The Big Three Advocacy Groups
June 10, 2011
Making Sense of the ATVA, BRC, and NOHVCC
Three major off-highway vehicle organizations are dedicated to the advancement of the sport of ATV and dirt bike riding. Rather than having similar agendas, each one of the three organizations serves a different purpose for the recreational ATV rider.
The All-Terrain Vehicle Association (ATVA) is a direct branch of the longer-established American Motorcyclist Association (AMA). The ATVA and AMA’s primary focus is at the competition and legislative end of our sport. In addition to sanctioning thousands of professional and amateur races every year, the ATVA and AMA busy themselves with impending legislation at the local, state, and federal levels regarding OHV recreation. They fight for the laws, rules, and regulations that they feel will most benefit their members and the industry as a whole. Contact the AMA at 13515 Yarmouth Drive, Pickerington, Ohio 43147, or call (800) AMA-JOIN, or check the organization’s website: www.atvaonline.com.
The BlueRibbon Coalition (BRC) is a membership-based organization dedicated to recreational land-access issues throughout the country. The group has often been described as the “pitbull” branch of OHV advocacy groups as it regularly engages in lawsuits against the anti-recreation access groups, which attempt to shut down and impede public motorized trail systems. The BRC also serves an educational role, its most recent being a program to quiet noisy dirt bikes and ATVs. BRC depends on the money derived from individual memberships to be able to fight its land-use battles. To join, contact the group at Blue Ribbon Membership, 4555 Burley Drive, Suite A, Pocatello, Idaho 83202, or call 1-800-BLUE-RIB (1-800-258-3742) or check out its website: www.sharetrails.org.
The National Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation Council (NOHVCC) is a multi-faceted organization that focuses primarily on “creating a positive future for off-highway vehicle recreation” by offering resources, documents, and educational materials to OHV enthusiasts and groups. One of the organization’s initial goals was to form strong OHV state associations throughout the country so as to give it a unified voice in all political OHV matters. The organization also conducts workshops where land managers can communicate with OHV trail experts and enthusiasts. In addition, NOHVCC is dedicated to educational programs that deal primarily with the safety and ethics of OHV trail riding. NOHVCC is a nonmembership-based group that encourages riders to join an OHV club in their area. You can contact NOHVCC by calling (800) 348-6487, emailing [email protected], or writing to 427 Central Ave. West, Great Falls, MT 59404. You can also find more about the organization’s many services at this website: www.nohvcc.org.