Raven Off-Road
03-04-2004, 11:36 AM
EMAIL TO: president@whitehouse.gov
NAME
ADDRESS
CITY/STATE/ZIP
March 4, 2004
President Bush
White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, US 20500
Dear President Bush;
I am writing to you because of my concern with public land access and
private property rights along with all Americans inherent freedom to enjoy
our public lands, choose where we live, how we earn a living, and manage
our own property. The town of Orick, unfortunately, is simply another
routine example of the negative impact that the federal government's
public land policies have had on small towns in America. Orick, a small
community at the north end of Humboldt County, California sits at the
south end of Redwood National Park (RNP), as the park's southern Gateway
Community. In 1968, and again in 1978, when Congress formed and expanded
Redwood National Park, Congress pledged that the park would help gateway
communities mitigate the adverse economic impact which resulted from the
government's taking and conversion of private lands into public property.
For 30 years, the park has failed to follow through and carry out the
intent of Congress. In fact, the opposite has happened. RNP's current
General Management Plan(GMP) that it adopted in 1999, under its present
superintendent and guided by the previous administration, continues to
violate both the letter and spirit of the law when Congress established
RNP. Preservation groups, such as Save the Redwoods League, are buying up
Orick's small valley resulting in a community of 3,000 reduced to some 300
residents, today. Many jobs have been lost and many businesses have closed
over the years. School enrollment continues to decline from 315 to 55
today. Orick's quality of life has deteriorated. It is sad when Orick's
young people are forced to move from Orick in order to find jobs so that
they can raise their children. It won't be long before everyone is gone
from this town.
The park's actions and the GMP have resulted in a loss of traditional land
uses, which in turn, infringe upon our freedom and right to enjoy and
access our public beaches and earn a living. The park has placed locked
iron gates on Orick's local beaches. It severely limits recreational use
of our public lands. Orick wood carver businesses can no longer gather
drift wood from the beach. Recreational beach fishingaccess as been
banned. Commercial beach fishermen can no longer pass such livelihoods
onto their children due to nontransferable permits. Furthermore, the
phasing out of overnight camping, and excessive camping fees in the
interim, infringes upon our business owners' ability to earn a living as
tourist service providers or wood gatherers/carvers. Redwood National Park
has neither listened to the concerns of Orick citizens nor taken action to
help correct the park's continuing economic squeeze on the town of Orick.
The federal government's public land policies have impacted, as Americans,
our freedom to access and enjoy our public lands. Its policies have
affected our right to choose where we live, and decide how we earn a
living and pass it onto our children. The American farmer, construction
worker, timber worker, commercial fishermen, and gateway community tourism
service provider businesses are merely some of the examples (specific
examples abound in the states of California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho,
Montana, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, Alaska, to name a few)
whose livelihoods are being devastated by poorly thought out government
public land policies. Furthermore, preserving state sovereignty and
private property rights in nonfederal lands surrounding those public lands
are basic and fundamental to each American citizen. RNP is affecting
Orick's ability to do that. Most importantly, this is a critical nation
wide issue that is impacting America's rural resource base and private
property owners right to do as we wish with our property.
Please hear my plea asking you to preserve and protect rural communities
from excessive government regulations that are destroying our rural
communities. Restore Orick's access rights to, and use of, public lands.
Sincerely,
NAME
CLUB
NAME
ADDRESS
CITY/STATE/ZIP
March 4, 2004
President Bush
White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, US 20500
Dear President Bush;
I am writing to you because of my concern with public land access and
private property rights along with all Americans inherent freedom to enjoy
our public lands, choose where we live, how we earn a living, and manage
our own property. The town of Orick, unfortunately, is simply another
routine example of the negative impact that the federal government's
public land policies have had on small towns in America. Orick, a small
community at the north end of Humboldt County, California sits at the
south end of Redwood National Park (RNP), as the park's southern Gateway
Community. In 1968, and again in 1978, when Congress formed and expanded
Redwood National Park, Congress pledged that the park would help gateway
communities mitigate the adverse economic impact which resulted from the
government's taking and conversion of private lands into public property.
For 30 years, the park has failed to follow through and carry out the
intent of Congress. In fact, the opposite has happened. RNP's current
General Management Plan(GMP) that it adopted in 1999, under its present
superintendent and guided by the previous administration, continues to
violate both the letter and spirit of the law when Congress established
RNP. Preservation groups, such as Save the Redwoods League, are buying up
Orick's small valley resulting in a community of 3,000 reduced to some 300
residents, today. Many jobs have been lost and many businesses have closed
over the years. School enrollment continues to decline from 315 to 55
today. Orick's quality of life has deteriorated. It is sad when Orick's
young people are forced to move from Orick in order to find jobs so that
they can raise their children. It won't be long before everyone is gone
from this town.
The park's actions and the GMP have resulted in a loss of traditional land
uses, which in turn, infringe upon our freedom and right to enjoy and
access our public beaches and earn a living. The park has placed locked
iron gates on Orick's local beaches. It severely limits recreational use
of our public lands. Orick wood carver businesses can no longer gather
drift wood from the beach. Recreational beach fishingaccess as been
banned. Commercial beach fishermen can no longer pass such livelihoods
onto their children due to nontransferable permits. Furthermore, the
phasing out of overnight camping, and excessive camping fees in the
interim, infringes upon our business owners' ability to earn a living as
tourist service providers or wood gatherers/carvers. Redwood National Park
has neither listened to the concerns of Orick citizens nor taken action to
help correct the park's continuing economic squeeze on the town of Orick.
The federal government's public land policies have impacted, as Americans,
our freedom to access and enjoy our public lands. Its policies have
affected our right to choose where we live, and decide how we earn a
living and pass it onto our children. The American farmer, construction
worker, timber worker, commercial fishermen, and gateway community tourism
service provider businesses are merely some of the examples (specific
examples abound in the states of California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho,
Montana, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, Alaska, to name a few)
whose livelihoods are being devastated by poorly thought out government
public land policies. Furthermore, preserving state sovereignty and
private property rights in nonfederal lands surrounding those public lands
are basic and fundamental to each American citizen. RNP is affecting
Orick's ability to do that. Most importantly, this is a critical nation
wide issue that is impacting America's rural resource base and private
property owners right to do as we wish with our property.
Please hear my plea asking you to preserve and protect rural communities
from excessive government regulations that are destroying our rural
communities. Restore Orick's access rights to, and use of, public lands.
Sincerely,
NAME
CLUB