Land Use

[fireLt.]

I was reading this thread in another chapter.
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1075594
Colorado is a place of millions of acres of public land and many wilderness areas. Because of that I know lots of folks that use public lands for motorized and non motorized uses. In the thread there is bashing of people that shop REI. REI in general supports groups that do not support motorized recreation. The do support groups (some) that do good things for other types of recreation.
So where do you draw the line? Would you shop at a place that supports only some of the things you do and takes a stand against some things you do? Why can't there be any middle ground with all of the rec groups? This is where I end up with land use issues, too extreme on both sides of the debate.

 

[UnlimitedMatt]

I boycott REI simply because when I used to go there I was always the fattest guy there.

 

[XCastleXJ]

I boycott REI simply because when I used to go there I was always the fattest guy there.

Damn it... so YOU'RE the reason why I'm the new FAT @$$ at REI... I was wondering what the hell happened...

 

[jimgrms]

Seems like the majority of the nature nazi's are against off roaring ,because of the actions of just a few off roaders, And the NN support there cause with there wallets ,Calif lost all there motorized recreational areas ,because of that, if we could get more of the parts suppliers and off road vehicle dealer s to donate it would help a bunch, Sadly i see in the future the end of our sport/hobby/ obsession

 

[O-Gauge Steamer]

Cali Links:

http://ohv.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=1170

http://ohv.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=23138

http://ohv.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=23140

http://corpslakes.usace.army.mil/visitors/states.cfm?state=CA

Point being, there is a large amount of hype that California has closed off everything. Based on my search of the Cali sites, I doubt this to be the case.

That there is a move to bar us from the sites due the the actions of the minority can not be denied and those actions need to be fought. It would be appropriate for to be directly involved in the fight. Funds should be allocated and the National BOD should be directilng it. Each of the local chapters know best what is happening and they need to be on the front line.

I'll get off the soap box...

 

[jimgrms]

Those cali places are so crowded that it is near impossible to park or camp,

 

[xj-grin]

I tend to see both sides of the issue (and not just cause I like REI, though the employees and I miss making fun of that fat guy that doesn't come around anymore)... when I'm hiking, the last think I want to hear is motorized vehicles. The point of taking a walk in the woods is peace, quiet, and hopefully solitude (thus I don't and won't ever live in Cali, too many damn people). I do, however, get pissy when roads get close for stupid/specious reasons. I tend to hike in national park/designated wilderness areas for this reason, which I think keeps me from being two faced, as it leaves me to defend access to BLM/USFS lands for wheeling... provided they don't try to wrap it all up in a wilderness package like SUWA has in the past. Government sucks.

 

[Fred]

There is no reasonable middle ground, because this is one of the driving forces on the preservationist side.

http://www.twp.org/wildways

If you look at the map, the entire Rocky Mt. chain is considered a wildway. Can't have any roadways interferring with wildlife migration.

It's amusing, because if you know the history of the Sierra Club, you know that jeepers were one of the original supporters. Why do we want to drive our jeeps on the back roads? So we can get away from civilization. When Mt. Bikes came along, the Sierra Club had a major controversy, as it exists now, they don't really support any wheeled recreation, but they had to allow Mt. Biking just to keep their numbers up.

The ideal of the environmental movement is that we all live in huge beehives, like those designed by Le Corbusier
.
Around the beehives would be the necessary farms and parklands, and then the rest of the world would be wild. It's a nice little utopia, if you are a leftist totalitarian.

There was a time when I was sympathetic to that point of view. I'm not that big a fan of human beings. My HS graduation present was a down mummy bag. Weren't too easy to find in 1969. Had to buy mountainering boots at Abercrombie and Fitch in downtown Chicago(Got my pack frame there also, it really was an outfitting business at one time). I headed for Monarch Pass despite my parents forbidding me from going by myself. I wasn't real happy either when jeeps passed me on the dirt road out of Garfield. Carrying a 50 lb pack up hill isn't fun. But I bushwhacked across a divide, and was woken up the next morning by a herd of Elk walking through my camp.

I'm fully supportive of the original wilderness act. The following roadless iniatives are a bunch of bs to appease the environmental wacko's the democrats depend on to get elected.