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Monday, Oct. 1, 2012 | 2:02 a.m.
Another view?
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Robert E. Pribila is right on target in his letter, “Zealots took over our wilderness.”
When we lived in the Ridgecrest, Calif., area, the Desert Protection Act had just been passed. Many of the trails we used to take were suddenly designated “wilderness,” which meant no wheeled vehicles of any kind — bicycle, wagon, etc.
Especially saddening was the fact that wheelchair-bound people could not go on those trails, many of which led to places of interest with petroglyphs and other historical sights.
One enterprising person printed signs with the handicapped symbol and the caption, “You’ve been H.A.D.! Handicapped Access Denied,” and placed them on the Bureau of Land Management signs blocking the trails.
Who are we “saving” the wilderness for?
Big government and the neo-environmentalist
But wait until there are thousands of solaranels and windmill everywhere you look. Battery stations and mile after mile of high voltage line
Our government at work
I'd be for building some safe paths for the disabled's wheelchairs so they can enjoy the wilderness without causing any hindrance for the able foot hikers, and to prevent damage and injuries.
I don't think other wheeled objects have a place in the wilderness, unless they are used to fight fires or deal with emergencies.
Going into the wilderness is best enjoyed in the simplest form, on foot. It is a healthy way of ensuring the continuing pleasure of the wilderness for generations to come.
We have met the enemy, and it is us.
The problem with government is that it produces rules and regulations that accomplish the exact opposite of their intended purposes.
CarmineD
This letter is misleading. Yes, bikes & ATVs are not allowed in wilderness, but wheelchairs are.
Read here about the damage off road vehicles do to deserts:
http://www.dmg.gov/documents/RPT_Eco_Eff......
"Several recent reviews have summarized the
ecological effects of roads (e.g. Forman 1995,
Forman and Alexander 1998, Spellerberg and
Morrison 1998, Spellerberg 1998, 2002, Forman et
al. 2003), including a series of papers in the journal
Conservation Biology (2000, Volume 14, Number
1). These reviews universally conclude that
construction of roads, the presence of roads in the
landscape, and the vehicles that travel upon roads
can have a wide range of ecological effects. These
effects range from changes in the physical and
chemical properties of ecosystems to alterations in
the population and community structure of living
organisms. These road ecology reviews are
important sources of information on the effects of
roads, and serve as good general references.
However, they understate or do not fully address
some very important issues that limit their
application to specific situations, such as the
development of local land management plans."
We're saving the wilderness for the species native to it, not humans. Humans have overpopulated this planet to the state of pollution. We need to curb the global population so the planet can recover.
Wilderness is an excellent program. I'm 70 and can't hike as far as I used to, so my wife and I make short hikes into the edges of wilderness areas. But there will always be young people who can walk deep into wilderness. Let's protect those areas so future generations will still have that freedom.
So why is every stimulus Obama has for more highways
Zealots? Really? Our public lands have been taken over by a sect of fanatically anti-Roman religious Jews dedicated to purifying Judea by removing Roman control by force of arms? OMG, issue at fatwa at once, declaring Jihad! We must be allowed unrestricted access by wheeled vehicles everywhere on public lands, for without wheelmarks they would not be marked for all to see that they belong to us. Any restriction at all on the time or manner of access is an offense against God.
Some would have the wilderness saved only for members of a self described superior race, and send the rest to the ovens.