Punch line?

Nope, this isn’t a joke about trail conflict or politicians…it’s the scene from our first-ever Oregon Trails Coalition Trails Day at the Oregon Capitol in mid-February.

Over 70 of us traveled from all corners of Oregon to learn more about face-to-face advocacy with our elected officials.

Many of us have never stepped into legislative chambers before, had never been moved to take such a big step to advocate for our interests, but we’ve had a galvanizing issue in Oregon that has transcended the many different trail user groups in the state…our trails are closing, and many more are at risk.

You see, there is a law called recreational immunity which encourages landowners to open lands to the public for recreational use by protecting the landowner if a recreational user seeks damages after an injury. A court ruling last fall changed all of that when a woman slipped on a wooden footbridge on an improved trail accessing a beach and filed a lawsuit against the City of Newport. She alleged the city was negligent in maintaining the bridge and not putting up warning signs, and the courts agreed with her. You can read more about the issue on our blog, watch this recorded webinar for an overview, or read this article.

Since then, some local governments have proceeded to close trails (I think the number is over 20 now), and other land managers are scrambling to decide how to address this new level of liability.

Because the Oregon Trails Coalition is the state-wide cooperative body of broad-based, statewide trail interests dedicated to supporting, promoting, and advocating for trails, we decided to act.

As chair of the OTC steering committee for the next few years I was excited to take my advocacy game up a few notches as well. Because I was making the transition from writing letters, sending emails, signing petitions, and making phone calls to having face-to-face meetings with my electeds, I had a fair bit of nervousness about making my voice heard in this official way, but with the amazing leadership of our Executive Director Steph Noll, she organized a thoughtful training session for all of us to get tips on holding meetings, delivering clear messaging, and following through with a clear ask.

A few of us from Central Oregon banded together to speak to our state representatives, and it came as a little thrill when we realized while speaking to Representative Jason Kropf that the three of us were there on behalf of hiking, biking, and equestrian users….and we were all women…a power team! Emmie Andrews, Kim McCarrel, and I had met many times at Oregon Trail Coalition functions, and it was quite fun to all be taking this first step in our advanced-advocacy journey together.

So what happened after 70 of us descended on the capitol to ask for a legislative fix to recreational immunity in the short session this year? First, you can read the recap from the day here, the bill we were supporting (SB 1576 A) passed on the Senate Floor last week, and the bill is now scheduled for a public hearing in the House Judiciary Committee at 8am today, followed by a committee work session on Thursday when we hope it will be passed to the House Floor. And who is chairing the House Judiciary Committee? None other than Representative Jason Kropf.

So now what?

Update!!

On March 5, Senate Bill 1576 passed the House 50-0!
Read more here.

Thanks to Oregon Trails Coalition, some clear steps have been outlined:

If you live in Central Oregon:

Emails and testimony on behalf of Central Oregon organizations or businesses and just from individual constituents that care about trails are all great!  Nothing needs to be on letterhead; just  send a quick email ASAP to Representative Jason Kropf at Rep.JasonKropf@oregonlegislature.gov
and/or submit testimony before Tuesday’s hearing through this form.

If you live in Oregon:

Send a short email to your Oregon Representative letting them know that recreational immunity is important to you, and ask them to vote yes on SB 1576 A. You can find some talking points here, but it’s best just to send a brief note in your own words about why keeping local trails open and trail improvement and development projects on track is important to you.

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By the way, this day of action was a wonderful follow up to the January 10 Intentional Hiking event I held with American Trails and Partnership for the National Trails System about what your role can be in speaking up for trails with our elected leaders. Funny how that works!