Interesting Tactics By The Dark Side

[Grumpy]

Know Thine Enemies...
by Dave Skinner,
Contributing Writer
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Ever heard of the Nevada Responsible Trails Alliance (NRTA)? In the summer of 2007, supposedly on behalf of OHV users, they lobbied the Nevada legislature for a blanket "closed unless open" policy across the state.

Or how about Responsible Trails Arizona? These "responsible riders" asked the Arizona State Parks Board for a shift in the composition of the Arizona OHV funding advisory board ï so that OHV users would be in the minority!

If you live in Colorado, you might have seen several letters in the Denver Post written by a supporter of a group called Responsible Trails America (RTA). The letters, sent in April 2008, contained a simple, well-crafted message: In order to keep the "irresponsible [ORV] contingent from ruining things for everyone else," RTA was taking the lead in "advocating affordable, common-sense steps that will keep trail riding in the backcountry responsible and safe for everyone."

The RTA message came in a professionally produced, glossy, 4-color package wherein they claim leadership on "common-sense solutions to the problem of reckless off-road vehicle riding." The press ate it up. The Atlantic City (NJ) Press called RTA "a coalition advocating responsible ATV riding." Doesn't that sound nice? So OHV friendly. Don't you just want to join?


So who is RTA and what do they really want?

Amazingly enough, it is a sidebar from those OHV-lovers at the New York Times that hints best at the reality of RTA. Listed right alongside the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance and several other well known wilderness organizations, as groups "seeking to curb" public lands riding, is Responsible Trails America. You know, you really CAN judge someone by the company they keep.

Fronting the Responsible Trails group in Arizona was lobbyist Genevra Richardson. Her firm, Ziemba Waid Public Affairs, is co-owned by the former Chairman for the Arizona Democratic Party. Her job before that was as Arizona Clean Elections Commission Campaign Finance Director. No, I'm NOT making that up.

Their Nevada operation is even more brazen. Their "state director" was one Carrie Sandstedt. She was Nevada conservation organizer for ï wait for it ï the Sierra Club. "She has also worked for The Wilderness Society in Washington, DC, [and] the California Wilderness Coalition," as it reads from her current official bio posted to the Campaign for America's Wilderness ï she's their "field director" now. You know, somehow I don't think we'll be seeing Genevra or Carrie at the next ATV Jamboree!

In March 2008, a sportsman on an Oregon Internet chat room suspected RTA of being "a lobbying group fronting a PR push." He was close enough to the truth to stir a response from RTA's official spokesman, Harrison Schmitt. No, not the Apollo astronaut Harrison Schimitt, but rather the former American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) union operative Harrison Schmitt. Schmitt responded to the sportsmen's suspicions by saying RTA was about a year and a half old and funded by "a public charitable organization called the Arabella Legacy Fund [another ALF!] that supports public interest projects on land management and children's health."

"Children's health?" Yep. ALF funded a "study" for "Concerned Families for ATV Safety," a group that wants the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission to regulate ATVs for, as well as banning ATV use by, all persons under 16 years old.

RTA appears to be a direct subsidiary to ALF. In 2007, for example, the hard-green Wilburforce Foundation granted $25,000 to ALF for RTA to "protect public lands in the southwest from the impacts of off-road vehicles."

ALF is an IRS-registered 501(c)3 "public charity" under the environmental "C05 Research Institutes and/or Public Policy Analysis" category. Its mission: "Support innovative and effective public interest projects."


Its public interest projects? A coordinated anti-recreation campaign. Period.

ALF's mostly-blank 2006 tax return on Guidestar.org lists no board of directors, no employees, zero "public support" funding percentage, and "program service revenue" of $545,000. It spent $24,074 on "ORV Campaign," part of roughly 40 grand to consultants, travel and fees, and was sitting on $499,402 in "Cash ï non-interest-bearing" and $5,324 in prepaid expenses at the end of 2006.

Wow ï an OHV group nobody's ever heard of goes from zero to half a million in one year? Yep, and ALF did all that paying no rent, no fundraisers, and buying only $41 of supplies?

A miracle? Not really, it's just that ALF is the "charitable" arm of Arabella Investment Advisors, LLC, a firm founded by one Eric J. Kessler.


The Man and the Money

Publicly, Arabella LLC "is a dynamic, fast-growing consulting firm providing strategic philanthropy advice [about] contributions to nonprofit organizations [offering] due diligence, expert insight and strategic clarity [ï] Our unbiased analysis helps donors support nonprofit causes and organizations with confidence."

Don't laugh. Arabella clients, so far, include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and, on the corporate side, Microsoft, Novartis, and Hyatt. Arabella also advises "high net worth individuals and families across the country."

So, who is Kessler? His "official" Arabella LLC biography reveals little — but enough: "Eric's public service includes working as the first National Field Director for the non-partisan League of Conservation Voters Education Fund and as a White House political appointee in the Clinton Administration. He also spent six years working in the former Soviet Union, Southeast Asia, and throughout the Middle East where he helped encourage democratic reform."


