To answer that question, I might best serve by answering the question of, "What has happened since?"

The major point of this trip was the Board and Staff at BRC wanted feedback and not from a survey. There is no substitute for personal feedback. To that end, everywhere I went, I posed two questions to the people I met with:

1) What are your concerns with management of our public lands and waters?
2) What adjustments or changes do you think that BRC needs to make to improve our organization into the future?

The first order of business when I got back from the trip was to rest my weary butt. In the process, we also took the time to send a mailing to all of our members asking the same two basic questions. We wanted to be certain that we heard from as many of our members as we could.

The response was incredible. It took a bit to get through them all and consolidate them down to specific priorities. You will be interested to know that the top suggestions for where BRC should focus to improve as an organization are to:

1) Develop regional/local representation
2) Cultivate more cooperation among users, user groups and organizations
3) Improve communications, including printed
4) Grow membership, bolster clubs and volunteers
5) Greater PR outreach to a broader community
6) Enhance our legal efforts

So, organizationally speaking, those are our basic marching orders, direct from our members. There is also the promise I made at the beginning of the trip that I was going to take the concerns our folks have with management to those who can do something about it in Washington, DC.

So here is what is next, or the answer to the question titling this post.

First, it is important to provide the opportunity for ongoing and continued dialogue with you all about what we are doing with this information. In light of that, I have asked our tech guys to keep this blog and its sister facebook page active. This journey is by no means over with and I want you to continue to engage with me on this blog and on facebook. I intend to use this to post up progress in acting on the priority list above.

I also intend to use these tools to keep you apprised of my coming trip to DC and the inevitable follow-up that goes with that. This I think is going to be very interesting.

You gave us feedback that will shape the future, both of this organization and what it serves to do, protect your recreational access. The best of BRC is yet to come. Check back with me here regularly and continue to engage with me.

Greg Mumm
Executive Director
BlueRibbon Coalition