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Recreation· Motorized recreation

Blue Ribbon Coalition

“Preserve and protect public land access for all forms of outdoor recreation.”

Home groundPocatello, ID
Founded1987
KindRecreation 501(c)(3)
Led byBen Burr

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The work

What they do

Motorized recreation access advocacy. Works to keep roads and trails open for OHV, snowmobile, and mechanized use on USFS and BLM lands.

Every year they sign one sentence and file it with the federal government: “BLUERIBBON ADVOCATES FOR SHARED RECREATION ON PUBLIC LANDS. BY LEGAL INTERVENTION, IT DEFENDS AND CHALLENGES LAND-USE AGENCIES' PLANNING.”

Where the money went, FY2024

The work, and what it cost

Bringing people into the fight

$474K

TO KEEP PUBLIC RECREATION ACCESS OPEN ON PUBLIC LANDS BRC PUBLIC LANDS DEPARTMENT MONITORS STATE LAND AGENCIES, THE INTERIOR DEPARTMENT, US FOREST SERVICE, AND BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT’S RECREATIONAL ACCESS PLANNING, IS...

Read it as they filed it
EDUCATION AND ADVOCACY - TO KEEP PUBLIC RECREATION ACCESS OPEN ON PUBLIC LANDS BRC PUBLIC LANDS DEPARTMENT MONITORS STATE LAND AGENCIES, THE INTERIOR DEPARTMENT, US FOREST SERVICE, AND BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT'S RECREATIONAL ACCESS PLANNING, ISSUES AND INITIATIVES AFFECTING PUBLIC LANDS' RECREATION ACCESS, RECREATION MANAGEMENT, AND NATURAL RESOURCE CONSERVATION. BRC PROVIDES MEMBERS WITH A ROBUST WEBSITE OF NATIONWIDE INFORMATION TO KEEP ENTHUSIASTS ABREAST OF LAND-USE ISSUES AND AGENCY PLANNING. WE PROVIDE ACTION ALERTS AND AN RSS FEED ON LOCAL AND NATIONAL ISSUES. WE PROVIDE HISTORICAL LAND-USE INFORMATION, LINKS TO OTHER ENTHUSIAST ORGANIZATIONS AND TO LAWMAKERS. WE HELP MEMBERS UNDERSTAND AND NAVIGATE THE COMPLICATED LAND-USE PLANNING PROCESS; WE CONSULT WITH TECHNICAL EXPERTS AND SCIENTISTS ON RECREATION AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ISSUES; AND WE HELP RECREATIONISTS PROVIDE MEANINGFUL COMMENTS TO AGENCIES AND GOVERNING BODIES. WE COORDINATE OUR ADVOCACY WORK WITH LOCAL, STATE, OR NATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS TO MAXIMIZE IMPACT ON THE LAND-USE PLANNING PROCESS. WE MEDIATE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN USERS OF VARIOUS MODES OF RECREATION AND HELP THEM WORK TOGETHER TOWARD MEANINGFUL "ON THE GROUND" SOLUTIONS. WHERE THERE ARE GAPS IN LOCAL INVOLVEMENT AND, WHERE APPLICABLE, BRC ACTIVELY AND DIRECTLY ENGAGES IN THOSE PLANNING PROCESSES ON BEHALF OF ITS MEMBERS. WITHIN THE LEGAL CONFINES OF THE IRS 50(C)(3) REGULATIONS, BRC LOBBIES ON BEHALF OF ITS MEMBERS ON LEGISLATIVE INITIATIVES AFFECTING RECREATIONAL FUNDING, RECREATIONAL ACCESS, AND OTHER SIMILAR ISSUES HAVING AN IMPACT ON ACCESS AND UTILIZATION OF PUBLIC LANDS AND WATERS.

IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2024, signed under penalty of perjury.

Holding the line in court

$40K

BRC DEVELOPED AND ACTIVELY MAINTAINS A LEGAL ACTION PROGRAM TO MONITOR, EVALUATE, AND TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION ON ISSUES AFFECTING RECREATION AND RESOURCE UTILIZATION ON PUBLIC LANDS AND WATERS.

Read it as they filed it
LEGAL - BRC DEVELOPED AND ACTIVELY MAINTAINS A LEGAL ACTION PROGRAM TO MONITOR, EVALUATE, AND TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION ON ISSUES AFFECTING RECREATION AND RESOURCE UTILIZATION ON PUBLIC LANDS AND WATERS. THESE ACTIVITIES ADVANCE, AND ARE LIMITED BY, THE EXEMPT PURPOSES OF THE COALITION. THROUGH OUR LEGAL ACTION PROGRAM, BRC PROVIDES A LEGAL ELEMENT TO OUR ADVOCACY EFFORTS. THE PROGRAM HELPS BRC MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS OBTAIN AN INITIAL REVIEW OF THEIR SPECIFIC PROBLEM, WHICH SERVE AS A SPRINGBOARD TO ENTER ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS AND LITIGATION.

IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2024, signed under penalty of perjury.

Follow the dollar

73 cents of every dollar goes to the work

73¢
73¢ the work20¢ keeping the lights on7¢ finding the next member

Read it as a snapshot, not a scorecard. Splits move year to year with grants and campaigns, and healthy shops live all across this range.

$513,634 programs, $140,302 management, $47,060 fundraising. Form 990, FY2024.

The people

Who does the work

9paid staff
12board members
39years on the ground
Ben BurrExecutive DirectorSigned the 2025 federal filing as Executive Director

Succeeds Ranch Pratt in the officer table.

William SchusterAdmin Dir CfComp $60,083, FY2024

Honesty note: leadership comes from each year’s federal filing, so it can run a year behind. This one caught a changing of the guard in the act: the FY2024 officer table lists Ranch Pratt, the return itself is signed by Ben Burr. Orgs that claim their page can update it same-day. Work at BRC? Claim this page.

The filings

14 years of filings

14 years of filings

Total revenue by fiscal year, as filed. Point at the line for any year.

$1M$1.0M FY2420112024
Total revenue by fiscal year
YearRevenue
2011$692,297
2012$651,212
2013$544,734
2014$534,752
2015$571,061
2016$542,213
2017$607,451
2018$536,737
2019$369,299
2020$391,249
2021$734,667
2022$476,216
2023$814,916
2024$1,009,223

From $692K in 2011 to $1.0M in FY24, with no missed filing in 14 years.

Fights alongside Defenders of Wildlife (1 shared case), Earthjustice (1 shared case), National Audubon Society (1 shared case), Natural Resources Defense Council (1 shared case) and Sierra Club (1 shared case) and 2 more. Same case, same side, on the federal docket.

Stand with Blue Ribbon Coalition

39 years on the ground, 73 cents of every dollar on the line. That is who is holding it. There is room for one more.

Sources and methodFinancials, headcounts, and program text: IRS Form 990, FY2024 and 13 prior filings via ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, EIN 82-0413981. Leadership and compensation: Form 990 Part VII and the return’s signature block, FY2024 filing. Allies: co-litigation edges derived from the same dockets, same case and same side. Org-reported figures are always labeled. Data verified as of 2026-09-23. Nothing on this page is pay-to-play.