I used . . . Congress.org - Elected Officials and also copied my Senators (who both voted in favor of this "piece" of legislation) and the President.
"Honorable Representative Lungren,
I am writing you today to thank you for your vote yesterday in the House opposing the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (Bill # S. 22).
While I find merit in many of the bills it includes, I am very displeased that so many bills which lack substance and represent “pork†spending have been included in this enormous package and the way that condescending elements of Congress and overzealous bureaucrats tried to shove “dark-of-night†legislation and regulations down our throats. I also resent the fact that many of these bills would effectively have locked the public out of many of OUR lands via the “Wilderness†designations they carried.
My family and I spend many enjoyable hours recreating in our National Forests, National Parks and on BLM lands. During our visits we like to get out in nature with family and friends. We usually travel to our chosen destination via a four wheel drive vehicle as it allows us to get away from paved roads and into areas we could not otherwise reach by other means. Upon arrival at our final destination we spend our time camping, hiking, fishing, hunting, and traveling the trails in the vicinity with our Jeep and other OHVs taking in the beautiful scenery that our public lands afford us.
We in the OHV community generally support the idea of travel being limited to designated roads, trails and areas. We are also in support of a thorough environmental review and analysis as well as ongoing monitoring and maintenance of the OHV infrastructure. Indeed, we as an OHV community have voluntarily taxed ourselves in order to provide funds to the agencies involved so they can actively and effectively accomplish these tasks.
We strongly opposed combining these land bills into one package as it eliminated careful review and allowed special interest groups with large powerful lobbies in Washington DC to outweigh the voice of individual citizens, like my family and friends, who regularly visit and enjoy our public lands.
We were dismayed about many parts of the bills that contain lands which cannot be considered suitable for Wilderness, which would have closed many historically used four wheel drive roads (some originating as far back in time as the 1800s), snowmobile areas and mountain bike trails. Many of the bills would have resulted in the loss of America’s access to millions of acres of public lands across the West. These areas are not National Parks, they are lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management and should managed as such. Many of the bills would have allowed BLM managers to close public access and reduce recreation as they have done in the past when given the freedom to do so, usually citing budgetary issues. Fiscal constraints are no excuse for the lack of proper management of our public lands and public access should not suffer as a consequence.
Lost in all this legislation was those whose mobility is impaired, including veterans like myself who incurred disabilities while serving our country and the elderly who cannot walk into or nearby many of the areas that were under consideration.
Back in the 60s development of America's wild lands and backcountry was a threat. Now the threats are the Wilderness Act, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and many other environmental protection laws passed by Congress due to the way they are being used by Wilderness lobbies to lock recreationalists out of our public lands via “Wilderness†designations.
Public lands are important recreational opportunities for mountain bikers, snowmobilers and Off-Highway Vehicle users, all of which are banned in “Wildernessâ€ÂÂ. There are other alternatives like National Conservation Areas or National Recreation Areas which would provide the same level of protection from development that the “Wilderness†designation carries while still preserving a diverse array of opportunities for recreation.
Please continue to support alternatives that do not restrict America’s ability to enjoy our public lands and oppose further efforts to pass the Omnibus Federal Land Management Act of 2009.
Thank you for your time, consideration and vote against a misguided bill that was anti-access and anti-jobs."
"Honorable Representative Lungren,
I am writing you today to thank you for your vote yesterday in the House opposing the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (Bill # S. 22).
While I find merit in many of the bills it includes, I am very displeased that so many bills which lack substance and represent “pork†spending have been included in this enormous package and the way that condescending elements of Congress and overzealous bureaucrats tried to shove “dark-of-night†legislation and regulations down our throats. I also resent the fact that many of these bills would effectively have locked the public out of many of OUR lands via the “Wilderness†designations they carried.
My family and I spend many enjoyable hours recreating in our National Forests, National Parks and on BLM lands. During our visits we like to get out in nature with family and friends. We usually travel to our chosen destination via a four wheel drive vehicle as it allows us to get away from paved roads and into areas we could not otherwise reach by other means. Upon arrival at our final destination we spend our time camping, hiking, fishing, hunting, and traveling the trails in the vicinity with our Jeep and other OHVs taking in the beautiful scenery that our public lands afford us.
We in the OHV community generally support the idea of travel being limited to designated roads, trails and areas. We are also in support of a thorough environmental review and analysis as well as ongoing monitoring and maintenance of the OHV infrastructure. Indeed, we as an OHV community have voluntarily taxed ourselves in order to provide funds to the agencies involved so they can actively and effectively accomplish these tasks.
We strongly opposed combining these land bills into one package as it eliminated careful review and allowed special interest groups with large powerful lobbies in Washington DC to outweigh the voice of individual citizens, like my family and friends, who regularly visit and enjoy our public lands.
We were dismayed about many parts of the bills that contain lands which cannot be considered suitable for Wilderness, which would have closed many historically used four wheel drive roads (some originating as far back in time as the 1800s), snowmobile areas and mountain bike trails. Many of the bills would have resulted in the loss of America’s access to millions of acres of public lands across the West. These areas are not National Parks, they are lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management and should managed as such. Many of the bills would have allowed BLM managers to close public access and reduce recreation as they have done in the past when given the freedom to do so, usually citing budgetary issues. Fiscal constraints are no excuse for the lack of proper management of our public lands and public access should not suffer as a consequence.
Lost in all this legislation was those whose mobility is impaired, including veterans like myself who incurred disabilities while serving our country and the elderly who cannot walk into or nearby many of the areas that were under consideration.
Back in the 60s development of America's wild lands and backcountry was a threat. Now the threats are the Wilderness Act, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and many other environmental protection laws passed by Congress due to the way they are being used by Wilderness lobbies to lock recreationalists out of our public lands via “Wilderness†designations.
Public lands are important recreational opportunities for mountain bikers, snowmobilers and Off-Highway Vehicle users, all of which are banned in “Wildernessâ€ÂÂ. There are other alternatives like National Conservation Areas or National Recreation Areas which would provide the same level of protection from development that the “Wilderness†designation carries while still preserving a diverse array of opportunities for recreation.
Please continue to support alternatives that do not restrict America’s ability to enjoy our public lands and oppose further efforts to pass the Omnibus Federal Land Management Act of 2009.
Thank you for your time, consideration and vote against a misguided bill that was anti-access and anti-jobs."