Many of us OHV enthusiasts recreate on public lands, especially those of us in the west, and, having been in all 48 of the Continental states, I’ve recreated and camped in most of our National Forests, including New Mexico’s Lincoln National Forest, where the USFS’s mascot Smokey Bear was born. In 1950, wildfire raged through the Capitan Mountains and LNF, and a badly-burned black bear cub was found clinging to a tree and was rescued. The bear was flown to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., in June of 1950 and he became “Smokey Bear,” the national symbol of wildfire prevention and wildlife conservation. The USFS and Ad Council had launched the Smokey Bear ad campaign on August 9th, 1944, so Smokey became the real, living legend and served for 25 years before being replaced by another orphaned black bear at the zoo. He was laid to rest at the LNF’s Smokey Bear Museum when he died.