Moab Area Trails under attack-AGAIN!!!

We have been warning you and thousands of others that this day would come. On October 1, 2009 a congressional committee will consider a wilderness bill that would turn 9.4 million acres of Utah public land into congressionally designated wilderness. This is a major step towards the closing of nearly 40% of all the land that BLM manages in Utah. This may seem surreal but it is actually happening. We must stop this bill. With your help we can do it. Please read this in entirety, forward it to friends, and act on its call for help. With enough of you getting involved we guarantee we can either stop this bill or minimize the damage that it will cause.

The Deseret News printed this article this morning: House panel to consider bill on Utah wilderness.

If you would like to read the bill in it's entirety go here: Library of Congress H.R. 1925.

If you would like to read the propaganda from our opposition and the main proponents of the bill go here www.suwa.org. Be sure to take some anti-nausea medication these guys spin things pretty hard.


Sincerely,
Michael Swenson
Utah Shared Access Alliance

[FONT=Garamond,Times New Roman,Times,serif]What is Wilderness Designations[/FONT]
Wilderness Isn't some cute fuzzy term that means wild places and the great out of doors. It is a legal term and formal designation that means a place where man has no lasting impact or signs and where man is very limited to where he can go and what he can do. This means NO motorized OR mechanized access. That means even Mountain bikes are not allowed. Don't believe me? check out this sign I personally took a picture of: NO MOUNTAIN BIKES. It really means no management. It means no development. In some remote places this may be a good thing. In Utah BLM manages about 22 million acres and if 9.4 of them are locked up in wilderness it means the public can forget about using and fully enjoying over 40% of the mostly desert land that BLM manages. NONE of Utah's congressmen or senators support this bill.

BLM itself has recommended to congress 1.9 million acres be designated. But the environmentalists don't care. They are asking for more than 400% more acres! I'm sure the mountain areas will be the next target of these greedy groups. To learn more about wilderness go to this article written by one of our board members: The Truth About Wilderness

You can also find some wilderness stats here under the Utah Facts button go to the right column for a number of interesting documents on wilderness.


Contact your State Representatives today and tell them that you want them to vote AGAINST Congress H.R. 1925.

Contacting Elected Officials
Bob Telepak's Writing Tips
Find Your U.S. Congressman
Find Your U.S. Senator

:flamemad: Man I hate environmentalists!

Just finished my letter to Denny Rehberg (R), Montana state Representative.

Keep public land open to the public!

MT Mike said:

:flamemad: Man I hate environmentalists!

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Do not move to Oregon. Pretty soon we will all be asked to move because the public will not be allowed to enter the state anymore.

Didn't they already take enough public land away from us with the passing of the Omnibus land grab?!?

MT Mike said:

:flamemad: Man I hate environmentalists!

Just finished my letter to Denny Rehberg (R), Montana state Representative.

Keep public land open to the public!

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They aren't environmentalists, they're closurists.
They don't give a rats ass about the environment. They'd rather shut you out of the forest and let it burn down.
Keep public land open to the public!

Here is a link for finding contact info for your representative/senator. I found mine through some very simple navigation.

http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/congdir.tt

Tread lightly and carry that message on your jeep. Join with your local 4wd club on trail/highway cleanups to convey a responsible image.

http://www.treadlightly.org/

Man this and the Blair Holt gun act thing really turn my stomach inside-out. It makes me angry and sad to think what our country will be like when I raise kids in this world. Will I be able to take them wheeling? Will I be allowed to teach them how to shoot a gun? Or will their knowing about those things make them criminals? People are so ignorant. I'm writing a few letters right now, not that I have any faith in our government, but there is not much else to do.

I have contacted Mike Coffman CO 6th Dis. (my congressman)...Salazar and Bennett are useless senators Bennett doesn't even sit the chamber (in an email from him to me). Colorado has already fallen victim to this type of legislation. hope Utah can be saved.

contacted my Congressman.

My local Congressman Patrick Murphy got his letter..

For those of us living in Albuquerque here is contact information for your representatives:

Senator Tom Udall

Senator Jeff Bingaman

Martin Heinrich, First Congressional District of New Mexico
Feel free to copy/paste my letter:

Dear Senator/Congressman XXXXXXX-

Please vote no on H.R. 1925: The Redrock Wilderness Act.

Utah already has a considerable portion of its land protected in National Parks and Monuments. Designating 40% of the BLM land in Utah as Wilderness will prevent me from accessing the places I love to visit. I spend at least 3 weeks of every year camping, hiking and photographing Southern Utah. Very rarely do I ever see another human. Wilderness designation will close many of the roads I drive to get to my favorite places.

