Moab is closing, in case anyone is interested.

[Coffee]

If anyone cares, click on this link and spend 20 seconds.
http://americanmotorcyclist.com/legisltn/rapidresponse.asp



This information came from link
Congress to hold hearing on closing 9 million acres in Utah
Contact your Representative to Oppose H.R. 1925!
The Chairman of the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands of the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources has scheduled a hearing on October 1 to consider H.R. 1925, America's Red Rock Wilderness Act of 2009. This legislation -- which will ban off-highway vehicle (OHV) access to public lands to those who live and recreate in Utah -- was introduced by New York Representative Maurice Hinchey. To read his press release on H.R. 1925, click here.

However, not a single Representative from Utah is supporting H.R. 1925.

Specifically, H.R. 1925 would designate more than nine million more acres as federally protected "Wilderness," and directly affect the Moab, San Rafael Swell and Chimney Rock areas (to name a few) in Utah. These popular OHV areas represent some of the most important remaining OHV recreation areas in Utah, and are some of the most popular with responsible OHV riders. The proposed Wilderness designation would also make the land off limits to ATV riders, mountain bikers and horseback riders.

Coming on the heels of the recently enacted Omnibus Public Land Management Act, which closed 2 million acres of public lands, this vast Wilderness bill will take away additional recreation opportunities currently enjoyed by local residents and visitors alike.

The AMA needs your help 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 entering your zip code on AmericanMotorcyclist.com, clicking on "Rights," then "Issues and Legislation." Additionally, a prewritten e-mail is available for you to send to your Representative immediately by following the "Take Action" option and entering your information.

Please contact your Representative right away and urge them to oppose H.R. 1925.

 

[Drew Smith]

Good Job Dean
I'm sure we all care very much, Click on the AMA link and follow the prompts to take action. More importantly lets all stick together and in future elections vote out politicians who deny access to responsable user groups (Dirt Bike Riders) be proud of yourselvs VALUE LIBERTY and dont be afraid of political corectness. I'ts our country.
Best Regards
Drew Smith

 

[Coffee]

Thanks Drew,

For the record I'm not sure what the 'formula' is but at least once I was told online petitions count as *one* input i.e. in order of what counts:

1. Humans calling on the phone = 1 persons input
2. an email counts less than a phone call.
3. Online petition where hundreds of people may have commented on counts as 1 phone call.

Even if that last bit is incorrect phone calls do make a *huge* difference.

 

[robertaccio]

sent letter to rep........good to do but doubt reigns over her doing anything with it.
Rep/Dem/Ind they are all there for themselves and are mostly all crooks/thieves and scam artists looking for power/money and egotistal gain at our expense. Let me tell you all how I really feel about the politicos,,,,but at least most of ours are not murderers and drug dealers like other countries folks have to deal with. soap box is now vacant

 

[socaltrailrider]

E-mail sent. I'll be calling as well.

 

[Coffee]

This was posted on TT, I've not looked into the details to confirm but this does sound like good news.

http://www.arra-access.com/site/PageServer?pagename=homepage(taken from today's usa-all newsletter)


We are excited to report that Thursday's Congressional hearing for SUWA's wilderness bill went very well. Very well for our side.

I was pleased to travel to Washington D.C. and show USA-ALL's commitment to defeating this bill. It was a great opportunity to further advocate our position and the wants and needs of our members to influential people.

You wouldn't think that a roughly 5 hour congressional hearing could be fun but it was. Of course I admittedly am a bit of a political nerd. It was a pleasure to be present and watch the debate over this bill. When I arrived outside the committee room on Thursday morning I noticed I was the only one not wearing a big yellow "Wild Utah" button. There were about 20 SUWAites and one of me. I soon found a few friendly faces. Carbon County Commissioner John Jones, Emery County Lobbyist Randy Johnson, rural Utah county lobbyist Bob Weidner, Lt Governor Greg Bell, and AMA rep Richard Podliska and myself made up those in attendance opposed to the bill. We watched all of our Utah elected officials do tier job as well as we have ever witnessed. We watched a "mobster like" Congressman from New York, Maurice Hinchey, weave a tapestry of half truths and ignorant statements. Congressman Hinchey had the audacity to claim that Utah "abandoned" the public land now being considered for Wilderness designation. And that if we had not done so we would not be in that hearing. It was an uninformed and outrageous comment that he reiterated many times. We watched Congressman Bishop question and push Mr Hinchey to the point where he had no intelligent or factual answers and so he resorted to a raised voice out of sheer frustration. We listened to former Mayor Rocky Anderson and other witnesses in favor of the bill spin, spin, spin the truth. It was really eye opening and at times entertaining.

We will provide to you a full transcript of the hearing as soon as it becomes available in the next week or two.

