primergray
05-14-2002, 04:07 PM
This is what we are up against!! Of four letters, only ONE is pro OHRV. We need all the help we can get down here!!
May 14, 2002
Wilderness set-aside would benefit San Diego
Re: "Boxer proposes 2.5 million acres as wilderness" (A-3, May 11):
In San Diego County, we have the highest number of endangered species of any county in the United States. That's one reason why Sen. Barbara Boxer's wilderness bill is such a good idea.
We need to protect the homes of these plants and animals so that our children and grandchildren can experience the joy of being in the wilderness now and in the future.
California's national forests are the source of nearly 60 percent of the state's drinking water supply, and they help improve air quality by acting as a filter for pollutants. Protecting and preserving these resources with wilderness designation contributes to our quality of life.
This bill that would protect 11 miles of the headwaters of the San Diego River ties in nicely with the project launched by Mayor Dick Murphy (now in the Conceptual Plan stage) to develop a regional park that runs the length of the San Diego River.
PATRICIA TEAZE
San Diego
Boxer's bill would protect two areas that are habitat for the endangered bighorn sheep.
I've been to one of these areas, the proposed addition to the Carrizo Gorge wilderness. It's a spectacular place, with canyons dropping steeply down into Carrizo Gorge and views out across the whole desert. It's easy to see why the bighorn like it.
It's important to protect these last wild places now, before our increasing population puts even more pressure on them in the form of mineral or power developments or new dirt-biking areas.
DIANE WILLCOX
San Diego
So Boxer proposes to "save" another 2 million acres in California as a wilderness. Maybe we should look what her and Sen. Dianne Feinstein's Desert Protection Act did. If you are not a backpacker or endangered reptile, you will now see another "Keep Out" sign to enter more public lands.
I have been to the areas that are now designated as a national park since their legislation. Death Valley and Joshua Tree were doubled in size. Most of these areas that are now park wilderness lands are some of the most godforsaken, barren, rock and creosote covered, ugly areas imaginable. The Death Valley 49ers, a group of many elderly campers, now are prohibited from driving into and camping in areas that they have gone into for decades. Desert Unlimited, a wildlife conservation club, can no longer drive to the water troughs that it supplied for desert wildlife.
I'll bet that the only time Boxer has seen a wilderness was from the comforts of her private jet, powered by fossil fuels, while flying over one of these areas.
DAVE DOLAN
Santee
When off-road vehicles (ORVs) are allowed in natural areas, the areas are effectively closed to anyone who appreciates these beautiful areas for what they are: quiet, natural, unpolluted and precious places where irreplaceable biological and cultural resources are preserved for all of us.
This wilderness bill would protect the wide open spaces in California from becoming off-road-vehicle parking lots – closed to anyone who doesn't drive an ORV.
Americans deserve to have their public lands protected from the abuses of single-use recreationists, and opened to everyone else.
JIM RICKER
May 14, 2002
Wilderness set-aside would benefit San Diego
Re: "Boxer proposes 2.5 million acres as wilderness" (A-3, May 11):
In San Diego County, we have the highest number of endangered species of any county in the United States. That's one reason why Sen. Barbara Boxer's wilderness bill is such a good idea.
We need to protect the homes of these plants and animals so that our children and grandchildren can experience the joy of being in the wilderness now and in the future.
California's national forests are the source of nearly 60 percent of the state's drinking water supply, and they help improve air quality by acting as a filter for pollutants. Protecting and preserving these resources with wilderness designation contributes to our quality of life.
This bill that would protect 11 miles of the headwaters of the San Diego River ties in nicely with the project launched by Mayor Dick Murphy (now in the Conceptual Plan stage) to develop a regional park that runs the length of the San Diego River.
PATRICIA TEAZE
San Diego
Boxer's bill would protect two areas that are habitat for the endangered bighorn sheep.
I've been to one of these areas, the proposed addition to the Carrizo Gorge wilderness. It's a spectacular place, with canyons dropping steeply down into Carrizo Gorge and views out across the whole desert. It's easy to see why the bighorn like it.
It's important to protect these last wild places now, before our increasing population puts even more pressure on them in the form of mineral or power developments or new dirt-biking areas.
DIANE WILLCOX
San Diego
So Boxer proposes to "save" another 2 million acres in California as a wilderness. Maybe we should look what her and Sen. Dianne Feinstein's Desert Protection Act did. If you are not a backpacker or endangered reptile, you will now see another "Keep Out" sign to enter more public lands.
I have been to the areas that are now designated as a national park since their legislation. Death Valley and Joshua Tree were doubled in size. Most of these areas that are now park wilderness lands are some of the most godforsaken, barren, rock and creosote covered, ugly areas imaginable. The Death Valley 49ers, a group of many elderly campers, now are prohibited from driving into and camping in areas that they have gone into for decades. Desert Unlimited, a wildlife conservation club, can no longer drive to the water troughs that it supplied for desert wildlife.
I'll bet that the only time Boxer has seen a wilderness was from the comforts of her private jet, powered by fossil fuels, while flying over one of these areas.
DAVE DOLAN
Santee
When off-road vehicles (ORVs) are allowed in natural areas, the areas are effectively closed to anyone who appreciates these beautiful areas for what they are: quiet, natural, unpolluted and precious places where irreplaceable biological and cultural resources are preserved for all of us.
This wilderness bill would protect the wide open spaces in California from becoming off-road-vehicle parking lots – closed to anyone who doesn't drive an ORV.
Americans deserve to have their public lands protected from the abuses of single-use recreationists, and opened to everyone else.
JIM RICKER