Wilderness designation will also prevent all forms of mineral extraction, forever. To ensure America's independence we need to be able to use the resources on our own soil rather than having to depend on unstable and unfriendly foreign nations for our needs.

Utah and America do not need any more wilderness.

Thank you, XXXXX

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Taken from November '09 AMA (American Motorcyclist Association) News & Notes

U.S. lawmakers conduct hearing that considers banning motorized vehicles from more than 9 million acres in Utah. Recently the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands, chaired by Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), held a hearing to consider H.R. 1925, the America's Red Rock Wilderness Act of 2009. The proposal would close off 9.4 million acres of Utah's public land to motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and bicycles, and would even limit some horseback riding. Popular off-highway vehicle riding areas included in the legislation are Moab, the San Rafael Swell and Chimney Rock, among others. To view a video of the hearing, please go to http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/index.php?option=com_jcalpro&Itemid=27&extmode=view&extid=292. To view AMA's press release regarding the hearing on H.R. 1925, visit http://www.amadirectlink.com/news/story.asp?id=1375

Anyone know how I can find out how this is going? It looks like they would have met 3 weeks ago.

i was wondering the same thing

Congress meets Monday.

To track this bill see link


http://www.govtrack.us/users/events.xpd?monitors=bill:h111-1925

Rod Knee said:

Congress meets Monday.

To track this bill see link


http://www.govtrack.us/users/events.xpd?monitors=bill:h111-1925

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Link shows no updates from Mondays session. Anyone heard anything?

Utah Senator Orrin Hatch's summary on the bill..... worry about your own State and keep your nose out of ours.....I don't always agree with Orrin, but he's dead on the mark with this one.

http://hatch.senate.gov/public/inde...b78-be3e-e003-8a6390fa20bd&Month=10&Year=2009

Labeled as S.799, it has been submitted to the Energy and Natural Resources Committee for review, before it can move forward to the Senate.
Check and see who from your State is on this Committee, then reach out to them and express your opposition to this bill.

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/committee.xpd?id=SSEG

If the Commitee determines the bill as crap, it will be killed in Committee, labeled as dead and those who have contributed millons of dollars to support this bill will get the realization that they've done nothing but line the pockets of the special interest groups listed below.

Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance
Sierra Club
Wilderness Society
Natural Resources Defense Council
Detroit Audubon Society
Greenpeace
Wasatch Mountain Club
Earthjustice

Sent my letter to the Oregon Congressman, he disagrees with us.

WheelinJR said:

Sent my letter to the Oregon Congressman, he disagrees with us.

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Why doesn't that surprise me......when is he up for re-election? Be a good time to let him know why you and everyone you know who feels the same way about this issue will be voting against him......assuming that you didn't include that in your letter.

Thanks for your efforts.

Congressman Attempts to Close Public Lands by Circumventing Legislative Process

Contact your Representatives to oppose H.R. 1925!

On November 10, U.S. Representative Maurice Hinchey of New York, along with 88 other colleagues, sent a letter to the U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar asking that he circumvent normal legislative procedures and administratively close more than 9 million public land acres in Utah. Effectively designating Wilderness areas without public debate or congressional approval only further erodes the public's confidence in their government. Hinchey is attempting to thwart the legislative process by having the public lands described in his bill, H.R. 1925, America's Red Rock Wilderness Act of 2009, administratively protected by the Secretary.

Specifically, the letter directs Salazar to "utilize the considerable authorities granted to you under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act and other statutes to administratively protect the wilderness characteristics of the lands contained in the Red Rock legislation until Congress acts to protect them statutorily."

This letter comes on the heels of an October 1 hearing of the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands of the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources regarding the consideration of H.R. 1925 in which members of Utah's own Congressional delegation testified in opposition to the bill. In fact, not a single member of Utah's delegation supports this legislation. This legislation will ban off-highway vehicle (OHV) access to public lands to those who live and recreate in Utah. To see the Utah delegation and Ranking Member Doc Hastings speak out against H.R. 1925, click here. To read AMA's press release on the hearing, click here, and click here to read Hinchey's press release on H.R. 1925.

H.R. 1925 would designate 9.4 million acres as federally protected Wilderness, and directly affect the Moab, San Rafael Swell and Chimney Rock areas, among others, in Utah. These popular OHV areas represent some of the most important remaining OHV recreation areas in the state. The proposed Wilderness designation would also make the land off limits to all-terrain vehicle (ATV) riders and mountain bikers.

Your help is needed now to stop H.R. 1925. The fastest way to reach your U.S. Representative is to call them. You can find contact information for your elected officials by visiting: https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml

Please contact your Representative right away and urge them to oppose H.R. 1925. Encourage your friends and family to voice their opposition as well.