King William's (Clinton) Land Grab"""
Posted by hotshoe on Nov-30-99 at 11:49 AM (EST)

King William's (Clinton) Land Grab""
Posted by hotshoe on Nov-30-99 at 11:30 AM (EST)
King William's (Clinton) Land Grab"
Posted by hotshoe on Nov-30-99 at 11:27 AM (EST)
If there is any doubt about Clinton's Christmas gift to us to steal tens of millions of our public lands and lock them up as "roadless", just log onto the web site in my sig or the one below to get a wake-up call.
http://www.ama-cycle.org/legisltn/clintonplan.html#1
http://www.wi4wda.org/blueribbon/roadless.html
This plan will close unpaved roads, camp sites, even boat launching areas in 38 STATES, & YOURS IS PROBABLY ONE OF THEM!
We have only till Dec 20 to comment on this plot. After that a draft plan will be written to implement this monumental lock out of OUR LAND.
Our quads, mtn bikes, tents, campers, etc,could become relics of a bygone era.
Please don't wait for "George" to do it..write you letter today to express your opposition

Alho posting this in other forums may be contrary to policy, I feel the urgency warrants it



------------------
THE AZ HARD PACKER

save the public land FOR you, not FROM you..join the Blue Ribbon Coalition online @ www.sharetrails.org



[This message has been edited by hot_shoe_cv (edited 11-30-1999).]

 

Right on, Hot_shoe_cv!

"Roadless Areas," with similar restrictions as "Wilderness Areas," can be created arbitrarily by the Clinton administration.

"Wilderness Area" designation must be approved by Congress after public hearings.

The Forest Service (Dept. of Agriculture) creates "Roadless Areas," the Department of the Interior is responsible for "Wilderness Areas."

One can't ride an ATV or any motorized vehicle in either a Roadless or a Wilderness Area.

You're quite correct; a "Land Grab" is now in progress.

Tree Farmer

 

As usual, an excellent post, Tree Farmer!

 

This is a great post, but we need everyone to get involved on this issue. Each and every one of you should goto the Blue Ribbon Coalition site now and read up on this very serious proposal. Use their site and find your elected officials and e-mail them your disapproval about this proposal. We must get our elected officials involved and voice our opinions. The reason I get hyped is because I live in Illinois which has no public riding areas. I rely on other states to keep open what they have. If this goes thrw my riding choices become even narrower. Everyone in Illinois should know how I feel. Please before you shut your computers down tonight email somebody in a government position. Thank You

 

I have posted easy to use information about this topic under my thread, "So Sad." You will find a web-address to send a ready-made e-mail to the National Forest service, as well as an already drafted letter to your congressmen and an easy to use web-site for their e-mail addresses. It won't take you but a few clicks and you will make your feelings known. That's about as easy as it gets to save your trails - for yourself and your kids.

Please feel free to use my info in this or any other thread.

 

Just as a footnote to the above topic, I read somewhere recently that Willie planned to use his presidential power of declaring lands he wanted to steal from us as historic sites, thereby dodging public input and congressional action. One more reason for all to write letters & make phone calls. This does work as it has caused him to abandon the "closed unless marked open" idea.

------------------
THE AZ HARD PACKER, calmiller@kachina.net

save the public land FOR you, not FROM you..join the Blue Ribbon Coalition online @ www.sharetrails.org

 

To make it easy for you, I am posting this message. it summarizes what is the Clinton "Land Grab," and makes it easy for you to make yourselves heard.

When you look at where our country is today and compare it to the United States of a century ago, you have to ask: "Where have our freedoms gone?" We have a Chief Executive, whose main interests in office have been who is under his desk playing with his zipper. That same President is now preparing to close millions and millions of acres of our public lands to ATVs.

THIS IS NO JOKE!

On October 13, 1999, President Bill Clinton announced his "Memorandum On Roadless Areas," an executive initiative which may well make "Escalante" and other abuses of Presidential power look minor by comparison. By re-defining what "roadless" is, Clinton intends to lock up as Wilderness as much as 60,000,000 acres. This includes prime recreational areas, and a host of existing roads and trails which have been in use for decades. Roads like Lockwood Trail in the Los Padres National Forest Southern California. You would think that a road would be safe from being declared a "roadless" area and threatened with Wilderness classification. But redefinition has been a major tool used by the Clinton administration to change the parameters of what they can do. What once was a road, often is not a road according to Clinton's definition. Remember, he's the same President whose own answers under oath depended on what his definition of the word "is" is!

Whatever you do, don't let your recreational opportunities be lost through lack of action and lethargy! I WILL MAKE IT EASY FOR YOU TO MAKE YOUR THOUGHTS COUNT!

You can send an e-mail letter to the Forest Service by simply going to: http://www.congress.org IF YOU KNOW YOUR ZIP CODE, THIS SITE WILL GIVE YOU THE E-MAIL ADDRESSES OF YOUR REPRESENTATIVES! IT'S THAT EASY! ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS WRITE A LETTER!

