Post by mike farmer on Jun 10, 2011 8:11:30 GMT -5
This is an article from Nohvcc. Good and to the point.
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Who Is the Public in Public Land?
by Karen Umphress, NOHVCC Project Coordinator
At a workshop not that long ago, I heard a US Forest Service Ranger say they know when they have made a good decision when both sides are equally unhappy. It isn’t that the US Forest Service likes to make everyone unhappy, but an indication that the decision was balanced between two very opposing views. Often these opposing views are the anti-access people and the motorized recreationists.
During the public comment periods, the public is allowed to give their view point on the decisions which government agencies on a national, state, and local level are making. Most of the time, the agency personnel listen to all of the comments and try to find a balance between the two opposing side. Often neither side is completely happy with the outcome.
But what happens when only one side shows up at the table?
This is what occurs way too often for us. We don’t get involved and then we wonder why so many areas are being closed to motorized recreation.
The reality is that no public land has ever been set aside without public involvement. Although Teddy Roosevelt helped get the national parks established, he wouldn’t have done so if an activist, John Muir, hadn’t brought him out to the area which is now Yosemite. John Muir showed the President the wonders of the area and convinced him of the necessity of preserving it. John Muir also helped to establish Yellowstone National Park and Mt Rainier National Forest, and many other areas.
The same is true for state land, US Forest Service, and BLM lands. It is the activists, “the public”, who got these areas established, not the government. And these activists continue to help keep areas open and maintained. There are tons of “Friends of” groups out there, working with the government for these natural areas.
Unfortunately, many of these activists don’t like motorized recreation and they want to keep OHVs out of the natural areas. They show up at the table and tell the government agencies their point of view.
And as we continue to see, when we don’t get involved and take an active role, we lose riding areas. Public land is only our land when we let the government know that we are here and want to assist with keeping the land open for our use.
We are only “The Public” when we become the activists.
**************************
Who Is the Public in Public Land?
by Karen Umphress, NOHVCC Project Coordinator
At a workshop not that long ago, I heard a US Forest Service Ranger say they know when they have made a good decision when both sides are equally unhappy. It isn’t that the US Forest Service likes to make everyone unhappy, but an indication that the decision was balanced between two very opposing views. Often these opposing views are the anti-access people and the motorized recreationists.
During the public comment periods, the public is allowed to give their view point on the decisions which government agencies on a national, state, and local level are making. Most of the time, the agency personnel listen to all of the comments and try to find a balance between the two opposing side. Often neither side is completely happy with the outcome.
But what happens when only one side shows up at the table?
This is what occurs way too often for us. We don’t get involved and then we wonder why so many areas are being closed to motorized recreation.
The reality is that no public land has ever been set aside without public involvement. Although Teddy Roosevelt helped get the national parks established, he wouldn’t have done so if an activist, John Muir, hadn’t brought him out to the area which is now Yosemite. John Muir showed the President the wonders of the area and convinced him of the necessity of preserving it. John Muir also helped to establish Yellowstone National Park and Mt Rainier National Forest, and many other areas.
The same is true for state land, US Forest Service, and BLM lands. It is the activists, “the public”, who got these areas established, not the government. And these activists continue to help keep areas open and maintained. There are tons of “Friends of” groups out there, working with the government for these natural areas.
Unfortunately, many of these activists don’t like motorized recreation and they want to keep OHVs out of the natural areas. They show up at the table and tell the government agencies their point of view.
And as we continue to see, when we don’t get involved and take an active role, we lose riding areas. Public land is only our land when we let the government know that we are here and want to assist with keeping the land open for our use.
We are only “The Public” when we become the activists.