Recreation Working Group

The recreation working Group is a collaborative, inclusive network represented by all who have a stake in keeping our forests and open lands working and wild

Annual Meeting - February 26, 2022

Addressing Recreation Impacts Through Collaborative Solution

About 50 folks gathered at the Elks Lodge in Flagstaff on a frigid Friday morning to participate in the Diablo Trust Annual Meeting. The title of the meeting “Addressing Recreation Impacts Through Collaborative Solutions” is a nod to the topic of discussions at the Recreation Summit held in August 2021. Diablo Trust recognized a need to again provide a forum for individuals, landowners, recreationists and agencies to gather to continue discussions and focus on solutions to recreation impacts.

The program began with updates from the Diablo Trust ranches - Flying M Ranch and Bar T Bar Ranch followed by updates from Diablo Trust staff, Lisa Bolton, and Recreation Working Group, chairwoman, Ellen Parish. We then heard from three presenters sharing information on ongoing issues, recent legislative efforts and regional solutions-based programs. We ended the program with a rich, dynamic group discussion - sharing ideas, engaging in partnerships and carrying the momentum forward towards collaborative and impactful solutions.

Ongoing Issues

Tim Holt, Arizona Game and Fish Department Field Supervisor, presented on “Challenges to Off-Highway Vehicle Management in Arizona.” The striking before and after photos tell a story of exploding use and the need for more education, engineering and enforcement. See the link to Tim’s presentation below.

Challenges to Off-Highway Vehicle Management in Arizona - Tim Holt, AZGFD Field Supervisor

Legislative Efforts

Todd Madeksza of Elevated Advocacy, LLC, presented on recent bills introduced into the legislature. There has been a lot of interested and momentum in the last six to twelve months to work at the state level to help mitigate recreation impacts. See the link to Todd’s presentation below.

Legislative Issues - Presented by Todd Madeksza, Elevated Advocacy, LLC

Regional Campaigns

Matt Caldwell, Tread Lightly! Executive Director, spoke to the group about his organizations efforts across the west to help educate users on more responsible recreation ethics and provide consistent messaging. See the link to Matt’s presentation below.

Tread Lightly! - Presented by Matt Caldwell, Tread Lightly! Executive Director

Recreation Summit - August 12, 2021

Convene

On Thursday, August 12th, Diablo Trust hosted the first Annual Recreation Summit at the Elks Lodge in Flagstaff. The Recreation Summit was held to bring awareness and solutions-based discussions regarding recreation impacts in Northern Arizona.

The Recreation Working Group (RWG), a collaborative of numerous organizations and agencies formed earlier this year, has been meeting regularly to discuss recreation impacts, share resources and look towards solutions. The Recreation Summit allowed the RWG to share these conversations to a bigger, broader group in hopes of finding a pathway forward to protect our shared resources.

Sheriff+Presenting+to+Group — Consider

Over seventy people attended representing NGOs, agencies, private landowners and concerned citizens. Presenters spoke about recreation impacts, management plans, travel data analysis and social media tools.

The event program kicked off with Kit Metzger of Flying M Ranch and Bob Prosser of Bar T Bar Ranch sharing the impacts of increased recreation on the Diablo Trust ranches. The program then shifted into presentations from the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office, USFS Flagstaff District Office, Flagstaff MetroPlan, and Central Arizona Conservation Alliance. Speakers and links to their presentations are listed below.

Sheriff Jim Driscoll and Chief Deputy Bret Axlund, Coconino County Sheriff’s Office - Off Road Vehicle Traffic and Safety
- CCSO Deputy performing life saving measures at OHV accident - Warning, Graphic Content

Matt McGrath, USFS Flagstaff District Ranger - Coconino National Forest Recreation Management
David Wessel, Flagstaff MetroPlan Planning Manager - Who’s there? Forest visitors - a big data analysis
Aireona Bonnie Raschke, Ph.D, Central Arizona Conservation Alliance Program Director - Sonoran Insiders: Leveraging Social Media for the Good of Natural Open Spaces in Arizona

Collaborate

Participants met in breakout groups to begin more in depth discussions on specific topics, bringing ideas from a variety of backgrounds to work toward solutions.

Following the presentations, participants broke into breakout groups that each focused on one of the following topics:

Technology Solutions
Funding Opportunities
Policy and Legislation
Education/Signage
Ambassadorship
Waste Management Solutions

Continue

We are hopeful that the momentum from the Recreation Summit and discussions that took place in the breakout sessions will carry forward and lead to impactful change to protect our shared resources.

Recreation Summit notes, recorded by Michaela Gold, include all speaker notes and breakout group notes and can be found here.

Recreation Working Group - Virtual Meeting Materials

The Recreation Working Group meets virtually to share updates and coordinate events. To be added to the Working Group and receive meeting notifications, contact Diablo Trust at info@diablotrust.org.

2025 Virtual Meeting Materials

None scheduled yet - email us to sign up and stay informed: info@diablotrust.org

2024 Virtual Meeting Materials

February 24, 2024 - Virtual Meeting Agenda and Minutes

2023 Virtual Meeting Materials

July 10, 2023 - Virtual Meeting Minutes

May 8th, 2023 - Virtual Meeting Minutes

March 13, 2023 - Virtual Meeting Minutes

2022 Virtual Meeting Materials

June 6, 2022 - Virtual Meeting Agenda

May 2, 2022 - Virtual Meeting Minutes

April 4, 2022 - Virtual Meeting Minutes