Paria Road Closure RALLY - UPDATE
So there is already a thread on this, but I wanted to bump this a bit so that its importance is understood... Rarely in Utah do you get any officials that are prepared to stand up to the BLM and the State and Federal Governments. Kane County is stepping up, their Commisioners will be out at this ride. They have put together documentation and are trying to keep this land public.... How do you think it looks if you arent willing to make a few hours drive to make a difference??
Dear GRE Members:
So I was just contacted by the Kane County Commission regarding a closure that the BLM is planning.
I’ve attached the pertinent documentation which tells most of the story, but if you don’t want to read it, here’s the skinny.
The GSENM BLM would like to close the road to the Paria town site. This is a 6.8 mile stretch of road that runs from the highway to the Paria town site, past the graveyard and out to the old mine diggings and houses.
The road is well used, and last time we were down there we saw quite a few Ford Focus, Honda Accords and the like, driving the road, mostly to photo, picnic and explore the area.
Paria has been around since before 1900, and so has the road. So it’s quite a slap in the face to try and close it.
Also at stake are the cemetery, and the buildings out in the mine camp. All of Paria has washed away, but on the eastern side of the river are 2 impressive structures, the stonework alone is amazing. So if these roads are closed, so is access to the cemetery and the buildings. We all know what happens at that point.
Vandals have already burned the reconstructed movie site, what do you think they will do when they find a cemetery out in the middle of nowhere. No rangers are going to hike in. And the buildings?? If the BLM closes this road they might as well bulldoze the cemetery and the buildings. This closure is not just about a road, its about your access to a historical area!!
Anyway, I digress, Kane County is disputing this road closure in court and the BLM has been ordered not to take any action. However, they have decided they will bow to the environmentalist groups and try to close this road anyway.
County Commissioner Mark Habbeshaw will be out on Saturday to ride the road, shoulder to shoulder with his constituents. You need to be there!!
We all have chores and other duties, but if this gets closed we lose it forever, your chores and birthday parties can wait. YOU NEED TO SHOW UP AND SHOW YOUR SUPPORT.
We will be driving the road and showing the BLM that the off road and historical preservation community is just as aggressive as the Environmentalist movement and we deserve to be heard.
GRE has worked with the GSENM BLM recently and found them to all be very rational and fair individuals. I firmly believe that they just need to see a show of support and they will abandon this cause. That means YOU NEED TO SHOW UP!!
DETAILS:
SATURDAY, May 9th, 2009
9:00 AM Sharp at the Stampin Up Facility (looks like an old wild west town with false fronts) 5 miles East of Kanab near the mouth of Johnson’s Canyon. EMAIL IF YOU NEED MORE DIRECTIONS!!
Every Man, Woman and Child is Needed.
Saturday May 9th at 9:00 A.M. at the old “Stampin Up” Building
East of Kanab
Bring your 4x4’s, Jeeps, 4-wheelers & Rhino’s ready to ride the
Paria Canyon road.
Please bring lots of signs, water, your lunch and Video Cameras
The Media will be there and so will your Friends and Neighbors
“We the People” must stop the Federal Government from closing
down all our roads and doubling the size of the Monument!
WE MUST STAND UNITED!
GRE will be in town Friday evening, we are staying at the Holiday Inn Express. Cheap, clean rooms!! If anyone wants to ride down with us, I should have room for 2. As an FYI, the GRE Rover is undergoing some body modifications in preparation for this year’s Safari, so we will be in a well marked Acura, and we will run the trail in the Acura just to show how well maintained the road is.
