another land use battle *nationwide* we need your signature

Below is a mailing from my local riders club. Please read and sign if you ride anywhere in the U.S.




I am writing to you all to ask that you go the link below, and sign the petition located there. This is a petition to fight the Forest Service's effort to close 80-90% of ALL forest service roads -
NATIONWIDE. If they are successful in passing their "Travel Management
Rule", they will close all but the MAIN roads in and out of the forest, and we will have no other access by ANY Motorized vehicle. You will not be able to Camp off these main roads - to retrieve a game animal off road or retrieve firewood. You will either have to carry out to the open roads by hand, or obtain a special use permit to go off road in a vehicle. You will also have to WALK into the forest to find game or firewood, as the roads we all presently use throughout the forest will be Closed !!! Ken and I truly believe that this will not only impact our use of the forests, but it will impact the economy in our community as well as others in similar areas throughout our state (and across the
US) in a huge way!!! If people cannot come to our mountains and use the PUBLIC forest lands as we do now, not only will folks quit coming to camp/hunt/fish etc, but they will find new places to have their "summer cabins" - and go elsewhere to recreate and build - somewhere they have the Freedom to do what they are there for... and full enjoyment of OUR PUBLIC LANDS!



We will lose our Freedom in the Forests and Much More if we do not fight this proposed Rule. This will be voted on and monies appropriated to put into full swing before summer. If passed, by 2009 this will become a reality. What's worse, this is only the tip of the iceberg.... they have so many other measures they are trying to implement to keep us out. What they do plan to keep open, will all have a FEE tied to the use of camping, boating, game/fuelwood retrieval even day use areas.
This is all in addition to the permits and licenses we are already
required to pay for. If I am not mistaken, we already pay to enjoy the
public lands merely by being tax paying citizens !



I have a lot more information on this if you want to call or email me with questions, but for now, *please go to the link, sign the petition, and then forward it to ALL your family and friends to do the same. *



*Shelley & Ken Moore*

*Heber/Overgaard, AZ*



http://access-advocates.org/petition_01/

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check out the Home Page for the people who are puting out the petition, they are a grass roots group from up in Inyo county and the Bishop, CA area. If any of you work with 4 wheeler clubs, atv clubs, hunting clubs, etc. get this in front of them! it affects them too!

The Open access group suggests also copying and pasting the resolution below to your organizations letterhead and mailing it off the the address below.


COPY & PASTE THE BELOW RESOLUTION ONTO YOUR ORGANIZATOINS LETTERHEAD
Email or mail the resolution on your organizations letterhead to:
[email protected]
Or by mail:
Advocates for Access to Public Lands
PO Box 1543
Bishop, CA 93514
Thanks



A RESOLUTION SUPPORTING CONGRESSIONAL LEGISLATION TO ESTABLISH A SEMI-PRIMITIVE ROADED AND ROADLESS BACKCOUNTRY RECREATION DESIGNATION ON CERTAIN PUBLIC LANDS

WHEREAS, a need exists to establish a legislative designation for public lands which more accurately identifies the public usages on such lands, which usages are not fully addressed by other designations such as Wilderness, Scenic Rivers, National Parks, National Monuments or similar designations; and

WHEREAS, many public lands are currently used for OHV touring, backpacking, snowmobiling, rock hounding, hunting, fishing, hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, nature study and viewing the scenery; and

WHEREAS, existing roads and trails, within the boundaries of a legislated Semi-Primitive Roaded and Roadless Backcountry Recreation designation will continue to be accessible to the elderly and handicapped as identified in the American Disability Act; and

WHEREAS, many of these lands contain cultural resource sites, pre-historic and historic sites, which are protected by federal and state laws; and

WHEREAS, the current public uses on these lands have co-existed with other uses such as the extraction of natural resources, livestock grazing, wildlife management, resource conservation activities and private property rights; and

WHEREAS, the current public uses on these lands have also coincided with the important wildlife habitat, a variety of plant communities and many other significant resources; and

WHEREAS, the economic and recreational value of existing roads and trails are subject to elimination under more restrictive land use designations and in order to protect the existing uses a new designation is necessary and desirable; and

WHEREAS, use of existing designations would lead to confusion in that large areas of public lands would be carved up in order to maintain existing economic and recreational uses; and

WHEREAS, it is believed that the establishment of a legislated Semi-Primitive Roaded and Roadless Backcountry Recreation designation would insure that existing roaded and roadless recreation areas would have the same permanent identity equal to other designations; and

WHEREAS, a Semi-Primitive designation would establish large areas identified by clear boundaries to protect and provide for predominantly natural looking environment where evidence of human presence, restrictions and controls are present, but subtle; and

WHEREAS, a Semi-Primitive designation would maintain current recreational and economic uses on public lands, while providing protection for the cultural, historic and environmental concerns; and

WHEREAS, a Semi-Primitive designation would alleviate the need for existing wilderness study areas within the boundaries of Semi-Primitive areas and, therefore existing wilderness study areas located within the boundaries of a Semi-Primitive area would be released; and

WHEREAS, the extraction of natural resources, livestock grazing, wildlife management, resource conservation activities and private property rights would not be impacted by a Semi-Primitive designation as management of such activities would continue under existing federal, state and county regulations; and

Whereas, the OHV community has a long standing working relationship with the Forest Service and BLM management and field forces and a Semi-Primitive designation would strengthen that relationship.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that this organization does hereby support federal legislation to establish a Semi-Primitive Roaded and Roadless Backcountry Recreation designation on certain public lands.

The Madera Dirt Riders whom sent out the email is a very active club in central CA. I trust that they know what they are talking about. They are one of the only dirt rider clubs of any size between LA and Sacramento, with the exception of the Salinas Ramblers out of San Jose. If you go to the sponsors website from this link they seem like a group that has their fingers on the pulse of the land use issues.

here is there link..., http://access-advocates.org/take_action.htm