H.R. 1925 to close 9 Million acres of Utah Red Rock country

[Derek]

This is absolutely ridiculous. Sponsored by Representative Hinchey (D-NY) and co-sponsored by Senator Durbin (D-IL). What in the hell do these senators have to do with Utah? And you'll never guess who put the majority of this bill together......you guessed it none other than SUWA (Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance). The bill can be read here and you can voice your opinion to the idiot senators that support it here. If you are not familiar with ARRA they are all about responsible access for all types of offroading and I suggest that you sign up for their newsletter and become a member of their site.

[ExpUt]

This is the real deal. If something like this were to pass in its current form (or worse yet a future bigger proposal), we would lose major access to mine sites! Write your politicians!

[Derek]

Kurt did you post this on your site yet?

[Crystal]

Stuart and I both send all the representatives a letter apposting this. What make me mad is all the people who proposed this idea don't live in Utah!!!!!

[ExpUt]

Kurt did you post this on your site yet?

Don B (Land Use Director for the U4WDA) posted it over there

[Derek]

Stuart and I both send all the representatives a letter apposting this. What make me mad is all the people who proposed this idea don't live in Utah!!!!!

Yes and you will start to get emails back from them that says they can't talk to you because you are not in their district. What a joke. So they can make and pass legislation from/for where ever they want, but if we are not in their district we can't talk to them about that legislation that effects us more than them????

[Joanne]

Stuart and I both send all the representatives a letter apposting this. What make me mad is all the people who proposed this idea don't live in Utah!!!!!

Yes and you will start to get emails back from them that says they can't talk to you because you are not in their district. What a joke. So they can make and pass legislation from/for where ever they want, but if we are not in their district we can't talk to them about that legislation that effects us more than them????

Unfortunately I think this is way of the future. There are groups who want to restrict access to anyone who doesn't use the land exactly as they feel is proper. There's no room for diversity. It's their way (backpacks and granola bars) or you can't be on those lands. Own a 4X4 or an ATV and you may as well be the spawn of satan in their eyes.

Also, if those representative are going to vote to restrict the land usage, they should be listening to EVERYONE who my use those lands regardless of what district or even state they live in. Their vote effects us all.

Can you tell that this is one of my "hot button" topics?

Joanne

[Derek]

Can you tell that this is one of my "hot button" topics?

Joanne

This button is a very large one for me too.

[MiningEngineer]

My first reaction to this bill was "eh, a little designated wilderness here and there never hurt anybody." I started reading it (thanks for the link) and I soon changed my mind after I figured out the all-encompassing magnitude of the proposal. I've crunched a few numbers if anybody's interested:

H.R. 1925 would designate about 9.42 million acres (14,800 square miles) as wilderness. That's an area larger than the state of Maryland. This piece of legislation would assign 17.4% of the entire state of Utah wilderness status. Wilderness area designated by this act would be over twice the size of Bryce Canyon, Zion, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands and Arches National Parks, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area combined.

The land is divided into 213 separate parcels which are placed among 10 different regions in the state. The mean parcel size is 44,400 acres, with a median size of 21,000 acres and a standard deviation of 62,000 acres. The smallest parcel is 390 acres, and the largest is 557,000 acres.

That is simply too much land for anybody to do anything with so abruptly. I guess this is what happens when every elected representative is a partisan ideologue-- they think in terms of absolutes with no higher ambition than to toe that party line. But I digress...

[Derek]

So far here is the only response that I have received. Oh and btw how much red rock country does WI have again??

"Dear Derek:



Thank you for contacting me about America's wilderness. I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue.



As you may know, Congress passed the Wilderness Act in 1964, establishing a National Wilderness Preservation System. This system was designed to preserve and protect American's wilderness for present and future generations to enjoy. It protects lands from mining, road and dam construction, and off-road vehicle use. Over the past thirty-four years, 105,778,352 acres have been protected through this program. Six areas in Wisconsin are federally designated wilderness, including Porcupine Lake and Rainbow Lake, which are just north of the Third Congressional District.



In the 111th Congress, the Senate passed the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, S. 22. This expansive piece of legislation includes several provisions for national wilderness preservation. If this legislation comes before the House for a vote, I will be supportive.



Careful vigilance over conservation programs is essential in order to secure a legacy for our wild places and enrich the nation's quality of life for generations to come. Living and working with the people of western Wisconsin, I have a special understanding of the benefits reaped from a rich environmental heritage. As I have argued before, protecting our national resources is vital to human health, wildlife viability, sustainable agriculture, and a stable economy. Please be assured that I have consistently and will continue to support legislation that upholds the legacy of the Wilderness Act of 1964 and protects our nation's wilderness.




Again, thank you for contacting me. Please do not hesitate to be in touch with additional comments or questions. I also encourage you to visit my website, www.kind.house.gov, where you can find updated information, sign up to receive my electronic newsletter, and send me e-mail."





Sincerely,

Ron Kind
Member of Congress

[Stuart]

I got the same response from that guy, guess it is just a canned response to go to anyone with a "wilderness" concern.

[Crystal]

Here is a map of all the proposed areas:

http://www.suwa.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ARRWAclickablemap

[UnderUtah]

So as a layman here I am kinda unfamiliar with the designation of wilderness area. As I understand it such designation will restrict OHV access on already established roads and trails across the entire area of designated wilderness, is this correct? So how do people even get to these places to enjoy them? What other restrictions are there and why do we need this? Sectors of our state economy are supported by people who make their living selling ATVs, modifying 4x4 vehicles, outfitting, guiding, and selling fuel and overpriced twinkies to traveling enthusiasts. Do we propose to put them out of business - pretty soon there will be NOWHERE avaliable for such activities to legally take place. Perhaps the government will propose House Bill 2025 in which they will provide retraining subsidies to people who lost their business due to the new restrictions - I can see it now...former off roaders in a classroom learning how to make hemp caps and messenger bags while listening to new age music and sipping non-dairy gluten free organic soy lattes with sustainably grown in conflict-free zones coffee beans. Freaking unreal. And I love the automated response from representative what's his name. HOW does this proposal benefit Utahns or the rest of the country anyway...

[rhartill]

Representative KIND, as in Be Kind, REWIND...rewind us back to a day when public lands WERE public, and if a road traversed an area, then BY DEFINITION it wasn't a WILDERNESS...this situation reminds me of a cartoon I once saw years ago where an ORV owner modified his tread to look like hiking boot prints and when driven, it looks like the entire area has been inundated by hundreds of hikers. Perhaps someone CRAFTY could design a set of tires that left footprints instead of tire treadmarks???

[Joanne]

... pretty soon there will be NOWHERE available for such activities to legally take place.

That is EXACTLY what many of these groups want! "Saving the planet" has become a religion for them with Darwin is their godhead.

I'm not for trashing the planet. I want clean air and clean water, but that doesn't mean that we must restrict all of the land from those who aren't members of the Church of Nature.

Joanne