BUT -----

I HAVE EVEN DRAFTED A LETTER FOR YOU! HOW MUCH EASIER CAN IT GET? Copy either of the two following letters and paste it into your e-mailer:

_____________________________________________

Dear Representative:

This letter concerns President Bill Clinton's recently announced "Memorandum On Roadless Areas," an executive initiative. I am one of your law-abiding constituents who enjoys the outdoors and will be denied use of public property by the President's initiative. By re-defining what "roadless" is, President Clinton intends to lock up as Wilderness as much as 60,000,000 acres. This includes prime recreational areas, and a host of existing roads and trails which have been in use for decades.

I am vehemently opposed to that initiative and want my children to have the same access to our public lands as I and my forefathers have had. Please do anything and everything to oppose the President's initiative.

Yours sincerely
_____________________________________________


IF THAT LETTER ISN'T STRONG ENOUGH FOR YOU, THEN TRY THIS ONE:

Dear Representative:

That Di*k, Bill Clinton, is trying to close down 60,000,000 acres of public recreational area. If you do not oppose his so-called "Memorandum On Roadless Areas," an executive initiative, then I will not vote for you, my wife will not vote for you, my friends will not vote for you, and I will stand outside your stupid headquarters with a placard that says that you are a Di*k, too! All I ask is that you keep Bill from screwing around with our public lands. He's done enough screwing in office already! We elected you, and if you let Clinton get away with this, WE WILL UNELECT YOU!

Yours sincerely.

_____________________________________________

It takes very little effort to access the web sites. You don't even have to type them. JUST POINT AND CLICK!

For MORE information, check out <a href="http://www.wi4wda.org/blueribbon/roadless.html">http://www.wi4wda.org/blueribbon/roadless.html</a>

If we continue to allow our freedoms to be taken away inch by inch, acre by acre, then sooner or later, our country will be such a mutant that our founding fathers would never recognize it.

ACT NOW!


[This message has been edited by kclayd (edited 12-09-1999).]

 

I am working on a web page for 4-wheelers to deal with topics like this one. It will be more user friendly with easy to use hyper-links. However, until then, you probably will have to just copy and paste. Highlight the address you want, hit edit, then hit copy. That puts it into your "clipboard." Then put your cursor in your e-mailer's address, delete whatever is in there and hit paste (If you do not have a paste icon, then go to edit, click, then hit paste and click again). Or, you can just type it in. Whichever you prefer.

Good luck.

Clay

[This message has been edited by kclayd (edited 12-05-1999).]

 

While press releases ordinarily appear on the ATV Connection Home Page, this one from the AMA deserves immediate attention, I think:

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\G99032 Contact: Bill Kresnak
December 6,1999
Phone: (614) 856-1900
For Immediate Release
Fax: (614) 856-1920

Trail Ban Keeps Growing as Deadline Approaches

PICKERINGTON, Ohio -- The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) is
asking off-highway motorcyclists to take immediate action in the face of a
rapidly expanding threat to motorized recreation nationwide.
The threat comes in the form of an order from President Bill Clinton
directing the U.S. Forest Service to ban a number of activities on
so-called "roadless" lands in the national forest system. When Clinton
first announced the plan in October, he indicated his order might affect
about 40 million acres of previously identified roadless lands. He said
that he also would have the agency consider new rules covering smaller,
uninventoried roadless parcels.

The Forest Service established a public-comment period on the proposal
ending December 20. But with that deadline approaching, the details of the
president's plan are continuing to change dramatically.
In documents released December 1, less than three weeks before the end
of the comment period, a revised tabulation showed that more than 62
million acres of land would be affected by the proposal. Adding in the
uninventoried parcels could bring that total close to 80 million acres,
rather than the 40 million originally announced. That's an area of land
roughly equal to the combined size of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland,
Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Although designated roadless, that land contains the vast majority of
motorized recreation opportunities in the national forests, particularly in
Western states. For purposes of this designation, any route less than 50
inches wide and "travelways resulting from off-road vehicle use," are not
considered roads. This includes nearly all of the trails used by
off-highway motorcyclists and ATV riders.

The latest tabulation shows that more than 9 million acres would be
affected in Idaho, nearly 7 million in California, about 6 million in
Montana, 5 million in Colorado, 4 million in Utah and Nevada, more than 3
million in Wyoming, 2 million in Washington and Oregon, and over a million
in New Mexico. Smaller amounts in 29 other states account for the rest (see
chart, below).

Those totals make it clear that this proposal would have sweeping
effects on off-highway motorcycling and ATV riding nationwide. With the
numbers constantly changing, though, it's impossible to assess the scope of
that impact.

"It's incredibly frustrating to have the end of the public comment
period approaching and not even know the total amount of land affected,
much less where that land is located and what it's currently being used
for," said Robert Rasor, executive vice president of the AMA. "There is
literally no way for anyone to gauge the impact of this plan on motorized
recreation if we can't even nail down these basic details."

