All Entries Tagged With: "land use"

King Of Hammers Is In Two Days – Race For Access Fundraising Drive

King of Hammers (KOH) is one of the coolest truck racing events in the world (right up there with the Baja 1000 and the Dakar Rally) because it combines two difficult off-road activities – high speed desert racing and extreme rock crawling – into one difficult day. The challenge for participants is to design a rig that can complete both portions of the race in the fastest time possible…and that’s a bit of a pickle.

Note: While the race itself is fascinating, let’s take a moment and note that the race is only possible because the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) grants use of some of the land used in the race…I’ll come back to this topic in a minute.

Image copyright Pirate4x4 - click the image above to see more pics and learn more about the KOH

The Blue Ribbon Coalition – Protecting The Right To Go Off-Road

A lot of off-roaders got into the sport in the first place because they love being outdoors. There’s something special about breaking trail in the morning as the sun comes up and scatters light off the dew on the trees all around, or the way the forest or desert sounds at dusk as a new nature cycle slowly creeps in along with the darkness. A lot of the most pristine and untouched areas are only accessible via four-wheel drive vehicles, and the isolation and splendor of these vistas are something that off-road drivers treasure.

Much of the best four-wheeling land also happens to be public land, a fact that is both a bonus and a scourge to 4×4 drivers. Not all areas have a history of being friendly to off-roaders interested in trail driving, and sometimes off-road use is banned for arbitrary and uninformed reasons. Fortunately, there’s an organization devoted to protecting the use of public land while also protecting the environment – the BlueRibbon Coalition.