URGENT NATIONWIDE ACTION ALERT-- IMMEDATE ACTION NECESSARY
Ken Carpenter
Alert from the BlueRibbon Coaliation
This would impact trail riding on Federal land in your state if set in place on a national level. We need to help lobby against this now. See more below.
Ken
-------- Original Message --------
URGENT NATIONWIDE ACTION ALERT
Arizona Congressman Circulating Sign-On Letter to Expand the USFS Unlawful "de-facto Wilderness" Policy
IMMEDIATE ACTION NECESSARY
Dear BRC Action Alert Subscriber,
Congressman Grijalva (D - AZ), Chairman of the House Natural Resources
Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands, is generating
increased Congressional attention to a controversial management plan
currently being implemented in Region 1 of the U.S. Forest Service
(Region 1 = Montana and N. Idaho).
Recreationists
across
Montana have
been fighting an attempt by Region 1 to manage all Recommended
Wilderness Areas (RWAs) as de-facto Wilderness areas, banning motorized
recreation and mountain bike use.
Only Congress can designate Wilderness. This is logical because
Wilderness is the most restrictive land management designation on
the planet. It is not wise, nor legal, for any federal land
management agency to establish de-facto Wilderness areas.
Chairman Grijalva has written a letter
in support of the Region 1 RWA policy and he is urging the Forest
Service to expand it to all National Forests, nationwide. Grijalva is
also circulating a "Dear
Colleague" letter among members of the House of Representatives for
support.
BRC had warned our members to expect a push for the Region 1 policy to
go nationwide, so Grijalva's letter is not unexpected. What is
unexpected, however, is that the International Mountain Bike
Association (IMBA) is asking their members to contact their Congressman
in support of Grijalva's request. I can not explain IMBA's actions
here, but I can say that IMBA's backing places this issue in the "TOP
PRIORITY" category.
If legislators get the idea that the Grijalvia's letter is good for
recreation, that could be just what the FS needs to grease the skids on
this lousy policy. If the policy goes nationwide it will give
a devastating blow to single track motorcycle trails, mountain bike
trails and snowmobile areas across the west.
We need you to contact your Congress Critter IMMEDIATELY and make
certain they DO NOT sign on to Grijalva's letter.
We've prepared one of our famous 3-step action items below. As always,
we've tried to make it easy as possible to minimize time away from work
and family.
Please forward to friends, family and riding buddies.
Brian Hawthorne
BlueRibbon Coalition
208-237-1008 ext 102
URGENT ACTION ALERT:
TELL YOUR CONGRESSMAN NO! ON GRIJALVA LETTER TO USFS
THREE STEP ACTION ITEM:
1) Click HERE and enter
your zip code to find the phone number for your Representative. Then
use the tallking points below in your call. Be brief and be polite, but
make it clear: NO on Grijalva's Dear College letter.
2) If you live in a state with a member of the House Natural Resources
Committee, your call is particularly important. Key states include:
Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii,
Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, New Hampshire,
New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania,
Puerto Rico, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah,
Virgin Islands, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and
Wyoming.
3) Ask your friends and family to sign
up for BRC's Action Alerts. BRC will keep an eye on this issue and
we'll let you know if YOUR Congress Critter signed on to the letter.
Talking Points to Use In Your Calls and Letters
Congressman Raul Grijalva, Chairman of the House Natural Resources
Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands, is
circulating a "Dear Colleague" letter regarding the management of U.S.
Forest Service (USFS) lands that have been recommended by the agency
for Wilderness designation. Please DO NOT sign Representative
Grijalva's letter.
These lands are commonly known as Recommended Wilderness Areas or
"RWAs." The letter expresses a concern about the agency's continued
authorization of activities in RWAs that are disallowed in Wilderness
areas, including the use of motorized vehicles. It supports managing
RWAs as if Congress had actually designated them as Wilderness.
Only Congress can designate Wilderness. This is logical because
Wilderness is the most restrictive land management designation on the
planet. It is not wise, nor legal, for any federal land management
agency to establish de-facto Wilderness areas.
The policy suggested by Representative Grijalva creates a situation
where currently authorized mountain bike and motorized recreation does
not preclude lands becoming RWA's - but then mandates those uses be all
but eliminated. If the existing uses do not stop the lands from being
recommended as Wilderness, then why should those activities not be
allowed to continue until Congress acts?
More importantly, the RWA policy precludes collaborative solutions such
as those reached in recent land use legislation. This policy
presupposes the agency's desires on what is properly between Congress
and the American people. By doing so, it eliminates the opportunity for
mountain bike and motorized users to reach acceptable compromise with
Wilderness advocates, State and local governments, and other
stakeholders.
Please DO NOT sign Representative Grijalva's letter.
--
Ken Carpenter
witr...@gmail.com 608-576-4104 facebook.com/witrails
a director of the WI State Horse Council www.wisconsinstatehorsecouncil.org
chairman of the WSHC Legislative Committee http://groups.google.com/group/wshc-legis
president of the Glacial Drumlin Horse Trail Assoc www.madison.com/communities/gdhta
equine rep on the Governor's State Trails Council www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/land/parks/trails/council/
WI rep to the American Horse Council & member of their Recreation Committee www.horsecouncil.org
member of the Back Country Horsemen of America www.backcountryhorse.com