Closures, Restrictions and Compromise
Concerning the winter use restriction that we (FOTR) offered up for the rest of this season, it's a shame that those involved couldn't just accept the offer and get the new sign up. Gee, it took only hours to make professional signs, find stacks of carsonite, and post the entire perimeter of Spider Lake when it closed in 2004.
And for the last two years at the Loon entrance, USFS personnel made signs over night and replaced them several times during the season. No questions asked. In fact it was pointed out several times how easy it is to make a poster sign, slap some laminate on it, and get it posted daily if needed. Now we can't get a new sign up with accepted wording because we have only a month or so left of the season? Makes no sense to me???
Be that as it may, speaking for myself
and NOT as the Trail Boss for FOTR, I see no sense in thinking that we can ever find peaceful agreements with people who do not like what we do. In fact, I remind you of a line from one of my recent articles: *you can't compromise with exclusionary elitists.*
Most all bureaucrats, especially in County government, are forced to look for compromise. It's just the way it goes. And in federal government, it's the law. But for us, it's a choice. Yes, sometimes we need friends from other areas to help us with issues. So we compromise with them in order to get that friendship later on. Well, later on has come and gone. We got nothing back on this trail for the work, time, sweat, and compromises that we have given. All we get are slaps and more closures.
Each of us has to make a choice. Do we try to be friends with our government and non-motorized partners in hopes that we can make headway in the future, maintain our recreation, and still have places to play. Or do we flat say NO.??? Do we start getting less-friendly and hold our lines in the sand?
These are not easy choices to make. If we go bad-guy, hard line, then we need a LOT more money, lawyers and better organizational infrastructure to back our play. Otherwise, we're just quacking.
If we go nice guy, be friendly, let's all try to get along, then we need more of us doing that, understanding the system, playing the game, and getting more involved. We certainly need less of the eat our young syndrome that sometimes kicks in when we know only part of the picture.
Go to my web site sometime, under Articles, and read some of the land use and access stuff like the piece on choices we make....or the one on the vicious green circle....or the one on dealing with bureaucrats. You'll see the dilemma fairly clearly. Maybe you can find some help in making your choice.
Del