voices or the quickest victories.
It is built through respectful dialogue, careful listening, thoughtful
compromise, and mutual trust.
In the end, the true measure of a successful
collaborative process is not simply the policy or legislation it produces. It
is whether the people who devoted countless hours to building consensus are
willing to return to the table the next time they are invited.
That may ultimately be the most important lesson of all.
# # #
Don Amador has been in the trail advocacy, post wildfire
recovery and recreation management profession for 35 years. Don is Past President/CEO and current board
member of the Post Wildfire OHV Recovery Alliance. Don is a Co-Founder of FireScape Mendocino, a
forest health collaborative that is part of the National Fire Learning Network.
Don served as Chairman of the CA State
Parks Off-Highway Vehicle Commission (circa 1994-2000). Don served as an AD
Driver for the Forest Service North Zone Fire Cache during the 2022, 2023, and
2024 Fire Seasons.







