Date: 06/17/2010 Dear BRC Action Alert Subscriber,
If you received this Alert you live in one of a dozen states who have Senators currently sitting on the Public Lands and Forests Subcommittee.
Yesterday, the Subcommittee heard testimony on two Wilderness bills, one in Idaho and the other in South Dakota.
Both of these bills, especially the Idaho bill, are BAD for recreation. BRC has worked with local OHV and snowmobiling groups in each state in efforts to protect recreational access.
We need your help!
We are asking BRC members in your state to contact your Senator on this subcommittee and ask them to oppose these two bills.
We've posted a link to each Senator's online contact page as well as some key talking points. Your email to your Senator will only take a minute and it will be invaluable to our efforts.
As always, please call or email with any questions or concerns.
Thanks in advance for your effort!
Brian Hawthorne
Public Lands Policy Director
BlueRibbon Coalition
208-237-1008
BRC NATIONAL WILDERNSS ACTION ALERT
IDAHO AND SOUTH DAKOTA BILLS BAD FOR RECREATION
PLEASE CONTACT YOUR SENATOR TODAY
Situation:
On Wednesday, June 16, 2010 the Public Lands and Forests subcommittee heard testimony on two public lands bills.
The South Dakota bill will close 48,000 acres to motorized and mountain bike use and make it nearly impossible for traditional use of agate beds.
Idaho's Boulder/White Clouds Wilderness bill, known as the “Central Idaho Economic Development and Recreation Act” (S. 3294) will close just under 80 miles of epic high alpine mountain bike single track and tens of thousands of acres of supreme high altitude snowmobiling.
What you need to do:
Please send your Senator a quick email. You can use the comment letter below, and add some personal information about how important off-highway vehicle, snowmobile and mountain bike recreation are to you. Remind your Senator that Wilderness banns all of these popular uses.
SAMPLE LETTER:
Dear Senator,
I am emailing you today regarding two bills that were heard in testimony yesterday: S. 3294 the Central Idaho Economic Development and Recreation Act and S. 3310, the Tony Dean Cheyenne River Valley Conservation Act of 2010.
S. 3294 and S. 3310 are BAD for recreation. Please support efforts to modify these bills to protect the existing recreational uses in both of these areas.
The South Dakota bill will close 48,000 acres to motorized and mountain bike use. This area is currently well managed by the U.S. Forest Service. OHV use is limited to desegregated routes. There is no need for the restrictions Wilderness designation imposes on these lands.
S. 3294 “CIEDRA” will close just under 80 miles of epic high alpine mountain bike single track and tens of thousands of acres of supreme high altitude snowmobiling.
CIEDRA will take approximately 150,000 acres of the Sawtooth National Recreation Area (SNRA) that is ALREADY PROTECTED (no logging – no mining- no road building) and turn it into Wilderness. The only difference between the SNRA and Wilderness is the SNRA allows a diverse range of recreation to occur.
CIEDRA WILL put 332,775 acres into the most restrictive land management designation on the planet: Wilderness precludes any motorized use; including using chainsaws to maintain trails. Wilderness bans all mountain bike use. Wilderness puts limits on group size (usually “12 heartbeats&rdquo
and often requires permits and fees for overnight visits. Wilderness limits the State of Idaho's ability to protect and manage for wildlife and wildfire.
When considering designating public lands as Wilderness, Congress and federal land managers are advised to consider the “relative scarcity” of Wilderness in the area. In this area, there is certainly no scarcity of Wilderness. In addition to the 217,000 acre Sawtooth Wilderness that is right across the valley, immediately to the north is the largest Wilderness in the lower 48 states, the 2.3 Million acre Frank Church/River of No Return Wilderness, and contiguous to that (separated only by a single dirt road) is the 1.3 Million acre Selway/Bitteroot Wilderness. Adjacent to both of these vast Wilderness areas is the 206,000 acre Gospel Hump Wilderness.
There is no threat to these lands. No large commercial clear cut logging operations are pending. No mining operations, with bulldozers at the ready, can or will threaten these lands. Recreational use is intensively managed with an emphasis on protecting natural resources. This legislation seems to be “Wilderness for the sake of Wilderness,” and nothing more.
Thank you for considering my views on these important bills. I hope you will support efforts to modify or changes these bills to protect recreational access. Please keep me informed.
