Posted on 11/30/2005 8:07:03 PM PST by Rebelbase
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
November 29, 2005
Conservation Groups File Lawsuit to Protect National Parks From Harmful Off-Road Vehicle Use: Survey of Parks Reveals Extensive Damage from Off-Road Vehicles, Lack of Funding for Enforcement
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Bluewater Network, a division of Friends of the Earth; the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA); and Wildlands CPR today filed a lawsuit against the National Park Service and theDepartment of Interior in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., alleging that those agencies have failed in numerous ways to protect the National Park System against the extensive damage caused by all-terrain vehicles and other off-road vehicles in America's national parks.
The plaintiffs met with the Park Service in July 2004 and raised concerns about off-road vehicle damage in the national parks. The agency responded by conducting an internal survey of all national park sites. The 256 responses available to the plaintiffs demonstrate that off-road vehicles are causing widespread damage in America's national parks.
"Despite evidence of damage, the leadership of the National Park Service is simply proposing more studies of the problems caused by off-road vehicles in some parts of the National Park System and has refused to take any action elsewhere," said Carl Schneebeck, public lands campaign director for Bluewater Network and a former Park Service ranger.
Park managers reported that off-road vehicle use is harming archaeological sites at the Grand Canyon; tearing up hiking/horseback trails at Olympic National Park; crushing animal burrows in Arches and Canyonlands national parks; and facilitating fossil poaching at Badlands National Park, as well as affecting the experiences of other visitors. Park managers at the Appalachian Trail reported that damage from off-road vehicles is the trail's "most pernicious" problem.
"Because of the damage off-road vehicles can cause to the natural wonders of the parks, the law expressly requires the agency to regulate the use of off-road vehicles," said Robert Rosenbaum of Washington, D.C., law firm Arnold & Porter LLP, counsel for the plaintiffs.
In the Park Service's survey, many park managers reported having insufficient staff to monitor the impact of off-road vehicles on the parks and enforce park regulations.
"Due to lack of funding, many parks are struggling to enforce the rules on the books to protect the treasures in our parks and the safety and experiences of visitors," said NPCA President Tom Kiernan. "In the meantime, the parks protecting our national heritage are being spoiled."
Exacerbating this problem, the Department of Interior has proposed a draft revision of the parks' management policies. The draft weakens protections for parks and could lead to increased use of off-road vehicles. The public can comment on the proposed changes to the Park Service's management policies over the next few months.
"National parks were created 100 years ago as preserves for our national heritage-not as playgrounds for off-road vehicles," said Wildlands CPR Executive Director Bethanie Walder. "The existing policies to protect our parks must be upheld and enforced."
Secondly, Canada's park use regs are probably more rigorous than the U.S., and if that area was allowed for ATV use, then there was a reason for that "damage"..
From looking at the pic, it's a low-lying area, very "boggy", ( that's mud.. ) and what appears to be damage could very well look different under drier conditions..
The area was obviously designated for ATV recreational use..
"Git in there an' Git Muddy!!"
No Park Service is going to allow ATV's into ecologically sensitive areas..
They just don't do it..
To the environazis, your "reasonable and sustainable way" means without making any changes at all. The 'damage to the terrain' caused by vehicles includes simple tire tracks in the sand.
All of the "damage" will have disappeared within a few years, but if the environazis have their way, there will be nobody there to see it but members of their little clubs. This has already happened in at least one forest in Idaho.
Screw your sustainable liberal crap
You've shown one photo of one very small open area with tire tracks in it, that is not even in the United States. Big whoop.....meanwhile, the forest around looks pristine.
'nuff said, because you've said nothing.
Thats the problem. You want to go x-country skiing and
find a bunch of drunken yahoos with snowmobiles on the
trails. They ruin the trail and create racket and fumes.
Who needs that? Good that the National Parks outlaw these,
and too bad they tolerate them in National Forests.
The motorized yahoos make it impossible for anyone else
to enjoy the woods, due to their selfishness and inconsideration of other park users. As long as they have such an eff you attitude, people like me will cheer when their machines are kicked out of the parks.
Looks to me like that small bog needed turning over.Can't prove from the picture that that is 'damage'. If I could I would post a before and after pic of Mt.St.Helens for example....
When my father's health was really touchy, one of the only things he enjoyed was four wheel drive trips through the woods. He couldn't hike 200 feet much less INTO a National Forest.
Anyone who doesn't see this for what it is is just blind.
These lunatics tried to cut out bass fishing here in the 90's. Thank God the proposition went down in flames.
The goal?........ Have us serve the animals and environment like gods.
"I believe that most people in the world want the right things but that idealogues manage to screw things up."
"bunch of drunken yahoos"
"They ruin the trail and create racket and fumes"
"The motorized yahoos make it impossible for anyone else to enjoy the woods, due to their selfishness and inconsideration of other park users. As long as they have such an eff you attitude, people like me will cheer when their machines are kicked out of the parks."
In other words, you have as much of an eff you attitude as they do. You want to use Park resources to do what you like, but want to deny Park resources to those who are doing what you don't like.
Yep, there you go again...liberals taking away our fun...
Number One: They are park users too.. They pay the same fees, maybe more because of their ATV's..
Number Two: Your problem isn't with the snowmobilers, it's with the Park Service..
They should have specific areas and trails marked and mapped indicating where hikers are able to go, and where snomobilers are able to go..
If they don't, then take it up with the park service..
That's your right..
By the way..
Have you ever hiked on designated horse trails?
Ever step in a pile of Horse S**t?
Ever had a passing horse try to take a "nip" out of you?
Kick You? Slap their tail in your face? Fart in your face? P**s as they were passing and splatter horse urine all over your shoes and pants? ( and God only knows what else that was on the ground..)
Should we ban horses too?
Maybe we should ban all animals from National Parks..
Some of them are dangerous, you know..
Have fun hiking out of the park with a broken leg, or whatever, because motorized ATV's used as emergency vehicles aren't allowed..
No helicopter "life flights" either..
Can't have helicopters traumatizing the bears, or the deer..
Guess maybe you'll bleed to death before you can get to a doctor..
Sorry..
I can't subscribe to your philosophy..
The parks are there for all citizens to enjoy, not just the hikers..
If you insist on hiking in the ATV recreational areas and trails, that's Your Problem..
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