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The USDA Forest Service has announced Tread Lightly!®
as a recipient of the
"Centennial Forum Outstanding Partner Organization Award
in recognition of
the organization,s many contributions in promoting responsible
use of
National Forest System lands.
Tread Lightly! is most known for its work with the motorized
recreation
community"a community that has grown over 600 percent since
1973. The
organization strives to balance the needs of the people who enjoy
outdoor
recreation with the needs of the environment.
"Many forests are closing roads and trails because they
don't have the
resources to manage recreation properly, said Lori Davis, Tread
Lightly!
Executive Director. "We are providing solutions to this
problem through
education, restoration, and solid, sustainable partnerships with
agencies
like the Forest Service.
Dale Bosworth, Chief of the Forest Service, noted how far
the organization
has come. "Tread Lightly! began as an idea from a few Forest
Service
employees, but has grown into an interagency-affiliated organization,
delivering a unique brand, providing educational programs and
services to
help a wide variety of recreational enthusiasts leave a good
impression when
enjoying the great outdoors, said Bosworth.
The Centennial Forum award was presented by Bosworth on Saturday,
November
20 at the Northwest Region Forest Service Centennial Forum in
Stevenson,
Washington. The forum is national in scope and was designed to
kick-off the
upcoming hundred-year anniversary of the Forest Service in 2005.
Tread Lightly!,s selection for recognition at the Centennial
Forum has
resulted in further nomination for the "Centennial Legacy
Award program.
Those recipients will be announced at the National Centennial
Congress in
Washington, DC in January 2005.
The award comes almost a year after Bosworth announced unmanaged
recreation,
including the explosion of off-highway vehicle (OHV) use, as
one of the four
major threats to the nation,s forests.
"Tread Lightly! provides exactly the kind of positive
approach we need to
make progress
on impacts of unmanaged recreation, said Jerry Ingersoll, Forest
Service
OHV program
manager. "Tread Lightly treats OHV users as the responsible,
ethical
visitors to public lands that most of them are, and asks them
to commit
themselves to following and teaching environmental ethics to
others.
Tread Lightly! has completed five major restoration projects
on National
Forest System land since the initiation of its unique partnership
program,
Restoration for Recreation in 1997. Two have been completed in
the last
year. The organization has also developed a myriad of educational
pieces
that have been distributed throughout the Forest Service and
their visitors.
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Tread Lightly!(R) is a national nonprofit organization whose
mission is to
empower generations to enjoy the outdoors responsibly. Tread
Lightly!,s
strategic educational message, along with its training and restoration
initiatives are designed to instill an ethic of responsibility
in outdoor
enthusiasts and the industries that serve them. The program is
long-term in
scope with a goal to balance the needs of the people who enjoy
outdoor
recreation with the needs of the environment. Tread Lightly!
offers unique
programs and services to help remedy current recreation issues.
In 2003,
the federal government recognized this by acknowledging Tread
Lightly! as a
sole-source service provider of education and training on how
to be
environmentally and socially responsible while using motorized
and
mechanized vehicles in off-highway settings.
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