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Old 02-10-2011, 05:02 PM   #1
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Wilderness Areas

I researched something I heard on the radio this morning that is a concern to all outdoor enthusiates and campers.
On Dec. 23 of last year Sec. of Interior Ken Salazar ordered BLM to manage ALL land under their control as wilderness area.
This is an effort to circumvent a Court ruling that denied BLM a monstrous land grab in the State of Utah.
The Quartzsite meet this weekend is on BLM land.
Unless you hike, ride a horse or mountian bike you cannot access wilderness areas.
I live surrounded by the Sequoia National Forest in Central Ca..
There are at least 8 Wilderness areas within 60 miles of my home.
Magnificent forest and desert areas completely closed to most Americans.
Our Forest Service, BLM, Dept. of Agriculture and Dept of Interior have come under the control extreme environmentalists.
These are people that consider man a predator and want to eliminate virtually all human intrusion into our public lands.
I'm not trying to be political but I now what I'm talking about.
Myself and others are trying to convince our local Forest Service not to close trails that have been in existence for many years and causing no environmental damage. Some are multiple use trails that include hikers, equstrians, Mt. bikers, ATVs and dirt bikes. All of the trails they propose to close are well maintained by the local OHV groups. They cost the F. S. nothing to maintain.
If you want to be advised of any and all legislation affecting public land use you might consider joining the Blue Ribbon Coalition at sharetrails.org.. If you don't want to become a paid member you can still sign up for their legislative alerts.
As I said before, this is not about politics, it's about our loss of public lands like Quartzsite.
John
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Old 02-10-2011, 09:03 PM   #2
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Salazar, Abbey Restore Protections for America's Wild Lands

I found this BLM report which I can quote here under Fair Use since I am a taxpayer. Salazar, Abbey Restore Protections for America's Wild Lands

Quote:
Release Date: 12/23/10
Contacts: Kendra Barkoff (DOI) , 202-208-6416



Salazar, Abbey Restore Protections for America's Wild Lands


Washington, DC - A secretarial order issued today by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar restores balance and clarity to the management of public lands by establishing common-sense policy for the protection of backcountry areas where Americans recreate, find solitude, and enjoy the wild.

Secretarial Order 3310 directs the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), based on the input of the public and local communities through its existing land management planning process, to designate appropriate areas with wilderness characteristics under its jurisdiction as "Wild Lands" and to manage them to protect their wilderness values.

"Americans love the wild places where they hunt, fish, hike, and get away from it all, and they expect these lands to be protected wisely on their behalf," said Salazar. "This policy ensures that the lands of the American public are protected for current and future generations to come."

The BLM, which manages more land than any other federal agency, has not had any comprehensive national wilderness policy since 2003, when the wilderness management guidance in the agency's handbook was revoked as part of a controversial out-of-court settlement between then-Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton, the State of Utah, and other parties.

"The new Wild Lands policy affirms the BLM's authorities under the law - and our responsibility to the American people - to protect the wilderness characteristics of the lands we oversee as part of our multiple use mission," said BLM Director Bob Abbey.

Abbey said that Secretarial Order 3310 fills an important land management need for the public and the agency. "Wild Lands," which will be designated through a public process, will be managed to protect wilderness characteristics unless or until such time as a new public planning process modifies the designation. Because the "Wild Lands" designation can be made and later modified through a public administrative process, it differs from "Wilderness Areas," which are designated by Congress and cannot be modified except by legislation, and "Wilderness Study Areas," which BLM typically must manage to protect wilderness characteristics until Congress determines whether to permanently protect them as Wilderness Areas or modify their management.

Secretarial Order 3310 also directs the BLM to maintain a current inventory of public lands with wilderness characteristics, which will contribute to the agency’s ability to make balanced, informed land management decisions, consistent with its multiple-use mission.

"Simple principles guide this common-sense policy," said Salazar. "First: the protection of wild lands is important to the American people and should therefore be a high priority in BLM's management policies. Second: the public should have a say in designating certain public lands as 'Wild Lands' and expanding those areas or modifying their management over time. And third: we should know more about which American lands remain wild, so we can make wise choices, informed by science, for our children, grandchildren and future generations."

"We are charting a new course for balanced land management which allows the BLM to take into account all of the resources for which it is responsible through a transparent, public land use planning process," said Abbey.

The Secretarial Order does not change the management of existing Wilderness Study Areas pending before Congress or congressionally designated units of the National Wilderness Preservation System. BLM may also still develop recommendations, with public involvement, regarding possible Congressional designation of lands into the National Wilderness Preservation System.

