VOLUME 62 ISSUE 9 MARCH 4, 2025 P129
sure. Unfortunately, it became an
abused method for special-interest
activist groups to fund an endless
parade of lawsuits against federal
land-management agencies.
I have seen firsthand how rec
-
reation and forest-health projects
have
been stalled due to lack of
funding since those EAJA awards
are deducted from an agency's
individual budgets. It's tough to
pay for a trail crew, repair a blown-
out road, replace toilet paper in
an SST, or purchase gas for an
agency vehicle to ferry staff to a
fuel project when the account bal
-
ance is zero.
In 1990,
when I started on
my land-use journey, the Forest
Service's annual budget was $921
million dollars. Today, the annual
budget is about $9.3 billion dol
-
lars, which is largely gobbled up
by
high-level career-siloed staff
tasked with mitigating adverse
impacts to the agency by the regu
-
latory and legal-industrial complex
that often
leaves nothing but fiscal
crumbs to support recreation and
resource management efforts.
Be assured that I will continue
to advocate for budgetary sup
-
port of important staff work at the
local level
that provides important
on-the-ground public services,
including access to high-quality
recreation opportunities, forest-
health projects, pre- and post-
wildfire mitigation, and natural and
cultural resource conservation
practices.
CN
"A landscape-
sized clear cut is
not a good forestry
practice, nor are
massive layoffs
of land-agency
recreation staff."
-Amador
Don Amador has been
in the trail advocacy and
recreation management
profession for 35 years.
Don is President of Quiet
Warrior Racing LLC. Don
is Past President/CEO and
current board member
of the Post Wildfire OHV
Recovery Alliance. Don
is a Co-Founder and
Core-Team member on
FireScape Mendocino, a
forest health collaborative
that is part of the National
Fire Learning Network.
Don served as an AD
Driver for the Forest
Service North Zone Fire
Cache during the 2022,
2023 and 2024 Fire
Seasons. Don is a Pacific
Northwest California
native and writes from his
home in Cottonwood, CA.
Don Amador on his 2024 Beta
390 doing a trail survey at the
BLM's Chappie Shasta OHV Area
near Redding, California.
