Backpacking Light issued a press release today stating that they are seeking a partnership with the Blue Ribbon Coalition, an Off Road Vehicle community group. Their goal is to “join forces in the fight for American Wilderness preservation.”

They also listed several different issues that are undergoing a “feasibility study”

The development of completely noiseless ORVs with zero emissions of any type, zero sound of any type, and zero fuel consumption. Jordan notes that Wikipedia provides great latitude in its definition of a vehicle, which opens up a number of possibilities for creating the alternative ORV of the future. He notes that some of the outdoor industry’s most innovative companies are developing alternative ORVs that meet Jordan’s criteria, including Inov-8, Alpacka, and Wenonah, to name a few.

Creation of the new niche industry of “hiker-taxiing,” by which ORV owners receive money from hikers for taking them on rapid tours of their favorite trails. The benefits to this program would include fewer blisters, faster reconnaissance, having to invest less time into personal fitness, and the opportunity to “hug” an ORVer by riding on the back of his (or her) motorbike. “There are serious risks of increasing conflict with this program, but the rewards of intimacy could lead to long-lasting partnerships. Opposites attract, and we can’t fight that,” says Jordan.

Being mentored by the BRC in a new partnership with EA Sports to develop a series of video games to promote hiking. “ORVers have forged incredibly successful relationships with video gaming companies, and we want a piece of that action too,” says Jordan, who won the 1982 Donkey Kong tournament at the El Dorado Casino Hotel in Reno, Nevada, and hikes a lot too. “It’s time that the hiking community is recognized for their intensity and excitement among our screen-addicted youth, but we can’t do it without those who’ve paved that road ahead of us.” Jordan will model the new game series after PlayStation’s MX World Tour, but focus less on riding motorcycles and more on doing things motorcycle people could never do, like hike through a forest of blowdowns or haul all your stuff out to an island camp at the middle of an alpine lake using just a Therm-a-Rest and some duct tape. “Hey, we have a lot to offer too. Just give us a chance to rock your XBox, OK?”

I get some of this partnership. I’ve had numerous conversations with hunters and ORV’ers about the common ground we share. We can all agree that we want to preserve wilderness.

The problem comes when we try to define wilderness…