The AMA has other concerns about the plan as well. Although statements
from the Forest Service had indicated that off-highway vehicle use would be
considered in the second phase of the planning process, the agency's own
Notice of Intent to prepare an environmental impact statement lists four
possible alternatives for the first phase of the proposal, three of which
would likely result in the elimination of all motorized recreation, either
immediately or over several years.

"If we wait till phase two of the plan to raise our objections as the
Forest Service suggests," said Rasor, "the important decisions already will
be made."

In addition, documents released by the Forest Service indicate that
the goal of the Clinton proposal is to create a new category of restricted
lands within the national forest system. According to Forest Service
documents, the plan "provides for identification of and management for
unroaded values other than through Wilderness designation."

The AMA opposes that proposal, since it would bypass the federal
Wilderness Act, passed in 1964. That bill has resulted in the designation
of 100 million acres of Wilderness across the country in the decades since,
through a process that allows for open debate and a Congressional vote on
which public lands are worthy of that designation. As outlined in documents
from the Forest Service, the Clinton proposal would impose Wilderness-like
restrictions, probably including a ban on motorized recreation, on 80
million acres without a single elected official ever voting on it.
"This is Wilderness Lite," Rasor said. "It's all the restrictions of
Wilderness without the legislative debate.

"We're certain," he added, "that some of this land does qualify as
Wilderness. But we're equally certain that some of it does not. In fact,
large portions of these roadless areas have been considered for Wilderness
designation in the past and specifically rejected. In other areas, the
Wilderness debate continues, with all sides getting a chance to express
their concerns.

"Wilderness bills are always difficult pieces of legislation,
requiring an intimate knowledge of the characteristics of the land involved
and its history of uses," Rasor concluded. "Imposing one set of rules to
govern this massive amount of land ignores all of that. We don't think that
constitutes responsible management or equitable allocation of our public
lands."

The AMA has filed an official request with the Forest Service to
extend the public comment period on the Roadless Initiative for 90 days
beyond the December 20 deadline. However, it's important that anyone
interested in motorized recreation be on record expressing concern about
the direction of the Clinton proposal.

Off-highway enthusiasts are asked to immediately e-mail their concerns
about this proposal to: roadless/wo_caet-slc@fs.fed.us or send comments by
fax to (801) 517-1021. Ask Forest Service officials to lengthen the public
comment period by 90 days to allow interested parties an opportunity to
respond to the Clinton plan. And ask them to ensure that the legitimate
interests of the millions of Americans who enjoy motorized recreation are
considered in setting policies governing our public lands.

-30-

The American Motorcyclist Association is a 240,000-member non-profit
organization. Established in 1924, the Association's purpose is to pursue,
protect and promote the interests of motorcyclists, while serving the needs
of its members. For more information, visit the AMA website at
http://www.ama-cycle.org.

Effects of the Clinton Forest Plan
The following chart shows the number of acres of national forest land
that would be affected by President Clinton's plan to shut down roadless
areas in each state. States not listed do not include any national forest
land.

Alabama 83,000
Alaska 14,827,000
Arizona 699,000
Arkansas 153,000
California 6,681,000
Colorado 5,167,000
Florida 130,000
Georgia 267,000
Idaho 9,263,000
Illinois 38,000
Indiana 17,000
Kansas 0
Kentucky 17,000
Louisiana 18,000
Maine 16,000
Michigan 89,000
Minnesota 76,000
Mississippi 8,000
Missouri 75,000
Montana 5,899,000
Nebraska 116,000
Nevada 3,905,000
New Hampshire 292,000
New Mexico 1,229,000
New York 0
North Carolina 356,000
North Dakota 265,000
Oklahoma 13,000
Ohio 0
Oregon 1,977,000
Pennsylvania 38,000
Puerto Rico 24,000
South Carolina 25,000
South Dakota 130,000
Tennessee 219,000
Texas 69,000
Utah 4,132,000
Vermont 56,000
Virginia 485,000
Washington 2,011,000
West Virginia 248,000
Wisconsin 109,000
Wyoming 3,411,000
Total 62,632,000

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ATVers, you know what to do! If not, other posts on this topic provide useful suggestions.

Tree Farmer

 

This is gona cost a fortune to defend.All be cause of Siera club lobbying and other self serving eco freaks.I wonder if even "Siera Club members"Know that not even they,Will be able to use the forrest that they loth to protect.If only I could get an member e-mail list, And try to work somthing from the inside?

What I would pay to get a Steil chain saw spot, on Siera clubs Christmas special!

I think it's time for club mergers,By bringing all the clubs together under one parrent organization.We as small groups could bring much heaveier legal and lobying guns to bare.

I've taken this for fifteen years now,And I will take it no more.In to the trenchs!


My god, What could this do to the Hatfield+ Mc Coy trail system? It's just getting started!

A wise man once told me "For every lock, Their is a key". Now it's just a matter of finding the right key.Clinton seems to be doing the old "end around" Trick.Theirs only one problem with that. It's called the constitution!!!!!!!MF.

Whhhhhh! Now I'm starting to sound like kclad . I needed to vent

[This message has been edited by trx430ex (edited 12-06-1999).]