First off I should have said “if you use dirt roads to access area’s you go camping, fishing, hunting, playing, etc”.
Anyway, I will try to explain. Please keep in mind that I have a difficult time writing or typing what I am thinking.
Since keeping our public lands open to all of us is nearly 100% political and legal action, we as a group (we meaning Off Highway Users, mainly motorized) have to keep “in the face” of our politicians. There are only a few ways that I know of to do this like sending letters or emails when we hear of a closure, attending a meeting regarding a closure or donating to a local group like USA-All, Blue Ribbon Coalition, American Motorcyclist Association and others I can’t think of right now and then having some type of gathering to show support for a cause.
Now, until 3 years ago I do not know of any type of mass gathering to show this kind of support. I do hope that you agree with me that this is something we need to do since it seems to help many other organizations.
The last 2 years I have been involved in making the Take Back Utah event happen. One of the many things I have learned is our state politicians know about this event, look forward to it taking place and are happy to be a part of it. I know that it gives them a reason to “speak” at a mass gathering which they like to do but it also keeps our cause on their minds. By having an official organization like “Take Back Utah” it also gives us a reason and clout to contact them throughout the year not only to participate in the event but also to be heard on specific issues. This goes hand in hand with sending letters, emails and having other organizations fighting against closures on a regular basis. I also think most elected officials base some or most of their decisions on the public’s participation and feed back which is why it’s important to lobby them, call them, send letters and email and of course having a gathering. Now with that said, it seems to me the more letters, phone calls, emails, etc that they get would help sway a vote or decision towards that cause. This is why I mentioned we need to double our reported attendance from last year just to prove to them that we are serious. If our attendance is about the same or less then I think that shows maybe we are not that concerned about closures.
Now about trail closures. No, trails will not start closing on or just after 8/21/11. I would hope that you agree closures or near closures are happening more in the last 5 or 10 years than in years or decades past. Also, I think you would agree that it is a lot harder to re-open a closed trail than to fight now to keep it open. With that said, if we, as a group, back off and don’t do the things mentioned above then that gives SUWA and others the increased drive to shut down most or all of our access to public lands since that is there main goal and they do have the money and manpower to get it done. So this is why I said closures would happen much quicker than in the past.
I really want to hear what you all think. If you think there is a better way to keep our trail open, please post it.
Also, what I have said is my opinion, not Take Back Utah’s.
