Crowdog
06-03-2002, 12:04 PM
Just wanted to let you all know that CA4WDC officially declared opposition to the proposed Boxer bill this weekend during our BOD meeting. Attached is our news release. In addition, while we are not officially endorsing the multiple use rallies scheduled in Sacto, San Diego, LA, and San Bernardino on July 11, we are sharing the information with our members via our In Gear publication and our web site.
Jack Raudy
Executive Director
Calif. Assn. of Four Wheel Drive Clubs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF FOUR WHEEL DRIVE CLUBS
OPPOSES SENATOR BOXER’S WILDERNESS BILL
Bill is Bad for Access, Bad for Resource Management,
Bad for Local Communities and Just Plain Bad Idea
SACRAMENTO, CA (June 4, 2002) - The California Association of Four Wheel Drive Clubs, with more than 8,000 members and 160 clubs throughout the state, is joining other recreation groups and many elected and appointed public officials in opposing Senator Barbara Boxer’s newly announced “California Wild Heritage Act of 2002.” This bill would close nearly 2.5 million acres of public land used by four-wheel drive and other off-highway vehicle enthusiasts, mountain bikers, and other outdoor interests who enjoy recreating in the backcounty.
Earlier Wilderness bills affecting California in 1984 and 1994 added almost 11 million acres of protected lands and Senator Boxer’s bill would increase that total to about 14 million acres, roughly 14 percent of the state’s total land base. Designated Wilderness means the land is off-limits to all mechanized vehicles including off-highway vehicles, bicycles, logging, mining and other forms of commercial development.
Jack Raudy, executive director for the California Association of Four Wheel Drive Clubs, said his organization was opposed to the earlier Wilderness designations and it opposes any additional land closures outlined in Senator Boxer’s bill.
“I honestly believe that every member of our association is an environmentalist or conservationist at heart and we are passionate about the beauty and the splendor that this state has to offer,” Raudy said. “However, we feel that sufficient acres of land have already been set aside for Wilderness and now we stand to lose hundreds of more miles of roads and trails where we have been taking our families for many years.”
The largest Wilderness additions would be in southeastern and southern California where Senator Boxer is proposing approximately 425,000 acres of new Wilderness in the Inyo National Forest, including a new 282,880-acre White Mountain Wilderness Area.
In central and northern California, the legislation would add a 51,790-acre Yuki Wilderness Area to the Mendocino National Forest, create a new 68,480-acre Mineral King Wilderness Area in the Sequoia National Forest, establish five new wilderness areas totaling about 70,000 acres in the Tahoe National Forest, and add 97,590 acres of potential timberlands to the Trinity Alps Wilderness Area east of Willow Creek.
Further to the north, the four-wheel drive association for several years has been spearheading efforts to reopen Black Sands Beach near Eureka for motorized recreation and a huge part of the entire 41,000-acre Kings Range area would be permanently be off-limits as part of the proposed Wilderness designation, including Black Sands Beach.
“We have always believed that national forests were supposed to be accessible for all citizens,” said David Douglas, president of the California Association of Four Wheel Drive Clubs. “We could drive in the national forests, we could take our families on fishing and camping trips, but with Wilderness designations, these beautiful areas will no longer be accessible by any type of mechanized travel.”
Off-highway vehicle enthusiasts are already denied access to more than 21 percent of California’s national forest lands and 25 percent of areas under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management.
While Senator Boxer’s office is finalizing Wilderness boundaries, it has been determined that over 90 percent of the land proposed for Wilderness or Wild and Scenic designations is currently used by off highway vehicles.
According to the Wilderness Society, California currently has more than 14 million acres or almost 14 percent of the state’s land base designated as Wilderness. This is the largest percentage of its land base of any state in the lower 48 states. Only Alaska with 15.4 percent of its land designated as Wilderness exceeds California.
Representative John Doolittle, R-Rocklin, joined many public officials from throughout the state, saying Wilderness designations “simply do not strike the proper balance for either the environment or the people.”
In a letter to Senator Boxer, Assemblyman Jay La Suer, who represents the 77th District in San Diego said, “Americans are enraged that their individual freedoms continue to be taken away at the hands of government. It is not the role of elected officials to decide how Americans ought to pursue happiness, yet your ‘California Wild Heritage Wilderness Act’ presumes to make that decision.”
Members of the California Association of Four Wheel Drive Clubs and other outdoor recreation enthusiasts opposing Senator Boxer’s Wilderness Bill are encouraged to contact her office or other members of the Senate and House of Representatives who will ultimately vote on this bill.
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PUBLIC LAND FOR PUBLIC USE PROTEST RALLY
Multiple use advocates from throughout California will converge on Senator Barbara Boxer’s various offices in California to protest her proposed California Wild Heritage Wilderness Act of 2002.
Organizer Jon Crowley of the Friends of the Rubicon (FOTR) explained why he is organizing the rallies: “Over the last decade, we have seen a continual stream of land closures,” he said. “We are squeezing more than more recreation into smaller and smaller areas. The Friends of the Rubicon and its supporting and partner recreation groups believe that public land should be available for all of the public to use.”
Crowley said rallies are planned for Thursday, July 11, 2002 in Sacramento, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, and San Diego.
In Sacramento, participants will meet at 11 a.m. at a location near the State Capitol. Crowley said the vehicles will depart at noon and circle the Capitol in a slow parade-like fashion. From the Capitol, the group will proceed to Senator Boxer’s office, where they will deliver a petition that opposes additional Wilderness designations.
