The UTV World Championship partners with nonprofit Tread Lightly!
The UTV World Championship is teaming up with nonprofit Tread Lightly! to promote off-road environmental stewardship.
When UTV racers, fans and vehicle and aftermarket manufacturers unite for the 7th annual UTV World Championship in Lake Havasu City, AZ (October 13th – 17th), they’ll be made more aware of responsible recreation and outdoor ethics thanks to the common goals of event organizers and the nonprofit.
“Covid has supercharged the already rapid growth of the UTV market with 72% of sales being new UTV users. We want to ensure that we teach people new to off-road culture that responsible land use is one of our most important duties,” stated UTV World Championship CEO Matt Martelli in a press release.
The UTV World Championship is a “Leave It Better” event and is working towards creating an organized desert clean-up in the Sonoran desert just outside Lake Havasu.
“Even just the basic tenet of pack it in, pack it out, making sure you take out any trash you bring in needs to be reinforced as a basic rule of thumb for off-road recreation,” Martelli continued. “Nobody wants to see trash in our beautiful desert! If we all work together we will be able to enjoy the deserts for generations to come instead of having areas shut down due to negligent behavior.”
Based in Centerville, Utah, Tread Lightly! Began as a campaign to address impacts from off-road vehicles by the United States Forest Service in 1985, it became a nonprofit in 1990. The organization and its partners lead a national initiative to protect and enhance recreation access and opportunities by promoting outdoor ethics to heighten individuals’ sense of good stewardship. Tread Lightly!’s goal, states the nonprofit, is to balance the needs of people who enjoy outdoor recreation with the need to maintain a healthy environment through minimum impact education and on-the-ground public land stewardship.
“We are extremely excited to be involved with the UTV World Championship. We love engaging directly with racers, enthusiasts and fans to promote responsible recreation,” stated Tread Lightly! Executive Director Matt Caldwell. “The rapid growth of UTV community has given us a unique opportunity to engage with people as they enter into off-road culture and lead them to develop an ethic to ‘Leave it Better’.”
The UTV World Championship begins with the Rigid Industries Poker Run on Wednesday, October 13th, followed by the AZ West UTV Festival on Thursday, October 14th, both taking place in downtown Lake Havasu City. Racing begins on Friday, October 15th and continues into Saturday, the 16th.
Individuals and businesses can commit to Tread Lightly! and protect outdoor access by becoming a member at www.treadlightly.org.
