TREAD LIGHTLY! RECEIVES FS AWARD

Tread Lightly!, Inc.
Monica Clay: (801) 627-0077
monica@treadlightly.org

USDA Forest Service Pacific NW Region
Rex Holloway
(503) 808-2241

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TREAD LIGHTLY! RECEIVES FOREST SERVICE CENTENNIAL AWARD

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.

Tread Lightly!:  www.treadlightly.org

PS - RCRC is a non-voting member of Tread Lightly.....