Locally, we're having a work party at Virtue Flat OHV Area, near Baker City, Oregon. I'm sure I'll be there in one form or another this year and hope you will too.

This is becoming an annual event, and your participation makes a very real difference to this area and the way it is managed. That is a fact.

This is your opportunity to give something back to your public lands. We in the USA are very fortunate to even have such a thing as "public lands". It's an alien concept to most folks, something that is easy for us here to take for granted. But if you stop and think about it, having millions of acres of open land to enjoy, regardless of your chosen activity there, is really a treasure worth preserving, and events like NPLD are one way to do that.

So even if you are not a 4-wheeler, please come out. There will surely be something for everyone to do, even kids, and you can pitch in as little or as much as you feel comfortable. And remember: every person that shows up out there is like a vote. By your presence and participation, you are casting a vote for public lands, a vote for Virtue Flat, and a vote for 4-wheeling... which is a lot more than most of the other user groups are doing for this place.

Virtue Flat is used by motorcycles, quads, shooters, mountain bikers, horseback riders, hikers, hunters, and yes... 4x4 folks like us. But out of all those people, the 4x4's have shown up in the largest numbers for NPLD every year and worked to give something back. Believe me, that is not lost.

The fact is, we are very lucky to have a place like Virtue Flat to go wheeling. Look around... legal trails are not falling out of the sky, and others are being closed left and right because nobody is willing to adopt them and work to keep them open. Now is your chance. Opportunities just like this are what will keep your trails open. Failing to step up to the plate will get your trails closed. And if you are reading this and are nowhere near Virtue Flat, call around to your local land managers and ask them if there are any National Public Lands Day events in your area. Do whatever you can.

Put it on your calendar! Work day on the 24th, wheeling day on the 25th!

Thanks for your support.

For more info about NPLD, click here:
NPLD