Crowdog
06-17-2002, 07:58 AM
June 7, 2002
The Honorable Barbara Boxer
United States Senator - State of California
112 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510-0505
Dear Senator Boxer,
After careful review of information available on your proposed “California Wild Heritage Wilderness Act,” I find I must express my strong opposition to this approach to wilderness preservation.
Although I certainly appreciate your desire to protect scenic lands, I believe that a balanced multiple-use approach to the management of public lands is far preferable to locking lands away from use and enjoyment by its true owners—ordinary American citizens. Any proposal for protecting our wilderness must find a way to incorporate and balance the many and varied uses of public lands. Public lands policy must always consider human access, resource development, wildfire prevention and conservation; sadly, your bill falls short in many of these areas.
I am especially worried that wilderness designation will produce a greater threat of wildfires spreading out of control. The prohibition of motorized vehicle access severely limits firefighting capabilities and your proposal to deal with this issue is simply unacceptable. Vehicular access to these areas for firefighting purposes should not be discretionary. Granting a Washington-based Secretary of Interior or Agriculture unilateral authority to decide what firefighting measures are necessary places a significant risk on rural communities.
Furthermore, it concerns me that many activities currently taking place in these proposed wilderness sites would be prohibited or severely limited. For example, Mr. Les Nicholson, Nevada Irrigation District’s hydro manager, has expressed concern that “the wilderness designation could hamper NID’s operations, including reaching high mountain reservoirs by helicopter for repairs and safety checks.” Many bicyclists and most off-highway vehicle enthusiasts are opposed because wilderness designation forbids mechanized equipment, including bicycles, and would eliminate many miles of trails. Wilderness designation will have a severe impact and/or will completely eliminate many currently allowed uses, such as cattle grazing, water development, and timber harvesting. How do you propose handling the potentially devastating impact on our rural economies? Many of these rural areas have attempted to transition to a tourism-based economy, but wilderness designation effectively thwarts these efforts, making it more difficult for the public to use the land.
If you do intend to proceed with this measure, I would make two requests of you. First, I ask that you complete an in-depth study of, at a minimum, the economic damage that will likely result to rural economies if this bill becomes law. If we are to strike such a blow to our rural citizens, we at least should know what we are really doing.
Second, I would ask that as you present your proposal to constituencies directly affected by the measure, you seek to apprise them of the great costs to them as well as your perception of potential benefits. Noting recent news articles from my district, it appears that both the press and local officials have been uninformed by your office of the full impact your proposal would have upon the inhabitants of rural areas.
For instance, in one newspaper, while the opinions of American River Wildlands and the Sierra Club were referenced extensively, it failed to mention our local congressman’s opposition to the bill or my own serious concerns. I imagine this is partially due to the fact that your staff has never consulted with my office regarding this community-shaking legislation.
Senator Boxer, if both a healthy environment and healthy communities are your goal, “The California Wild Heritage Wilderness Act” is honestly not the way to achieve it. Please reconsider your proposal, weighing the severe impact upon local residents and visitors that this vast expansion of Wilderness Area and Wild and Scenic River designation would certainly cause.
Sincerely,
TIM LESLIE
Assemblyman, Fourth District
TL: blk
Cc:
Congressman John Doolittle
Congressman George Radanovich
State Senator Thomas “Rico” Oller
Alpine County Board of Supervisors
Amador County Board of Supervisors
Calaveras Board of Supervisors
El Dorado County Board of Supervisors
Mono County Board of Supervisors
Placer County Board of Supervisors
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please take a moment to send Assemblyman Leslie a note of support
E-mail: Assemblymember.Leslie@assembly.ca.gov
Phone: (916) 319-2004
Fax: (916) 319-2104
4164 State Capitol
Sacramento, CA 94249-0001
The Honorable Barbara Boxer
United States Senator - State of California
112 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510-0505
Dear Senator Boxer,
After careful review of information available on your proposed “California Wild Heritage Wilderness Act,” I find I must express my strong opposition to this approach to wilderness preservation.
Although I certainly appreciate your desire to protect scenic lands, I believe that a balanced multiple-use approach to the management of public lands is far preferable to locking lands away from use and enjoyment by its true owners—ordinary American citizens. Any proposal for protecting our wilderness must find a way to incorporate and balance the many and varied uses of public lands. Public lands policy must always consider human access, resource development, wildfire prevention and conservation; sadly, your bill falls short in many of these areas.
I am especially worried that wilderness designation will produce a greater threat of wildfires spreading out of control. The prohibition of motorized vehicle access severely limits firefighting capabilities and your proposal to deal with this issue is simply unacceptable. Vehicular access to these areas for firefighting purposes should not be discretionary. Granting a Washington-based Secretary of Interior or Agriculture unilateral authority to decide what firefighting measures are necessary places a significant risk on rural communities.
Furthermore, it concerns me that many activities currently taking place in these proposed wilderness sites would be prohibited or severely limited. For example, Mr. Les Nicholson, Nevada Irrigation District’s hydro manager, has expressed concern that “the wilderness designation could hamper NID’s operations, including reaching high mountain reservoirs by helicopter for repairs and safety checks.” Many bicyclists and most off-highway vehicle enthusiasts are opposed because wilderness designation forbids mechanized equipment, including bicycles, and would eliminate many miles of trails. Wilderness designation will have a severe impact and/or will completely eliminate many currently allowed uses, such as cattle grazing, water development, and timber harvesting. How do you propose handling the potentially devastating impact on our rural economies? Many of these rural areas have attempted to transition to a tourism-based economy, but wilderness designation effectively thwarts these efforts, making it more difficult for the public to use the land.
If you do intend to proceed with this measure, I would make two requests of you. First, I ask that you complete an in-depth study of, at a minimum, the economic damage that will likely result to rural economies if this bill becomes law. If we are to strike such a blow to our rural citizens, we at least should know what we are really doing.
Second, I would ask that as you present your proposal to constituencies directly affected by the measure, you seek to apprise them of the great costs to them as well as your perception of potential benefits. Noting recent news articles from my district, it appears that both the press and local officials have been uninformed by your office of the full impact your proposal would have upon the inhabitants of rural areas.
For instance, in one newspaper, while the opinions of American River Wildlands and the Sierra Club were referenced extensively, it failed to mention our local congressman’s opposition to the bill or my own serious concerns. I imagine this is partially due to the fact that your staff has never consulted with my office regarding this community-shaking legislation.
Senator Boxer, if both a healthy environment and healthy communities are your goal, “The California Wild Heritage Wilderness Act” is honestly not the way to achieve it. Please reconsider your proposal, weighing the severe impact upon local residents and visitors that this vast expansion of Wilderness Area and Wild and Scenic River designation would certainly cause.
Sincerely,
TIM LESLIE
Assemblyman, Fourth District
TL: blk
Cc:
Congressman John Doolittle
Congressman George Radanovich
State Senator Thomas “Rico” Oller
Alpine County Board of Supervisors
Amador County Board of Supervisors
Calaveras Board of Supervisors
El Dorado County Board of Supervisors
Mono County Board of Supervisors
Placer County Board of Supervisors
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please take a moment to send Assemblyman Leslie a note of support
E-mail: Assemblymember.Leslie@assembly.ca.gov
Phone: (916) 319-2004
Fax: (916) 319-2104
4164 State Capitol
Sacramento, CA 94249-0001