Happy Thanksgiving from your Southern Four Wheel Drive Association Board Of Directors and Leadership Volunteers. As fellow wheelers we are truly grateful for this beautiful land and it’s trails we’re able to explore. We’re even more grateful for the thousands of SFWDA Members who together progress our core mission for future generations - Conservation *Education * Recreation.#sfwda
The country’s most uncrowded state is making big investments in growing its recreation economy.
Wyoming wants more people to know that it is a place for outdoor lovers. Yet, while driving through America’s least-populated state, for long stretches of miles, the only sign of human existence is the occasional oil rig affixed to a rolling expanse of greenery and rocky hills. Extraction has historically fueled the Cowboy State’s economy and remains its No. 1 industry, but outdoor recreation—its No. 2 industry—is proving a viable and far-more sustainable source of income than the famously boom-and-bust-prone oil-and-gas enterprise. Thus, Wyoming has begun to invest in outdoor recreation more than ever before.
Read More from our source publisher;
https://outdoorindustry.org/article/wyoming-doubles-outdoor-recreation-economy/
“ Outdoor recreation already accounts for $5.6 billion in annual consumer spending in Wyoming, as well $1.6 billion in wages for 50,000 jobs—a considerable number when you consider that Wyoming’s entire population comes in at under 600,000 and that the extraction industries only account for about 27,000 jobs. Nearly 50 percent of Wyoming is comprised of public land. With iconic natural destinations such as Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons, it’s not surprising that outdoor recreation is indeed one of the state’s key economic drivers.
But not everyone sees outdoor recreation as a silver bullet for diversifying Wyoming’s economy. Mead’s outdoor recreation taskforce has to contend with the fact that, interspersed among much of Wyoming’s public lands are swaths of private land. And private land owners are wary about the prospect of growth (read: development) and heavier traffic, especially as more and more events and headlines point to irresponsible and disrespectful visitors.“
It’s almost time for our 2018 SFWDA Annual Meeting
Join us for our end of year meeting where we wrap up 2018 and discuss 2019.
Everyone is invited.This is an all access, no membership required meeting, and we want you all to join us either in person or LIVE online. That's right, anyone who can't make it in person can join us on your phone, tablet, laptop, smartphone, etc,, right at home. You are all welcome to join in. We will be streaming our Meeting LIVE on Facebook / YouTube this year from our SFWDA Page / Channel.
( www.facebook.com/SFWDA.org )
We will be holding our 2018 Annual Meeting on Saturday, December 1, 2018 at the Hilton Doubletree Hotel, Oak Ridge, TN. The agenda includes a review of 2018, presentation of 2019 budgets and elections of officers. By resolution, we will be proposing the creation of the following positions: Director Communications, Director Education, Director Conservation, Director Recreation and Director Business Development. Please contact any current officer with any questions.
This will be an interactive event in which all attendees can ask questions both in person and online live during the meeting while viewing the Facebook LIVE stream.
Guests can call the hotel directly at 865-481-2468 and refer to the group code or this private link:
Use code ( S4W ) to book a discounted room with our SFWDA event Code and enjoy some free Hot Cookies. See website for more details.
See you there..... #SFWDA
The Daniel Boone Backcountry Byway Receives ORBA Trail Award
The Daniel Boone Backcountry Byway has just been awarded by ORBA; the Off Road Business Association with its 2018 Trail Award! AFWDA is very proud of this award and For all the volunteers who have spent years of hard work and dedication to make this trail system come to life and we are extremely thankfull for being recognized.
The Daniel Boone Backcountry Byway (DBBB) is a high clearance four-wheel drive vehicle route comprised of highly scenic county and public roads. It is roughly one-third gravel, one-third asphalt, and one-third trail. It is around one hundred miles in length and traverses the Red River Gorge National Geologic Area and Daniel Boone National Forest in eastern Kentucky.The DBBB is moderate in difficulty. It is open to licensed and street legal vehicles. Historically, this area of Kentucky hosted Jeep Jamborees and other type events documented as early as 1969. In 2004, a travel management rule change by USFS closed many of the routes and ended the organized events and open access. Tourism dropped off for the local economies and we lost a world class-riding destination. Since the mid-2000's, a concerted effort from the Southern Four Wheel Drive Association (SFWDA, www.sfwda.org), five local counties, and the USFS resulted in the DBBB route being revitalized, publicized and supported. Generous grants from SFWDA, UFWDA, and maintenance support from the USFS sustains this important recreational resource for all people. SFWDA awarded the DBBB a grant to pay for a digital map to be built by the cartography business Cartotracks, www.cartotracks. Users download the PDF map of the DBBB onto their smartphones and the phone's GPS guides them accurately and safely along the route. This use of technology has helped revitalize the local economy. Providing a way for the public to navigate the route whether or not they are familiar with the area or had map-reading skills proved to be vital. It also condenses the recreational use of the forest, allowing for efficient use of maintenance resources. This initial DBBB route is the first phase and totals over 100 miles. There are many more miles of historic roads that can be added with further work. The DBBB is made possible by physical and financial support from all members of Southern Four Wheel Drive Association, Ohio River Four Wheelers, Kentucky Krawlers; and key contributors Jeffrey Dozier, Anthony Foster, Jeremy Robbins, Tyler Hensley, Aaron Roddy, Joe Kling, Luke Bogner of ECO-OHV, Jake and Jennifer White of Cartotracks, and Flint Holbrook, Director Land Use and Conservation SFWDA. SFWDA continues its work today supporting the DBBB through numerous conservation and access initiatives.
To Learn More and help support please visit our DBBB page here on the website.