from CA4WDC...as always be polite and to the point... I will be writing a letter this evening on behalf of the PBB, VCAS, myself and my family and friends....




I talked today to Sen. Feinstein office and they want to hear from groups and individuals
who oppose Boxer's Wilderness Plan. If you are such a group, I suggest that you click on the following link and send the good Senator a letter.

I also suggest that you FAX it to her office at: 202.228.3954


http://www.senate.gov/~feinstein/email.html

They are real interested in what the public thinks about Boxers bill.

Thanks


Don Klusman


:usa:

I have already sent a letter to Feinstein, but figured I write another. Took most of the letter from Doolittle's....


Dear Senator Feinstein:

I am opposed to the designation of more Wilderness Areas.

Under a Wilderness Area designation, numerous outdoor recreation enthusiasts would be shut out of some of their favorite places because of new restrictions on off-highway vehicle and mountain bike activities. By closing these public lands to large segments of the public, Senator Boxer would rob many people of opportunities to enjoy the wonders of nature. While able-bodied 30 year-olds would still be allowed to backpack into the wilderness, the elderly and disabled who rely on vehicle access to experience these sites would be excluded.

Wilderness designations also threaten the areas chance of both surviving and recovering from fire. When wildfire spreads out of control, it destroys wildlife habitat, burns fertile topsoil, and opens the door to massive erosion that can severely harm entire watersheds. Without allowing motorized vehicles access to remove dead trees and begin reforestation efforts, such lands are often left scarred for decades. Furthermore, much of our national forests are already overcrowded with undergrowth and small trees conditions that invite insectinfestation and heightened fire risk. In most locations, the environmentally-sound solution is to greatly increase mechanical thinning treatments, not preclude them. Unfortunately, Wilderness Areas even ban helicopter access. This not only prohibits ecologically-sensitive helicopter logging, but it also prevents local water agencies from performing required monitoring during the winter and hampers search and rescue efforts.

Sincerely,


Jon Crowley, Jr.

done

Dear Senator Feinstein:

I urge you to represent my interests and opposition to the congressional designation of more Wilderness Areas, in California and across the nation. I urge you to oppose Senator Boxer's Wilderness expansion Bill.

Wilderness Area designation of more lands will result in the exclusion of numerous existing outdoor recreation activities, due to the incompatibility with management guidelines demanded by the Wilderness Act of 1964. I do not believe we need to further restrict existing recreation opportunity on land where it is currently acceptable to enjoy, activities disallowed in Wilderness. While there are many areas that activists claim to meet designated Wilderness guidelines, nearly all wildlands meeting the requirements set forth in the Wilderness Act already enjoy valid designated Wilderness status.

The most visible recreation activities to be excluded in the proposed Wilderness Areas are motorized vehicle and bicycle travel. Considerable media attention has been granted to the impacts of the ignorant extreme participants of these sports, reporting that does not represent the mainstream public's impact. Many less recognized recreation activities are also impacted and restricted in wilderness, activities that are supported by vehicle travel for the general public, activities where the public that cannot afford the luxury of peak physical health and financial stability required to afford multiple day hiking trips into wilderness.

Backcountry photography will be restricted in wilderness to only those healthy enough to venture a few miles into the wilderness area. Backcountry bird watching and fishing will be limited to only the public that can hike far past the gates and fences to enjoy the wildlands. Dispersed camping and picnic opportunity will be further limited, compounding the density impacts our park and forest campgrounds already suffer. These collateral impacts are unacceptable. These recreation activities are a legitimate need, and must be supported, even if they demand motorized vehicle access to wildlands.

I urge you to not restrict recreation opportunities for the public to enjoy the wonders of nature. My family relies on vehicle access to experience these opportunities. We rely on vehicle access to physically reach the backcountry, and to carry the food and support equipment needed for a family to safely enjoy the backcountry. Designating more Wilderness in California will exclude my family from enjoying these opportunities.

I urge you to be careful in how Congress balances Wilderness designation with the loss of recreation opportunity.

Vast areas of desert protected in the California Desert Protection Act currently suffer from severe recreation restrictions. I cannot believe you imagined, or currently support, the extent of restriction to public recreation that has evolved on the desert lands you fought to protect for the public enjoyment? While your goals may have been noble in authoring this Act, to protect the desert from commercial development and preserve the land for the enjoyment of future generations of Americans, unfortunately, the resulting land management since passage of the California Desert Protection Act has effectively eliminated enjoyment of (and even exposure to) the California desert for nearly the entire general public. Do not let this Wilderness Area result, closure and restriction, continue.

I urge you to consider alternative land management designations that better serve the public need for backcountry recreation with balanced environment protection.

Sincerely,