For complete details on the Sacramento rally and those proposed for other locations, contact Jon Crowley at (530) 677-1651 - crowley9@pacbell.net or Del Albright at (209) 286-1009. Additional details can be found on the following web sites: www.crowley-offroad.com and www.delalbright.com.
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Jack Raudy
Executive Director
Calif. Assn. of Four Wheel Drive Clubs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF FOUR WHEEL DRIVE CLUBS
OPPOSES SENATOR BOXER’S WILDERNESS BILL
Bill is Bad for Access, Bad for Resource Management,
Bad for Local Communities and Just Plain Bad Idea
SACRAMENTO, CA (June 4, 2002) - The California Association of Four Wheel Drive Clubs, with more than 8,000 members and 160 clubs throughout the state, is joining other recreation groups and many elected and appointed public officials in opposing Senator Barbara Boxer’s newly announced “California Wild Heritage Act of 2002.” This bill would close nearly 2.5 million acres of public land used by four-wheel drive and other off-highway vehicle enthusiasts, mountain bikers, and other outdoor interests who enjoy recreating in the backcounty.
Earlier Wilderness bills affecting California in 1984 and 1994 added almost 11 million acres of protected lands and Senator Boxer’s bill would increase that total to about 14 million acres, roughly 14 percent of the state’s total land base. Designated Wilderness means the land is off-limits to all mechanized vehicles including off-highway vehicles, bicycles, logging, mining and other forms of commercial development.
Jack Raudy, executive director for the California Association of Four Wheel Drive Clubs, said his organization was opposed to the earlier Wilderness designations and it opposes any additional land closures outlined in Senator Boxer’s bill.
“I honestly believe that every member of our association is an environmentalist or conservationist at heart and we are passionate about the beauty and the splendor that this state has to offer,” Raudy said. “However, we feel that sufficient acres of land have already been set aside for Wilderness and now we stand to lose hundreds of more miles of roads and trails where we have been taking our families for many years.”
The largest Wilderness additions would be in southeastern and southern California where Senator Boxer is proposing approximately 425,000 acres of new Wilderness in the Inyo National Forest, including a new 282,880-acre White Mountain Wilderness Area.
In central and northern California, the legislation would add a 51,790-acre Yuki Wilderness Area to the Mendocino National Forest, create a new 68,480-acre Mineral King Wilderness Area in the Sequoia National Forest, establish five new wilderness areas totaling about 70,000 acres in the Tahoe National Forest, and add 97,590 acres of potential timberlands to the Trinity Alps Wilderness Area east of Willow Creek.
Further to the north, the four-wheel drive association for several years has been spearheading efforts to reopen Black Sands Beach near Eureka for motorized recreation and a huge part of the entire 41,000-acre Kings Range area would be permanently be off-limits as part of the proposed Wilderness designation, including Black Sands Beach.
“We have always believed that national forests were supposed to be accessible for all citizens,” said David Douglas, president of the California Association of Four Wheel Drive Clubs. “We could drive in the national forests, we could take our families on fishing and camping trips, but with Wilderness designations, these beautiful areas will no longer be accessible by any type of mechanized travel.”
Off-highway vehicle enthusiasts are already denied access to more than 21 percent of California’s national forest lands and 25 percent of areas under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management.
While Senator Boxer’s office is finalizing Wilderness boundaries, it has been determined that over 90 percent of the land proposed for Wilderness or Wild and Scenic designations is currently used by off highway vehicles.
According to the Wilderness Society, California currently has more than 14 million acres or almost 14 percent of the state’s land base designated as Wilderness. This is the largest percentage of its land base of any state in the lower 48 states. Only Alaska with 15.4 percent of its land designated as Wilderness exceeds California.
Representative John Doolittle, R-Rocklin, joined many public officials from throughout the state, saying Wilderness designations “simply do not strike the proper balance for either the environment or the people.”
In a letter to Senator Boxer, Assemblyman Jay La Suer, who represents the 77th District in San Diego said, “Americans are enraged that their individual freedoms continue to be taken away at the hands of government. It is not the role of elected officials to decide how Americans ought to pursue happiness, yet your ‘California Wild Heritage Wilderness Act’ presumes to make that decision.”
Members of the California Association of Four Wheel Drive Clubs and other outdoor recreation enthusiasts opposing Senator Boxer’s Wilderness Bill are encouraged to contact her office or other members of the Senate and House of Representatives who will ultimately vote on this bill.
###
PUBLIC LAND FOR PUBLIC USE PROTEST RALLY
Multiple use advocates from throughout California will converge on Senator Barbara Boxer’s various offices in California to protest her proposed California Wild Heritage Wilderness Act of 2002.
Organizer Jon Crowley of the Friends of the Rubicon (FOTR) explained why he is organizing the rallies: “Over the last decade, we have seen a continual stream of land closures,” he said. “We are squeezing more than more recreation into smaller and smaller areas. The Friends of the Rubicon and its supporting and partner recreation groups believe that public land should be available for all of the public to use.”
Crowley said rallies are planned for Thursday, July 11, 2002 in Sacramento, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, and San Diego.
In Sacramento, participants will meet at 11 a.m. at a location near the State Capitol. Crowley said the vehicles will depart at noon and circle the Capitol in a slow parade-like fashion. From the Capitol, the group will proceed to Senator Boxer’s office, where they will deliver a petition that opposes additional Wilderness designations.
For complete details on the Sacramento rally and those proposed for other locations, contact Jon Crowley at (530) 677-1651 - crowley9@pacbell.net or Del Albright at (209) 286-1009. Additional details can be found on the following web sites: www.crowley-offroad.com and www.delalbright.com.
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