Just because you can get there doesn't mean you belong there!

[D4x4Fish]

I just recieved my "4wd sport utility mag". oct. 2004 Pg6, 4Word, has an article about BLM in Nevada's new plan of "if you dont see a sign at the front of the trail saying the trail is open. It is CLOSED!" :mad:

Quote
Pine Nut Mountain area
No signal track trails will remain open for use
Most two-track trails will be closed
The El Dorado Canyon area will be closed
The Bald Mountain area will be closed

Is California next?

[sarah]

Yes, actually. It's called the Mojave Desert Plan. There were hearing that we went to several months ago. We talked to the BLM dudes, and they said it was too late - there isn't much we can do. If it ain't OPEN, it's CLOSED. Better get your desert exploratory wheelin in real soon!

[D4x4Fish]

our goverment at work.

If we close all of the out doors and keep people out, we can sit in our neat little offices and not have to do anything all day.

The other side of the coin

If nobodys playing in the outdoors than we don't need them. So when cut backs come around, we lay them off. Now because they have some time on their hands, they'll want to go outside and play but can't because they locked everything up.

:confused:

[nagal]

I read this too in 4wd SUV mag and it just pisses me off! I did not spend 4 years of my life defending this country to have some beaurcrat (still looking for spell check in IE) cut my access to it.

I want to help fight this. Anyone know of some good groups to get involved with?

[sarah]

We were Cal4Wheel members last year, but I seriously don't think we've gained anything from the adventure. We should be supporting someone, but who?

[rick]

Yes, the "Mojave Desert Plan" will make all routes closed unless posted open in an area that basically covers all of San Bernardino county from Victorville to Nevada. We went to the meeting as Sarah said and they handed out a copy of the plan to anyone who wanted it. It is 4" thick, I don't know exactly how many pages. I haven't quite gotten through it yet. They had a "team" of people go out and survey trails with GPS so that they theoretically catch all of the major routes that will allow you to get from one place to another as well as all of the major trails that are worth driving. As far as what they actually post as open goes, that is another story. In Michigan about 15 years ago they started this same type of "management" in the forests there and it basically destroyed the dirt biking and riding as we knew it. They made it so that the trails don't always connect, where in the past the trail would run down the shoulder of the highway or off the side of the road. So you have to trailer to a parking lot to ride most of the trails now. In the past we could ride all day long and not have to worry about running out of trail. Needless to say, many people (including my family) got out of the sport for this reason. I am a bit skeptical that they will not do the same thing here. In the desert, many of the trails that we consider trails have road names, which means that if they do not post the "road" as a trail it will not be open to OHV use. Of course, this is not a problem for a licensed Jeep. While I know most of you with Jeeps don't seem to mind too much when they make things more difficult for our noisier, smaller cousins, it comes down to a question of when is it enough? When do they stop closing the "public" land to protect it from us? There are many groups (some were present at the public meeting re the MDP) that would like ALL of the federal land closed to anything with an engine. A lady actually stood up and said "We would like a section of the desert to be entirely closed to all vehicles because we don't have enough footpaths. Hikers are under-represented in this regard, we have no designated footpaths to hike on...." So I don't know what is wrong with hiking over rocks they way they were laid there by God or nature or whatever you believe in, but apparently this is not good enough for people like this. They want it closed to motor vehicle use so that it's quite and they aren't bothered by us.

My personal opinion is that it is unconstitutional for the government to own land for this purpose. It is unlawful competition with private enterprise. National forests are really nothing more than glorified campgrounds. If private individuals (or companies, whatever) owned the land, they would make a profit on the campground fees rather than perpetually taking more money from taxpayers (who may never use the park) to "regulate" it's use. Private owners would take as good or better care of the land, because if they didn't people will go somewhere else. The needs and wants of recreational users would be more adequately addressed - market demand is amazing in this regard. If there are 10000 hard core wheelers in So Cal and they want a park that has the craziest hard core rock crawling on earth and they will pay to use it, why should the desert be closed to stop that? I think private owners would actually make better use of the land. In the end it is still all up to us, we just have to do something about it. Most people now seem to think that lobbying groups are the best way to get something done. And maybe that is true today, but it is not the way it was intended when this form of government was set up. The correct way to go about addressing your grievances with the government is to write your representative in the House. ALL spending bills originate in the House of Representatives. If certain things do not get funded, they will not happen. It's an amazing concept for most people when they realize this power. However, I don't know if I can name a handful of people that have EVER written their representative. Today with the internet, this is even more amazing considering you can contact your representative via email or forms from their website. You can contact your rep on the House website at www.house.gov.

Maybe spending more money to give to groups that support a particular point of view is the way things have evolved to get our voices heard, but I truly believe if more people would actually write their representatives they could be held accountable for how they vote on issues important to us.

[D4x4Fish]

The foot paths that that lady was talking about was make by a motor vechical. But she doesn't want to pay for a sticker for her shoes so she can walk in the desert now does she. Being from Wyoming, the snowmobler has a sticker that pays for the grooming of the trails. People that cross crountry sky want the snowmobliers to pay for their own trails but were not willing to pay themselfs. In short its the motor sports that keep the trails open for everybody.

My 2 cents

[rick]

Absolutely - the people that use it should pay for it I say. I just think that when it comes to the government collecting the money we end up getting screwed because if there is a sure way to waste some money it is to give it to the beaurocrats and let them dole it out... my 2 cents in addition to my 10 cents...sheesh that was long

[D4x4Fish]

Absolutely - the people that use it should pay for it I say. I just think that when it comes to the government collecting the money we end up getting screwed because if there is a sure way to waste some money it is to give it to the beaurocrats and let them dole it out... my 2 cents in addition to my 10 cents...sheesh that was long

Rick I didn't mean to hit a sour cord.
Stop by and we can have :beer: :beer:
Ok

[D4x4Fish]

Stop by and we can have :beer: :beer:
Ok

That goes for Any MJR's (as long as I'm not working)

[nagal]

I think many of us here are sour about this issue. I personally do not want to have it privatized because public land is intended for the people to use. I think Rick hit it on the head about lobbying groups. Sadly, this seems to be the way to get things done. For those of us in the High Desert I believe we all fall under Jerry Lewis as our representative. Maybe it is time we start to voice our opinion. While I do not think he will actively pursue something, maybe next time an issue comes up dealing with land use he will remember that some of his voters actually showed an opinion (old saying goes for every one that speaks/writes there are a hundred that feel the same but didn't).

My 2 cents.