Nice guy, right?

A twisting, winding Internet trip trailing Eric Kessler through Googleland begins to fill out the picture. We begin in September 1990, when the New York Times reported on Kessler's leadership of an unsuccessful Colorado University-Boulder campus boycott against the Coors family and Coors beer. The "about us" page at the radical Earth Island Institute's (EII) then relates how student Eric Kessler heard EII founder Dave Brower lecture, then drank martinis with Brower afterwards, and inspired, "was hooked. He hitchhiked to San Francisco the following summer [1991] to volunteer for Earth Island."

In 1997, Kessler nailed an "outstanding alumni" award from CU's Environmental Center for being an "aide to Secretary of Interior," meaning Bruce Babbitt, that great "friend" of motorized recreation and former director of the League of Conservation Voters (LCV).

Then there are Kessler's Federal Elections Commission political donations records. Since 1998, Kessler has given a minimum of $37,550 to mainly Democratic politicians, including John Kerry, Lane Evans, Mark Udall, and Paul Babbitt; and green PACs such as the LCV Action Fund and Environment 2004 PAC. His April 1998 donation of $500 to the League of Conservation Voters lists his employer as "Department of the Interior" and occupation as "Environmentalist."

Now, how does someone who hitchhiked to San Francisco, has always worked for "nonprofits" and showers money on politicians end up advising "high net worth" clients?

Well, it helps to have your own high net worth. Kessler's family owned and sold Fel-Pro Gaskets to Federal Mogul. A 1998 Securities and Exchange Commission "S-3" filing for Federal Mogul lists an "Eric J. Kessler Irrevocable Trust 12/77" and a "Lewis Weinberg Grandchildren's Gift Trust 12/82 Eric" owning 44,813 shares, which, at the time of the Federal Mogul sale, were selling at $42.25 — $1.893 million.

There you have it, gang. A glossy media package, a lot of attitude, a snort of deception, a few politically connected friends and a big fat trust fund to top it off ï isn't it AMAZING what one person can do?

Mr. Kessler's idea of saving the planet is simple: Pay known wilderness lobbyists to pose as "responsible OHV users," and hope nobody throws the BS flag. Laughable? You bet, but as a "strategic advisor" to some major foundations, Kessler is in a position to "advise" the plowing of major money into a major campaign of deception to close your roads and trails. Will his scheme work?

It is interesting to note that ALF's strategy here resembles anti-National Rifle Association groups "Americans for Gun Safety" and "American Hunters and Shooters Association." Both have attempted to set up state-level "we're gun people, really" Astroturf campaigns in order to confuse and break up the gun and hunting bloc into warring factions. It didn't work with the NRA, and it won't work with BRC members either.


Expect RTA to pop up again. What then?

Well, as Ben Franklin once said, "Time will inevitably uncover dishonesty and lies; history has no place for them." So, take the time to make copies of this article. When "Responsible Trails Whatever" gets in the news, call the reporter AND his or her editor and HAND them a copy, then watch them READ it. Do the same for your elected officials. Make sure they understand what, and who, RTA really represents.

—Questions or comments regarding this article should be directed to the BlueRibbon Coalition: Phone: 208-237-1008, Fax: 208-237-9424. Email: <brmag@sharetrails.org>.

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RTA attempts AZ OHVAG hijack

On January 11, 2008, each member of the Arizona Parks Board was sent a letter by a group calling themselves Responsible Trails Arizona. The letter asked the Board to consider radically altering the Arizona Off-Highway Advisory Group (OHVAG) so that OHV users are a voting minority. So began a brazen hijack attempt on one of the best managed OHV programs in existence.

Days later, on January 15, the Parks Board received two other letters. One letter was signed by Dan Patterson, known for his infamous work with the Center for Biological Diversity, and representatives from nine of some of the most powerful and politically active anti-OHV groups in the state. The other identical letter was sent by the Arizona Wildlife Federation (AWF), normally considered to be a credible wildlife advocacy group. Both letters made the same request as the January 11 letter from the Responsible Trails Arizona outfit.

The Arizona State Parks Board has established two public advisory groups to provide input to the Board regarding motorized and non-motorized trail user needs and fund expenditures. OHVAG performs this function for the motorized side, and the Arizona State Committee on Trails (ASCOT) performs this function for the non-motorized side.

The OHV Advisory Group is composed of seven members. Five of the seven members are required to be from organized off-road vehicle clubs and the other two members are citizen-at-large or casual off-road vehicle user positions. Patterson and his cronies want to change that reasonable arrangement.

As soon as BRC learned of this plan, we immediately responded with a letter to the Parks Board. While there is no reason to believe the Parks Board will consider Patterson's uber-clever attempt to "balance" the OHVAG, we will be keeping a close eye on the situation.

UPDATE: Partly in response to the letters, the Arizona Parks Board changed one of the citizen-at-large positions to a "sportsman" representative.
BlueRibbon Magazine, September 2008