Thanks to the overwhelming numbers of letters, emails, and phone calls from our members, and some clever strategic thinking on part of USA-ALL and our partners we were able to significantly harm this bills chances of passing. USA-ALL was able to help provide information to the members of Congress and assist the witnesses in delivering an effective counter position to the bill. We also have been able to get the word out about this land grab to tens of thousands of people.

We want everyone to know of what a tremendous job Utah's Congressional delegation (Congressmen and Senators) did in uniting and speaking passionately against this bill. Congressman Bishop is the ranking Republican on this committee and his opening statement was poetic, passionate, and powerful. Congressman Chaffetz also sits on the full committee and he spoke very forcefully as well. Both Utah senators brought powerful testimonies and a depth of experience that was valuable. And lastly Congressman Matheson boldly united with the other members and spoke firmly against this bill. But Mr. Matheson as well as other members of the delegation were quick to point out that the land in Utah is beautiful and in some places may be worthy of Wilderness designation. But they mostly support a more localized plan on a county by county basis not a large state wide bill that has had little input from other parties outside of the Utah Wilderness Coalition. We at USA-ALL have been critical of this process and we remain skeptical. But we are keeping an open mind and will work with government and other stake holders if and when local plans are being drafted. Emery County has just recently began such a process for possible Wilderness designations in the San Rafael area. This is one we are fully engaged in and watching closely.

We also want to commend our new Lt Governor Greg Bell and Carbon County Commissioner John Jones for doing an OUTSTANDING job in testifying against the bill. We had the chance to spend a few hours with both of these gentlemen and it was a pleasure to speak with them and get to know them better. You can take it from us that they are great allies to have and they represented most all of you very well.

SUWA's bill as of now does not have future action scheduled. That DOES NOT mean it can't or won't move through the Congress. The bill IS NOT dead. WE MUST stay vigilant and be better prepared to defeat this bill. Many of you have generously donated. We thank you so much. We encourage others to help us fill our war chest so that we might effectively fight this bill by continuing to operate, communicate information to our members and the public, offer opposing views to media outlets, and work with government officials at all levels. Having a strong and capable local organization such as USA-ALL will be ESSENTIAL in protecting your interests and defeating this bill. We must not rely on national organizations or outside groups to protect us. We are lucky to have such valuable partners but we must take care of and assume responsibility for ourselves here in Utah. It is the right thing to do.

For those who haven't donated here is a donate button you can use to help us. Surely we have earned your support.

For those who have helped by either donating and or contacting Congressmen, friends, neighbors, etc please take a minute and pat yourself on the back, feel good about our hard work and your efforts to help. It was truly a team effort. BUT please also resist the urge to rest on your heels and become complacent. We have a little momentum but we lots of lost ground to make up. Remain one of our supporters or get involved with us today, and then strongly encourage your friends and family to follow. It is past time that we truly take action to take back Utah and ultimately to take back America. Stick with us and we will accomplish just that!

Sincerely,
Michael Swenson
Utah Shared Access Alliance

___________________________________________________________________________________

(taken from todays ARRA newsletter)

Red Rock Wilderness Bill - The East Knows Best for the West
Generally speaking, when wilderness legislation is introduced in the Congress, the effort usually is led by a local Member of Congress. The Member or Senator works closely with various interests in the congressional district or state he or she represents to determine what areas of land should forever be designated as "wilderness." In other words, those living closest to the land where the designation is to take place are in the best position to know how that land should be used.

Since most wilderness areas of federal land are in the western part of the U. S., usually western Senators or Members of Congress are the ones most involved in the formation of the legislation. In recent years that demarcation has changed. We saw this when Representative Carolyn Maloney, representing Manhattan, New York, introduced the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act encompassing more than 23 million acres in five western states. It seemed rather absurd that someone who has Central Park and Times Square in her district would also know something about 23 million acres more than 2500 miles away from her congressional district.

The latest in the "East knows best for the West" category is the 9 million acre Utah wilderness bill, H.R. 1925, sponsored by another New York Congressman, Rep. Maurice Hinchey. Hinchey represents a congressional district north of New York City, comprised of rural areas along with old industrial cities. The land mass covered by H. R. 1925 is more than 4 and ½ times the size of Hinchey's congressional district. The House Natural Resources Committee's Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands recently held a hearing on Hinchey's bill. The entire Utah congressional delegation testified against the measure. Even the Bureau of Land Management, the federal agency with the responsibility of managing most of the land included in the bill, expressed reservations about the legislation.

No doubt there are areas within the 9 million acres that merit wilderness designation. I would feel more comfortable about such a designation if Utah's congressional delegation was making that determination rather than relying on someone in Congress who represents apple orchards and industrial cities struggling to attract people and jobs. But then, that would be a violation of the "East knows best for the West" rule.

