Well, I live in Maryland. And all I can say is I hope my state senators and representatives don't find this thread, or more the point, that no one on the Trails side finds it, prints it out, and circulates it to them. By the time they get done reading the very witty politicians and diapers jokes I'm sure they'll be in a terrific frame of mind to fund WMSRR and other things I care about like NCTM or the B&O Museum, too.

Why do the trails people win? They organize, lobby, campaign, and persuade. Why do we so often lose? Becuase we spend our time hanging out joking about politicians and diapers instead of behaving like adults and making our case in a responsible, persuasive way.

I mean this in all seriousness--if this thread is the best the RyPN community can come up with on why my Maryland legislators should save the WMSRR, I wouldn't blame them a bit for zeroing it out. Ya reap what ya sow. Maybe someday we'll realize that. Or maybe we never will, and we'll just keep getting out-competeted and shoved out of the way by other groups who want to use our sites for other purposes, and who have a better sense of how the world works and how to get things done. In which case, the political marketplace will have worked, and we'll have gotten what we deserved.

Erik,

Well said. One day I will finishing writing that editorial on the same subject.

Wesley

Erik,

Your points are well taken. I advise two non-profit groups about dealing with politicans. My rules are to keep them informed, invite them to every event you sponsor, and (most important!) treat members of both parties equally - you never know when the party in power may be replaced by the other. It is good to keep them informed before you need a favor or money. And it is good to always tie it back to what you are doing to help the community.

That being said, the rails to trails crowd is politically tuned in in a way we can never hope to match. Only a handful of us work at railroad preservation fulltime (and many of those who do work for for-profit entities). The number of rails to trails "advocates" who work for taxpayer funded entities is staggering. Also, much money is available to those who advocate for "green" causes. A lot of the rails to trails "non-profit" people get their salaries from the likes of the Ford Foundation or the Heinz Family Foundation. There is also a political "hive" that these people are part of. I am aware of a conference recently where one of the larger (but not the largest) rail to trail coalitions was there with the Sierra Club, Common Cause, Greenpeace, etc. Where do we go to get that kind of firepower? I can assure you if one of the non-profits I work with showed up at a pro-business conference or even a statewide chamber of commerce meeting many of these same groups would be on the phones that day to complain about our non-profit status.

The only solution I have come up with is to start your conversations in your area early and have results you can point to. If the hotels and dining establishments in your area know your visitors are spending money with them because of you they can be your counterweight against a very well organized national taxpayer funded effort.

And yes, lay off the diaper jokes.