This is a great way to spread the word about what environmentalists are doing to our sport. I encourage you to write letters to your local papers.


Gerard Forgnone is the Chairman of Friends of Oceano Dunes (http://www.oceanodunes.org/index.asp)

Crowdog
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*Off-roading areas dwindle
Santa Maria Times, March 24, 2002

To the Editor:

The recent statistics showing a doubling of off-road vehicle registrations in the past 20 years is evidence that the attempts by the Sierra Club, Environmental Defense Center and other environmentalists to close yet another off-roading area are not what the majority of people want.

The percentage of off-road park visits has increased 52 percent since 1985, because people enjoy this activity. The amount of land available for this type of recreation has dwindled 48 percent since 1980, because the unbalanced environmentalists want the land for only themselves and not the general public.

What is wrong with this picture?

The Sierra Club complains that we are loving our off-road parks to death, yet they continually work to close more of them, which only exacerbates the problem of insufficient land for people to recreate.

What they should be doing is helping develop more riding trails all around the state so the off-roaders aren't all pushed into a few small parks.

But public access to public land is not what the Sierra Club is all about. They are all about suing government (taxpayers) for the sake of "endangered species" to fund their war chests in order to file even more lawsuits. It has become big business for the extremists, and is something that our legislators really should examine closely, because it is our money that is funding their
"conflict industry."

Are we seeing the Sierra Club helping develop snowy plover habitat at the Nipomo Dunes Preserve? No. They would rather use their money to sue California State Parks, operators of the Oceano Dunes Vehicular Recreation Area. There is no profit in growing birds. There is profit in suing in the name of the birds. As the saying goes, "follow the money."

Gerard Forgnone

Santa Maria

Here's another one....

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New Times, San Luis Obispo, March 21, 2002

In praise of truckin' the dunes

When I was a young boy, my dad would take me out in his truck through the Oceano Dunes. It is one of my fondest childhood memories.

Now that I am older, I want to take my kids camping and four-wheeling at the dunes. There's really no place you can do that anymore. From the sound of it, there will soon be none--my kids will never have the experience, nor will I again.

We wonder why there's violence, gangs and shootings--because there's nothing for kids to do for fun anymore, or places their parents can take them.

Keep the Oceano Dunes open. It's a great place for getting away to camp and go four-wheeling. We love and respect the land--that's why we do what we do.

Mitch Olsson

Sacramento

There was a story that I had read sometime ago. Be damned if I can remember the details though, maybe someone can recall as well.
The story that I had read dealt with (I believe), a long-time trail. The author had stated how he/she had been taken there by their parents when they were kids. Then the aythor took their kids there. But when they tried taking their grand kids there, the trail was closed off indefinitely. The author had stated that some of their fondest memories were of those days of wheeling on that trail, and had also stated that it was a great place to get away and share some quality time with their family on a favorite outing.

:)