Checkered Flag Program
Take the Pledge?
Here's how!
Flags: $2/each,
6 for $10, or
10 pack for $15
Why is this so important?
During Thanksgiving Weekend in 1999 a ranger was knocked down at the Glamis Sand Drags; this was not good for us. That event drew attention all the way to Washington DC. The Sierra Club demanding the dunes be CLOSED because a reasonable amount of safety could not be maintained. A non-environmental issue, to be sure, but ammunition they could use just the same.
A six-member team was dispatched from Washington to gather facts. This team included: Walter Johnson, Chief BLM Law Enforcement Officer; Dennis McLane, Deputy Chief BLM Law Enforcement Officer; and Al Wright, State Director of the BLM. In addition, there was Dave Widell, District Deputy of the State of California Division of State Parks (green sticker fees). A very heavyweight group to say the least.
For two hours they interrogated Jerry Seaver, chair of the TRT, co-founder of the ASA, and current ASA president. Their big question was that they wanted to be sure that the dune community was behind the law enforcement community. The only proof Jerry could offer was that a grassroots movement had just recently sprung up. That movement being called the CHECKERED FLAG movement.
Checkered flags stand for our support of law enforcement.
Luckily, when this group took their tour of the dunes, they saw a few of them. Talk about dumb luck. Okay, fast forward to President's Day weekend when Jerry Seaver gets a phone call from Washington DC regarding that meeting ̶ it took them that long to finalize their report.
Wait, Johnson tells Jerry that he has good news for us ̶ they are NOT GOING TO CLOSE THE DUNES!!
"What??" you're probably asking yourself.
Yes, folks, it really did come that close. They came down looking to close the dunes permanently.
As it turns out, they CAN CLOSE THE DUNES IN 24 HOURS if they have a good enough reason.
Therefore, we need to get as many CHECKERED FLAGS ON WHIPS out there as possible.
So, let's do this folks... and show them that we are behind them 120% percent,
and get checkered flags on EVERY OHV in the dunes!
