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Friday, 28 December 2007 |
Forest Route Designation comments
The Advocates for Access to Public Lands (AAPL) would like to express our appreciation to the folks that made the recent Forest Route Designation comment process such a huge success. Through the efforts of many individuals and organizations, over 3,600 route specific comments were written defending the right to access the existing road and trail system on the Inyo National Forest. These volunteers believe that the cultural and historical heritage of these mountains inherently create inalienable rights to conscientiously explore and enjoy them in the mode of travel they choose.
Closing 900 miles of environmentally sound roads to automobiles is about as reasonable as closing the Forest to horses would have been in the settlement of the West. When hikers yearn for solitude, couldn't they hike any one of the hundreds of canyons, valleys or ridges that are unroaded instead of insisting that these sound roads must go.
And then they have the Wilderness that makes up 40 percent of the Forest. A mere 1/3 of one percent of the Forest has a road footprint on it, and 99 and 2/3 percent of the Forest is thriving as de facto wilderness, especially given the new age definition of wilderness that allows for cherry-stemmed roads through it. Many people contributed to this noble cause and I can't list them all here, but they know who they are.
Special thanks go out to the Sneakers Motorcycle Club, the Eastern Sierra 4x4 Club, Eastern Sierra Quail Unlimited and that magnificently generous Brown family. Many outside access advocacy groups contributed vital general comments as well, and they deserve our support and recognition. The Stewards of the Sequoia, the California Off Road Vehicle Association (CORVA), the California Association of 4 Wheel Drive Clubs (CA4WDC), the Blue Ribbon Coalition, the High Desert Multiple Use Coalition and the AMA District 37 are actively defending the access rights to our Forests right alongside us as this road plan process continues into the Draft.
Greg Weirick
Bishop, CA
Editor's note: In order to print as many letters as possible, please limit the length of your letters to 500 words maximum. Please include your real name and town and type your submission. If you are submitting a letter to the editor through our Web site, please be sure to include name and physical address, or we will be unable to print. Deadline is Fridays at 3 p.m. –MT
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Last Updated ( Friday, 04 January 2008 )
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