Subj: WILDALERT: Don't Pave the Parks
Date: 1/31/03 11:52:16 AM Pacific Standard Time
From: action@tws.org (The Wilderness Society)
Dear Jim,

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* Your WILDALERT for Friday, January 31, 2003
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A new Bush Administration policy could lead to the
bulldozing of thousands of miles of new roads across
some of this country's most sacred protected areas.
Tens of thousands of right-of-way claims across Western
public lands, national forests, national parks and
national wildlife refuges could be granted to state
and local governments under an obscure 140-year-old
law. This policy threatens to devastate America's natural
heritage.

Please contact your congressional representatives and
urge them to challenge this rule. You can take action
immediately from http://ga1.org/ct/-pz_Mzn12daW/

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BACKGROUND
The 1866 Mining Act included a statute, R.S. 2477,
which had a narrow goal of granting rights-of-way to
pioneers and miners. Though the Congress repealed the
Act in 1976, new Interior Department rules revive the
statute by making it easier for Western governments
to claim rights-of-way. OH,,, ain't that too bad now...

The official line from the Department of the Interior
is that the rules clear up legal controversies over
management of Western lands. In reality the new rules
will open up the West to further invasion by off-road
vehicles, the oil and gas industry, and other developers.
According to a 1993 National Park Service memo, R.S.
2477 claims could affect 17 million acres of National
Park lands, with "devastating" consequences. Now lets be real...

Parks, Monuments, Refuges
The scope of these claims is frightening. Some local
jurisdictions have announced they intend to claim road-building
rights-of-way on everything from cow paths, jeep trails,
and riverbeds to wagon routes. Areas targeted for road
building include some of this country's most magnificent
national treasures, including the Mojave National Preserve
and Dinosaur National Monument. good, I want KELSO DUNES back

Utah alone intends to assert 10,000 claims to paths
running across Zion and Canyonlands National Parks
and proposed wilderness. In Alaska, the claims could
affect 900,000 miles of section lines and title to
the beds of 22,000 lakes, rivers, and streams.

The impact of these roads on our wild West would be
devastating. Roads damage watersheds and erode soil
while giving access to noisy vehicles that pollute
the air. Roads would destroy the wilderness character
of remote public lands, disturbing wildlife and hikers
alike. We must protect our nation's conservation legacy
by resisting this potentially devastating attack on
our public lands.
man,,, can these people make it sound like the end of the world!!!

These road claims have little to do with legitimate
access or transportation needs, very much to do with
furthering anti-wilderness and anti-public lands interests.
They constitute a land grab on a colossal scale.
GREAT!!! I want my PUBLIC lands back...don't you???

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WHAT YOU CAN DO
Please take action today. You can take action now from:
http://capwiz.com/share/home/ A GOOD SITE...

If you prefer to write your own letter, below is a
sample from which you can draw. (MINE)

Thank you for your help with this urgent issue and
for being part of WildAlert, our online community of
wilderness advocates!

For contact information for your congressional representative,
click here:
http://ga1.org/ct/J1z_Mzn12daI/

For contact info about your Senators, click here:
http://ga1.org/ct/Jdz_Mzn12da7/

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SAMPLE LETTER ( I modified it a little bit )

Dear Honorable Representative/Senator:

I am writing to you today because of a serious emerging
threat to our western public lands. THEY ARE CALLED EXTREME
ENVIRONMENTALISTS. These people claim that some of our nation's
most outstanding national parks, national wildlife refuges, the Bureau
of Land Management and national forest lands are in danger. Our public
lands should be managed and maintained unimpaired for the American
people to enjoy as they like. All forms of recreation should be
considered.

In January of this year, the Department of the Interior
published final regulations that are intended to facilitate
the giveaway of thousands of miles of trails and roads
and, according to the Deputy Secretary of the Interior,
22,000 lakes, rivers and streams in Alaska. THANK YOU.

I am happy about these new regulations and the Administration's
apparent goal of giving away literally tens of thousands
of claims for Federal rights-of-way under the provisions of the Mining Law
known as R.S. 2477. This provision gives the local area the right to
manage the land. This is a needed process because only the local
people know the needs of their areas, not someone in Washington.

I understand that some counties are asserting R.S. 2477 road-building
rights-of-way claims for cow paths, horse trails, river beds, dirt bike and
off-road vehicle routes, as well as for overgrown and nearly indistinguishable
trails long ago abandoned by closure from the public. These
right-of-ways were needed in the past and are needed in the future to
help protect our environment from damage.

In light of the potential chaos and irreparable damage that could be
inflicted under the Extreme Environmentalists plan, I urge you to
write Secretary Norton and ask her to continue with the processing
of any R.S. 2477 claims or claims to lakes and rivers under the
disclaimer rule's provisions.

For more than a century, this country has set aside many reserved
Federal land conservation systems that are the envy of the world.
We now have more than enough land reserved for "Future Generations".

Thank You.
Sincerely,
(your name)
(your address)

you forget

this audience won't read something that long

[ 02-02-2003, 06:03 PM: Message edited by: Bluesky ]

No Blu, we will read it, we just won't understand what it says.

I dont need to read it. If it says "They" and "RUN" then I know its good news!

Why dont YOU read it and see your extreme enviro crap isnt going to fly... Loser

RoostKing...

quote:

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you forget

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That your a TROLL!

LIVE FREE OR DIE!