Wednesday, November 29, 2000
11/29 - Snowmobile attack piece - Ed @ 12:37 EST
11/29 - Snowmobile attack piece SNOWMOBILES LEAVE LAND MANAGERS OUT IN THE COLD Source: Environmental News Network http://enn.com/news/enn-stories/2000/11/11282000/snowmobiles_40456.asp
Recreational use of snowmobiles and personal watercraft
on public lands is booming, but management by federal agencies
is often chaotic and haphazard, according to a new report
from the General Accounting Office.
Another Press Release from ISMA - Ed @ 09:03 EST
Here is some more great reading from Ed Klim. Please use and distribute as you see fit. Preservationists and related organizations have been plotting for the last few years in the hopes of obtaining a vast amount of federal funding (your tax dollars) to purchase and control land throughout the United States. The legislation would have allocated up to $3 billion dollars per year for the next 6 fiscal years. The money would have been spent at the direction of the federal government Department of Interior and the Department of Agriculture (US Forest Service) and would have been used to purchase land and eventually make it unavailable to recreationists or other users throughout the United States. It was a great scheme cooked up by the very best environmental lawyers and lobbyists in Washington DC. It appeared to be moving under the radar screen using all of the right terms such as, "Save the land for the people," or, "The land is too valuable to waste," or my favorite, "This may be our last chance to save the land." The money would have been used to purchase land and expand wilderness areas and National Parks. Yes, in a very short period of time, millions of additional acres of our land would have been taken away from us by our own government and put "OFF LIMITS." The government already owns over 32% of the U.S. Land mass. We may want to ask WHY? And, why do they want MORE? Fortunately, a degree of common sense in Congress prevailed. Rather than guaranteeing the elitists $18 billion dollars to spend on purchasing land across the US, the Congress has passed legislation titled The Land Conservation Preservation and Infrastructure Improvement Act which allows for spending $1.2 billion on private land acquisition and planning. Sadly - most of the money will be spent from DC - not stateside where the needs are understood. During the fiscal year of 2001, the US Department of Interior (i.e. the National Park Service) will purchase land throughout the US and spend $294 million in doing so. The US Forest Service will purchase $156 million worth of land in the US and the states will split up $90 million (about $2 million per state) to purchase land within their individual states. (The state allocation is administered by the US Fish and Wildlife Service in Washington DC, so there are plenty of strings attached to the state allocation.) We all need to be aware of the actions of the Department of the Interior, the Forest Service and our individual states when they are purchasing our land. We need to ensure that they are not purchasing land to put it off limits to us and turning it into wilderness. There are a number of conservation programs attached to the new land conservation act. The programs include additional studies on endangered species, promotion of non-game land management, and wetland protection. Over $160 million will be spent on development of urban parks, saving our historic battlefields, and in general, promoting forestry issues to urban residents. On the surface, the urban and historic programs look like positive efforts that our federal government should support to expand the citizens' interaction with the outdoors. Finally, there is $150 million allocated for the maintenance on the roads and buildings within the Forests and Parks. That much needed maintenance expense was insisted on by Congressman Regula from Ohio, who is a firm believer that we need to take care of the property we own before going out and buying more that we would let fall into disarray. The Land Conservation Act, as passed by Congress and signed by the President, allocates $540 million this year to land acquisition by our federal government. One would have to question the allocation of any money to the US Department of Interior and the US Forest Service for land purchases. It has been our experience that the department of Interior in particular, is controlled by the 'lock-it-up-and-look-at-it' gang and they have recently become very poor land managers who cannot take care of the land that we presently have entrusted to their management. We must openly question what our Federal Government will do with another $540 million worth of our property. Is it time for the Feds to give some of our land back to the states, so it can be closely managed by those who know it and love it best?
______________________________________________________________________
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Ed Klim
517/339-7788
Be Alert - The Feds want to Buy Some Land Near You!
Their mischievous efforts culminated with the introduction of the Conservation And Reinvestment Act (CARA). CARA was strongly supported by Mr. Gore, Mr. Clinton, Mr. Frampton (Past President of the Wilderness Society now working for Gore and Clinton) and others.
Therefore, a total of $540 million (of your tax dollars) will be spent purchasing American private property by the Federal Government.
Please remember - we have 104 million acres of designated wilderness in the US. That is equal to roughly the size of Michigan, Illinois and Wisconsin combined (and I'm not including all the new monuments Bill Clinton has established.
There will also be over $50 million spent on scientific research and planning for the US Forest Service.
Tuesday, November 21, 2000
Trails Closed Announcement - Ed @ 10:06 EST
Reminder to all snowmobilers that NYS snowmobile trails do not open until after hunting season has closed. Hunting season closes the first weekend in December.
Please respect this and the other sportsmen currently in the woods.
Jeff Johnson - NYSSA President
Sunday, November 12, 2000
Adirondack Snowmobile Proposal - Ed @ 08:27 EST
Adirondack Snowmobile Proposal Many of us who snowmobile the Adirondacks in northern NY know snowmobiling on state land is rather restrictive due to narrow trails, restricted trail mileage but most of all because of the forever wild clause in the state constitution. Environmental groups have threatened to sue the state over the use of tracked class A groomers on state land. To my knowledge there are no class A groomers being used on state land in the Adirondacks other than roads like the Moose River Plains road. Because of all these constraints the Governor's office along with DEC, APA and OPRHP have come up with a comprehensive snowmobile plan for the Adirondack Park. Comments would be appreciated.
Here it is:
Develop a community connection system that would: connect major points of interest, connect the trail system from outside the Adirondacks, focus corridor trail system on non-state lands, encourage long term commitment of corridor trail systems on private lands, utilize to the maximum extent possible routes parallel and near to travel/transportation corridors for new trail development, consider underutilized trails for abandonment, and recognize the importance of minimizing the dependency on lake and road crossings and otherwise avoiding unsafe trail conditions.
After attending a second meeting with the environmentalists along with state officials I’m optimistic a plan may actually arise from all these meetings. In the Adirondacks we need to determine what areas we want to link. I will need your input on this. We will have to work with our communities to convince them of the importance of snowmobiling. NYSSA has an economic impact study that covers the whole state, which would be beneficial to convincing your local officials. The environmental groups may be trying to convince some communities they shouldn’t have snowmobiles. Lake Placid over the years has not been receptive to snowmobiling but every year they keep inviting NYSSA to have our annual forum in Lake Placid. They want our money just not our sleds.
Jim Jennings
rideacat@telenet.net