The BLM manages 245 million acres in the United States, including iconic American landscapes like Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in Colorado, the Headwaters Forest Reserve's ancient redwood forest in California, and the Iditarod National Historic Trail in Alaska. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 11 western states and Alaska. The bureau also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM's multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes its mission by managing activities such as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands.

--BLM--
Office of the Secretary of the Interior 1849 C Street N.W. Washington, DC 20240

Last updated: 12-29-2010
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Old 02-10-2011, 10:32 PM   #3
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Offhand, that press release doesn't sound too bad.
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Old 02-11-2011, 07:49 PM   #4
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I'm having computer problems and cannot upload clean files so I am going to ask those of you interested in public land loss to Google, BRC Warns Against BLM Wilderness Bill.
This coalition is made up of Hikers, Mt. Bikers, Equestrians, Boaters, Campers, and OHV riders. This coalition does not play favorites. It represents all of us.
It will give you a perspective from the public land users and not just the extreme environmentalists that wish to close the Forest to virtually all human use other than hiking.
If someone can copy and post it I would appreciate it.
John
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Old 02-11-2011, 09:00 PM   #5
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I see no problem with having wilderness areas. It doesn't bother me in the least that certain sections of land are set aside in order that they can remain free from motorized vehicles. Calling someone an "extreme environmentalist" because they support a different position might work well in a political campaign but seems a bit harsh in a discussion board. I'm sorry Perry, I disagree. As do millions of other people. This discussion has nothing to do with fiberglass trailers so I would suggest it be closed or moved somewhere for political discussion.
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Old 02-12-2011, 12:10 AM   #6
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I see no problem with having wilderness areas. It doesn't bother me in the least that certain sections of land are set aside in order that they can remain free from motorized vehicles. Calling someone an "extreme environmentalist" because they support a different position might work well in a political campaign but seems a bit harsh in a discussion board. I'm sorry Perry, I disagree. As do millions of other people. This discussion has nothing to do with fiberglass trailers so I would suggest it be closed or moved somewhere for political discussion.

Sorry, but it does affect us fiberglassers. Political or not, we must always be on guard about "our" land. If the BLM land is declared wilderness, there would go many of our camping areas. Many of us love to boondock, you can have your manicured RV parks, but if we lose more U.S.Forest Service or BLM land to wilderness area it would be too bad for us. By the way "ANY" motorized vehicle or wheeled vehicles, including bicycles are banned from wilderness area. Take it from me, I have hiked many wilderness trails in my youth and was glad they were there, but there has to be public land available for all. Remember, all that government land belongs to US not only to the environentalists. Thanks for listening, Marg in NW California
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Old 02-12-2011, 11:06 AM   #7
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I noticed the report didnt say anything about making sure a certain percentage of land was left available for campers etc. It sounds like they could declare all of it Wilderness Area if they wanted leaving nothing for camping.
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Old 02-12-2011, 02:30 PM   #8
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Somewhere I saw that to be a wilderness area it had to have at least 10,000 acres with no roads crossing or other developed areas. I have no doubts that campgrounds will still be available for RVs.
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Old 02-12-2011, 03:53 PM   #9
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Call me an environmental extremist, I don't care, but I don't believe that OHV riders have any appreciation for wild places. I've never seen one of them stop to smell the flora while I was on a trail where they've been permitted, and most of those trails have suffered from their traffic.
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Old 02-12-2011, 05:07 PM   #10
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I think there should be places for all types of outdoor activities, but sometimes it seems the "balance" isn't what it should be, or some fools spoil things for others.

When I used to go to Utah's "Little Sahara" recreation area many years ago to hike and take pictures of the unspoiled beauty, there wasn't much of the unspoiled part left. They had fenced off a small portion as off-limits to OHVs, while the motorized beasts pretty much made the vast majority of the park a dangerous, noisy, and torn-up mess - (I hope it's different now).

Another example, last summer we boon-docked in the Uintah mountains of Utah and, while the people I was with, (and most others), were conscientious about keeping their 4-wheelers on the designated trails, many others were tearing up the mountain meadows and plowing over fragile young aspens. We reported it to a ranger and he said the problem was so widespread that they would probably have to make the entire area off-limits to OHVs - a shame really, there should be room for all activities.
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Old 02-12-2011, 07:37 PM   #11
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No one is planning to turn "all BLM lands" into wilderness areas. This is an alarmist smokescreen in order to garner support for OHVs and resource extraction industries. The BLM manages all sorts of public lands, most of which could never be considered for wilderness designation. Don't let anyone fool you -- any BLM place where you can camp with your 'egg' now, will never be designated wilderness.