 

[oneal]

It sounds to me what is starting to happen in the states, has already happened in the uk. weve already lost alot of our riding areas an the goverment still want to close more.
So yes i will be supporting your on online petition

 

[jckid]

Email sent. I just returned from Moab 4 days ago. I didn't take either of my motorcycles, but I did some mountain biking and 4-wheeling in my Jeep and discovered what a great place it is to ride. I had such a great time that I was thinking about going back with my motorcycle in the near future. I thought it was so cool that Utah had so many open trails compared to CA, and now I'm disappointed to read that it may not stay that way.

 

[Coffee]

It appears this bill is now dead.

They will be trying to pass several smaller bills on a regional basis as opposed to one large massive bill, for more info:
http://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?p=8690910#post8690910

 

[WoodsChick]

Excellent news...for now, anyway. The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) and their ilk will be back for more, I'm sure.

My first riding trip to Utah was in September of 2001. I became a card-carrying member of Utah Shared Access Alliance (USA-ALL) about a week after I returned home. It was a mind-blowing trip for me, and the thought of all that glorious land being closed off to me and my chosen form of recreation was simply too much to bear. Being from CA, I've been a pretty useless member, but I still send them my money, write letters, send e-mails and help spread the word.

If any of you found yourself breathing a sigh of relief that this bill did not pass, and maybe even thought to yourself "Gee, I need to get out there and ride Moab before it gets closed down!" please contact USA-All and at least get on their mailing list so you can help defeat the next land grab which is sure to come rolling down the slickrock in the very near future. Please don't commit SUWA-cide!

A little bit of what we all stand to lose...

WoodsChick

 

[JimO]

Woodschick,
Thanks for the thread, you hit it right on the head, we cant lose this land to these clueless folks who want to tell us tax paying Americans where we can go and where we cant. Plus, they reside 2000 miles away. These people need some fresh air.
ahhh I feel better.

P.S. Eric sure had long hair back then.

 

[WoodsChick]

Woodschick,
Thanks for the thread, you hit it right on the head, we cant lose this land to these clueless folks who want to tell us tax paying Americans where we can go and where we cant. Plus, they reside 2000 miles away. These people need some fresh air.
ahhh I feel better.

P.S. Eric sure had long hair back then.[/QUOTE]

That photo at the Portal to Hell is me and my friend Parvin. She owned the KTM 450 that I now own.

You're right about the people pushing the Utah Wilderness bill being from back east. Hell, look at who belongs to SUWA...they are all rich folks from back east, too. They were getting some crap about that so they put a few locals on the board (one of which happens to be the ex-mayor of SLC) but they are still not invested in the area. Not emotionally invested, not financially invested, none of them live there or have family there or take their vacations there. The chairman of the
board is also chairman of the board for a company in Switzerland. What a bunch of crap...



WoodsChick

 

[jckid]

I went through the link and sent an email opposing this, and I just received a reply email from my Congressman thanking me for writing to express my support of the bill. WTF! I think I just lost faith in the system. Oh, well. I guess it doesn't really matter since this has been dropped for now, but it's still kind of irritating.

 

[SightedN2]

I want to add that USA all is just one of the organizations you need to join, and I am going paste a link over to KTMtalk where this is posted and I have been trying to keep it alive, (lil200)I do still own my Husky but orange out numbers it in my garage...don't hold that against me.....everyone that rides a bike, this is where I would use the phrase "can't we all just get along?" : ) needs to help save our riding areas, also take advantage of joining the BRC and get the $25 gift card from Rocky Mountain

coffee I hope this is OK? not trying to steer anyone to ride a orange bike either...I just never could afford to make the switch...my KTMs are all like me OLD and out of shape.

http://ktmtalk.com/index.php?showtopic=361954

 

[WoodsChick]

I want to add that USA all is just one of the organizations you need to join, and I am going paste a link over to KTMtalk where this is posted and I have been trying to keep it alive, (lil200)I do still own my Husky but orange out numbers it in my garage...don't hold that against me.....everyone that rides a bike, this is where I would use the phrase "can't we all just get along?" : ) needs to help save our riding areas, also take advantage of joining the BRC and get the $25 gift card from Rocky Mountain

coffee I hope this is OK? not trying to steer anyone to ride a orange bike either...I just never could afford to make the switch...my KTMs are all like me OLD and out of shape.

http://ktmtalk.com/index.php?showtopic=361954

No problem on the link, SightedN2 Whatever it takes to stop the land grab...

I am a member of the AMA (for whatever that's worth...) the BRC and CORVA, too. These organizations all play an important part in trying to keep the anti-access folks at bay, and I strongly encourage everyone to pay attention and join up whatever organizations you feel will best help attain our goals.

And while you're at it, get yourself a quiet pipe

If I were Queen of the Universe, letter-writing and proof of organization membership would be mandatory before being able to post



WoodsChick

 

[racermx66]

Just took action. I know I'll get a standard e-mail response back thanking me for contacting my representative about no specific issue.