Reflections and the Trail Ahead
Thank you all for the continued support of California Mountain Biking Coalition and our efforts to build a statewide voice for mountain bikers in California. For those interested, I have included some CAMTB summary highlights, which outlines our recent work and key points of focus for 2021. It has been an absolute pleasure working with you the past 8 months and I canโt wait to see the fruits of our collective labor come to life!
All my best,
Michael
Michael Anzalone
Executive Director
michael@camtb.org // 415.602.2694
CAMTB 2021 Q1 Update
Membership. In 12 short months we expanded our membership from five founding organizations to 19, and now represent over 13,000 riders across the state of California! We have an ambitious but attainable goal of to double our member organization count by the end of 2021, so that all 8 regions are all well represented. Latest additions to our roster include. SAGE Trail Alliance and Yosemite Southgate Trails Cooperative.
Budget. The CAMTB 2021 Budget has been approved by the Board of Directors and includes funding for:
- Contract lobbying support for State Parks
- Contract development support to help reach fundraising goals
- Spring Summer communications intern
- Expanded Executive Director role
- New Tools – EveryAction to provide platform for our advocacy, communications, and development work
- Expanded Events to grow the coalition audience
Advocacy. We have a newly minted CAMTB Legislative and Govt Affairs Working Group led by an amazing group of members from FATRAC, Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz, CORBA, SFUrban Riders, SAGE Trail Alliance and SDMBA. They’ll be advising on our CA State Parks, USFS, and California legislative engagement plans.
Based on a recent member survey and feedback, California State Parks and US Forest Service will be our priority agencies to engage in 2021. To start, we have contracted a California State Parks advisor, Bill Keene. Bill will be helping CAMTB create its State Parks engagement plan, lead preliminary outreach efforts, and develop an organizational map of CA State Parks and its key influencers. In parallel we will be working with the LGA Working Group to form our US Forest Service action plan as well.
For 2021 our California State Parks efforts will include:
- Discovery – research & intel gathering to identify key issues and challenges across the state, summarized in a report that we will share with members. (Target Completion of Draft, Apr 23)
- Alignment – hosting a State Parks strategy session in Santa Cruz on 4/23 with members of the CAMTB Exec committee and the Legislative and Govt Affairs Working Group to build alignment and consensus
- Engagement Plan Development (Target Completion May 15) – informed by the Discovery results and 4/23 strategic planning session. This will be presented to the larger member community in early May for comment
- Engagement – early on this means cultivating a shared relationship (under the CAMTB umbrella) with State Parks leadership/staff fostering trust with them, and exploring how we (CAMTB And State Parks) can build a fruitful partnership. We will be actively seeking 1-2 mutually beneficial projects that will help demonstrate our commitment to collaboration
- Organizational Mapping – living shared resource, including internal/external stakeholders and influencers – will be made available to CAMTB members.
Where we go from here will be determined by the evolving needs of member community, expressed through the Advisory Council and by our Legislative & Government Affairs Working Group. A similar, but ultimately unique approach will applied the other land mangers, including USFS, which is also a 2021 priority agency.
In addition to our work on State Parks and the Forest Service we are prioritizing support of our members and partner efforts to influence mission-aligned legislation, including outreach and letters of opposition/support to legislators across the state.
To date CAMTB has led or contributed to the following advocacy efforts here in the State:
- Signed on to National Parks and Recreation Association Joint Statement on Safe Use of Parks during Covid-19
- Support letter for Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship CA OHV Grant request
- Support letter to BLM for Cotoni-Coast Dairies Project in Santa Cruz County
- Support letter to Caltrans for Highway 17 Regional Trail and Wildlife Crossing Project
- Support letter for Hidden Falls Regional Park Trail Expansion Project
- Lake Tahoe West Restoration Project Scoping
- Federal Agenciesโ Policy on E-bikes
- City of Murrietta Development/Greer Ranch
- Lakes Basin and Sherwins Area Trail Enhancement Project Scoping
- CAMTB Statewide eBike Policy recommendations
- REMBAโs COVID Public Safety videos
- 2020 Legislative Voting Guide
- Support Letter for AB 122 to California Assembly Transportation Committee
Board of Directors. CAMTB initiated the first phase of its expansion by putting out a call for nominations to the member community and beyond. The candidates are currently being reviewed, and once complete, the CAMTB Executive Committee will present a slate to the Advisory Council for consideration. As part of our expressed commitment to addressing JEDI in recreation, we, with intention, will be seeking to fill our roster with underrepresented voices.
Advisory Council. In August of last year we convened for our first Advisory Council (AC) meeting. Weโve hosted 3 gatherings since and will continue meeting with this trusted group of member advisors on a quarterly basis going forward. The AC is an essential component of our work, serving all of the sensory functions of the organization. Its input thus far is helping ensure that CAMTB is thoughtfully considering important issues like eBikes or Bikes in Wilderness. Itโs also playing a vital role in the cultural development of CAMTB.
We are excited to announce that Nikki Peterson, Executive Director of the SoCal League, has just been nominated and approved to serve as the councilโs second Chair. The founding Chair, Austin McInerny, will continue to serve on the AC as a representative of Bicycle Trails Council of the East Bay – we are forever grateful for Austinโs guidance and commitment to CAMTB the past two years.
Justice. Equity. Diversity. Inclusion. CAMTB has made a public commitment, both organizationally and as a community, to address Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion, in outdoor recreation by first taking a hard and truthful look in the mirror. This week we also launched Justice Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Working Group. And later this fall we will be launching three JEDI pilots with CAMTB member organizations to serve as roadmaps – first for our members, and in time for the larger recreation community. CAMTB will be seeking underwriting from corporate sponsors to contract a DEI specialist to lead the pilots and generate a summary white paper of the findings. Participation in the pilot will come at no or little direct expense to the pilot organizations, save staff time. MBoSC, A4B, and SDMBA come to mind, given the scale of these orgs, but Iโm open to others if thereโs interest.
Next-Gen Engagement. The NorCal and SoCal Leagues are important members of and partners to CAMTB, as they maintain a vital link to the next generation of trail riding advocacy in California. In recognition of this, CAMTB will be exploring the development of a CAMTB Youth Ambassador program with the NorCal and SoCal Leagues. The program will activate young leaders across the state in support of volunteer trail days and our advocacy with State Parks, the USFS, and with legislators in Sacramento.
Events. We have an expanded events calendar this year, which includes presence at and hosting of:
- CA Trails & Greenways – Apr 5-7
- Lobby Laps – Jun (Tahoe), Aug (San Diego), Oct (Mendocino)
- A Spring State Parks Caucus – Apr (to inform our State Parks action plan)
- A Fall Legislative Caucus – Sep (to inform our California legislative action plan)
- CA Trails Advocacy Web Series – May, Sep, Nov
- In-Person Lobby Day in Sacramento – TBD
Partners. CAMTB has renewed its commitments with Together Bay Area, Recreate Responsibly, California Outdoor Recreation Partnership (CORP), and forged a new partnership with IMBA, as to become an IMBA Local Affiliate. This provides all CAMTB members a 20% discount on the IMBA Local membership fee, and unlocks valuable shared resources for us and our members.We’re deepening our engagement with Outdoor Alliance and actively seeking opportunities to play a supporting role in any mission-aligned legislative efforts including AB3030 over the next year.
What did we miss?! Got questions or comments? Email me here for more info. //Michael
