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ACTION Needed; CA Desert; Messy mixed up issues

jeepndel

NAXJA Forum User
Location
N. CA
ACTION NEEDED in CA desert issues

NOTE: As of today, 10/9/15, there is an OHV friendly legislation in front of Congress, HR 3668 that would create new national OHV recreation areas in the CA desert; yet at the same time, this “monument express” business is going on. Most groups like the 3668 legislation, yet by mixing this Monument (and Antiquities Act and Wilderness Act) in the mix, it's can be confusing. Here is some basic info to help sort this out. Del.

From BlueRibbon Coalition (BRC):
Senator Dianne Feinstein’s (D-CA) dueling plans in Southern California to have Congress pass legislation that includes Wilderness designations and statutory protection for 5 OHV areas vs. having the President designate 1 million acres as a National Monument sans the OHV component is a good example of a new land-use paradigm that Don Amador is calling the “National Monument Express.”

monument.jpg



Amador explains more:
“Having watched the National Monument process in various states over the last few years, it is my observation that the environmental movement has created an “either/or” strategy to use the very real threat of a National Monument designation should Congress not act on a proposal.

It appears that in many cases, comprehensive land-use bills that include both Wilderness designations and OHV protections are not moving through Congress. The reality is that when these collaborative bills get stalled in Congress, the proponents ask the President to designate them as a National Monument.

Given the historic paradigm where GOP presidents will not rescind prior National Monument designations nor use the Act to designate pro-access National Monuments, the local user groups are left in a very precarious position where they must try and make lemonade out of political lemons.”

See the letter from Don Amador to the
U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources:
http://www.sharetrails.org/uploads/FEINSTEIN_BRC_letter_of_support_for_hearing_on_S.414.final.pdf

Cal4Wheel (CA4WDA) has a letter generator set up to oppose the inappropriate designation of this massive national monument in CA here: http://cqrcengage.com/cal4wheel/app/onestep-write-a-letter?0&engagementId=136354

More from BlueRibbon Coalition here: http://www.sharetrails.org/story/2015/10/08/national-monument-express-has-left-station

ACTION: bottom line is to follow the lead of your own research, and of those organizations you trust to keep up on land use strategies.
 
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