Thanks for all who have posted so far!
I hope that others have sent their email in and have just not posted. Did you know that on average only 10% of the OHV riding public is involved in land use issues? That is one of the main reasons so many of our riding area's are getting shut down.
The anti access crowd is well organized, and well funded by their member's, and that is why they are so successful at getting so many area's shutdown.
It takes money folks, and activism. I have chosen to be an active member in the BRC, or Blue Ribbon Coalition. They have taken the fight directly to the anti access crowd, and used their tactics such as getting matching funds from the government to help with the legal battles, and have won some major victories at the National level, which is where the management of most of the land that is "ours" takes place.
Another side benefit from the recent "change" in the majority in the house, is that there is pending legislation to de-fund the "Wild Lands" project. Not familiar? You should be. This is a program that has been set up by the current Secretary Salazar, Department of the Interior, to give free reign to the BLM, without due process to designate area's as "Wild Lands" effectively by passing congressional action to create de facto wilderness area's.
Here is the most recent email alert I got on this subject from ARRA:
Important Update – Big Win on Key Access Issue
Congress has avoided a government shutdown and an access crisis by crafting a Continuing Resolution (CR) that has been agreed to by House and Senate leaders. The CR legislation for Fiscal Year 2011 includes a provision that limits the use of funds for the Department of Interior (DOI) to “implement, administer, or enforce” Secretarial Order 3310 (also known as the "Wild Lands" policy). This means that DOI cannot implement its Wild Lands Initiative in Fiscal Year 2011, which ends on September 30th 2011. This will give valuable time to key Congressional leaders to permanently stop Secretarial Order 3310.
As you know, the Wild Lands Initiative gives the BLM immediate authority to "designate appropriate areas with wilderness characteristics under its jurisdiction as 'Wild Lands' and to manage them to protect their wilderness values." This is clearly at odds with the Wilderness Act, which provides sole authority to designate areas as wilderness to the Congress.
Secretary Salazar unveiled the Wild Lands Initiative over the Christmas Holiday and friends of sustainable access immediately jumped in to fight back. The House Natural Resources Committee held a hearing on this issue and others have weighed in as well to make sure access and multiple use is protected on BLM lands.
House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (R-WA), National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands Subcommittee Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) and House Appropriations Committee, Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Chairman Mike Simpson (R-ID) have provided key leadership to advance this issue, but there will be more work to do to.
ARRA will continue to keep you apprised of developments and opportunities to weigh in.
It's looking like there will be further "change" in 2012 in the senate, which will give further steam to getting some common sense legislation in place so that everyone can enjoy "our" lands. Get in involved and make a change!
Do a google search for the "Wild Lands Project", and you can see that long term agenda of the anti access crowd.
Here are a few links:
http://www.twp.org/wildways Be sure and look at the "wild ways" maps!
http://www.motoutah.com/forum/13-land-u ... -and-share
Here's what your friends at the UN have in mind for you:
http://www.un.org/esa/dsd/agenda21/
http://www.citizenreviewonline.org/spec ... y_step.htm
WAKE UP MY SISTERS AND BROTHERS!