I have worked for years to help prevent the erosion of wilderness areas by mechanized recreationists and the extraction industries. It is a constant struggle against lobby groups like the Blue Ribbon Coalition, which is funded by mining, timber, petroleum and motorized recreation industries. The struggle is never ended, because the potential profits for these groups are immense.

I have hiked, climbed, paddled and skied in many of America's superb wilderness areas. They are one of the glories of our nation. Now, due to age and infirmity, I can no longer travel wilderness on my own hind legs. But I will fight as long as I can to keep these places safe for coming generations.
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Old 02-13-2011, 02:24 AM   #12
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There's been a fair bit of hype about this policy on talk radio this last week, but much of it is reactionary hype. In short, Salazar has not ordered all BLM lands be converted to Wilderness designations, what he has done is essentially overturn a Bush-era mandate that prevented the BLM from considering environmental impacts while considering the approval of permits that might cause irreparable or unreasonable damage the to environmental or scenic value of publicly owned lands.

BLM to Overturn Bush's 'No More Wilderness' Policy - NYTimes.com

Utah, Western Counties Mull Legal Assault on BLM Wilderness Policy - NYTimes.com
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Old 02-13-2011, 07:35 AM   #13
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The Blue Ribbon Coalition is a front for some of the most anti-environment outfits in America.

According to their own Blue Ribbon magazine (which, by the way, is distributed to every member of Congress), BRC has received funding from: Boise Cascade, Potlatch, U.S. Forest Industries, the American Petroleum Institute, the Western States Petroleum Association, Chevron, and Exxon (now Exxon-Mobile). The Idaho, Montana, Nevada and Colorado Mining Associations chipped in, as did Crown Butte Mines, Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha, Polaris and Ski-Doo.

These are not "hikers," folks, nor are they friends of America's wild and scenic lands.
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Old 02-13-2011, 10:21 AM   #14
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Balancing the competing interests is always a tough job, and overall I think they're doing a pretty good job. We should hope that the administrative bodies never have strong knee-jerk reactions that make things lopsided either way. I don't think Salazar's recent decision does that, but of course the future potential is always there and that's why it is good for people to pay attention and be vigilant. If we see at some future time that a strong negative impact on camping (and other personally favored public lands uses) is taking place, then we can and should speak up to those with the ability to make changes. But at this point Salazar's decision doesn't seem like cause for alarm.

It's like riding a horse. Just because there's a precipice somewhat in the vicinity doesn't mean we have to do anything drastic; just keep loose reins and watch where our horse is headed...
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Old 02-20-2011, 06:07 PM   #15
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Offhand, that press release doesn't sound too bad.
I seem to like it also, it fits my life style and the type of camping I do.
I have and always will be attracted to Wild Areas.
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Old 02-20-2011, 06:11 PM   #16
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Thanks Peter
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Old 02-20-2011, 06:30 PM   #17
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There is no longer any need to take a man's liberty at gunpoint,now you can do it by simply narrowing his options. This policy as made creeping progress on American citizens for at least fifty years.

Perhaps they will soon put flat screens in our Scamps instead of windows, then we can all stay home, save gas and view our beautiful outdoors at the flick of a switch, with environmental sensitivity.
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Old 02-20-2011, 07:44 PM   #18
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There is no longer any need to take a man's liberty at gunpoint,now you can do it by simply narrowing his options. This policy as made creeping progress on American citizens for at least fifty years.

Perhaps they will soon put flat screens in our Scamps instead of windows, then we can all stay home, save gas and view our beautiful outdoors at the flick of a switch, with environmental sensitivity.
No need to worry, floyd. Anyone willing to get up on his own hind legs and make an effort can fully enjoy America's wilderness areas - including disabled people who can experience the thrill of wilderness through outfits such as Wilderness Inquiry - Home Page It's the industry fronts like the Blue Ribbon Commission who are bent on removing wilderness protections, so they can rake in profits by exploiting our (the taxpayer's) lands.
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Old 02-20-2011, 10:45 PM   #19
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Thanks Jack;
Not worried, just making an observation for which you generously supplied an example.
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Old 02-24-2011, 06:27 PM   #20
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Thanks Matt, Peter and Jack. The only way to 'know' is to read the actual legislation and documentation and follow the money. IMHO if conservative talk radio and the Big Money of the BRC are against this then it is probably a good thing.
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