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AMA President and CEO Rob Dingman met with Rick May, senior adviser to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, in February to highlight issues facing America’s off-highway enthusiasts.

Among the topics discussed were:

• Increased funding for the federal Recreational Trails Program.
• More timely completion of Travel Management Plans. Some have taken seven years or more to complete.
• Misidentification of trails on BLM maps and other literature.
• Adherence by the Interior Department’s to its mission of ensuring multi-use recreation.
• Leaving Wilderness Study Areas in limbo for years and managing them as designated Wilderness areas, restricting access to user groups.
• Creating obstacles to volunteer labor, including burdensome training requirements.
• Employing difficult managers and creating lack of continuity when regional leadership changes.

May, a motorcycle enthusiast and former U.S. Navy Seal, was appointed in late 2017 to “oversee recreational activities on public lands, with the aim of creating access and opportunities.”