YOUR NAME
YOUR ADDRESS
WASHINGTON STATE
Senator Ron Wyden
http://wyden.senate.gov/
http://wyden.senate.gov/contact/
Senator Maria Cantwell
http://cantwell.senate.gov/
http://cantwell.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm
WYOMING
Senator John Barrasso
http://barrasso.senate.gov/public/
http://barrasso.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactUs.ContactForm
SOUTH DAKOTA
Senator Tim Johnson
http://johnson.senate.gov/public/
http://johnson.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=ContactForm
LOUISIANA
Senator Mary L. Landrieu
http://landrieu.senate.gov/
http://landrieu.senate.gov/about/contact.cfm
ARIZONA
Senator John McCain
http://mccain.senate.gov/public/
http://mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.ContactForm
UTAH
Senator Robert Bennett
http://bennett.senate.gov/public/
http://bennett.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=ContactForm
NEW JERSEY
Senator Robert Menendez
http://menendez.senate.gov/
http://menendez.senate.gov/contact/?i=ENV
ALABAMA
Senator Jeff Sessions
http://sessions.senate.gov/public/
http://sessions.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ConstituentServices.ContactMe
ARKANSAS
Senator Blanche Lincoln
http://lincoln.senate.gov/
http://lincoln.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm
TENNESSEE
Senator Bob Corker
http://corker.senate.gov/public/
http://corker.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=ContactMe
COLORADO
Senator Mark Udall
http://markudall.senate.gov/
http://markudall.senate.gov/?p=contact_us
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Senator Jeanne Shaheen
http://shaheen.senate.gov/
http://shaheen.senate.gov/contact/
Link
If you received this Alert you live in one of a dozen states who have Senators currently sitting on the Public Lands and Forests Subcommittee.
Yesterday, the Subcommittee heard testimony on two Wilderness bills, one in Idaho and the other in South Dakota.
Both of these bills, especially the Idaho bill, are BAD for recreation. BRC has worked with local OHV and snowmobiling groups in each state in efforts to protect recreational access.
We need your help!
We are asking BRC members in your state to contact your Senator on this subcommittee and ask them to oppose these two bills.
We've posted a link to each Senator's online contact page as well as some key talking points. Your email to your Senator will only take a minute and it will be invaluable to our efforts.
As always, please call or email with any questions or concerns.
Thanks in advance for your effort!
Brian Hawthorne
Public Lands Policy Director
BlueRibbon Coalition
208-237-1008
BRC NATIONAL WILDERNSS ACTION ALERT
IDAHO AND SOUTH DAKOTA BILLS BAD FOR RECREATION
PLEASE CONTACT YOUR SENATOR TODAY
Situation:
On Wednesday, June 16, 2010 the Public Lands and Forests subcommittee heard testimony on two public lands bills.
The South Dakota bill will close 48,000 acres to motorized and mountain bike use and make it nearly impossible for traditional use of agate beds.
Idaho's Boulder/White Clouds Wilderness bill, known as the “Central Idaho Economic Development and Recreation Act” (S. 3294) will close just under 80 miles of epic high alpine mountain bike single track and tens of thousands of acres of supreme high altitude snowmobiling.
What you need to do:
Please send your Senator a quick email. You can use the comment letter below, and add some personal information about how important off-highway vehicle, snowmobile and mountain bike recreation are to you. Remind your Senator that Wilderness banns all of these popular uses.
SAMPLE LETTER:
Dear Senator,
I am emailing you today regarding two bills that were heard in testimony yesterday: S. 3294 the Central Idaho Economic Development and Recreation Act and S. 3310, the Tony Dean Cheyenne River Valley Conservation Act of 2010.
S. 3294 and S. 3310 are BAD for recreation. Please support efforts to modify these bills to protect the existing recreational uses in both of these areas.
The South Dakota bill will close 48,000 acres to motorized and mountain bike use. This area is currently well managed by the U.S. Forest Service. OHV use is limited to desegregated routes. There is no need for the restrictions Wilderness designation imposes on these lands.
S. 3294 “CIEDRA” will close just under 80 miles of epic high alpine mountain bike single track and tens of thousands of acres of supreme high altitude snowmobiling.
CIEDRA will take approximately 150,000 acres of the Sawtooth National Recreation Area (SNRA) that is ALREADY PROTECTED (no logging – no mining- no road building) and turn it into Wilderness. The only difference between the SNRA and Wilderness is the SNRA allows a diverse range of recreation to occur.
CIEDRA WILL put 332,775 acres into the most restrictive land management designation on the planet: Wilderness precludes any motorized use; including using chainsaws to maintain trails. Wilderness bans all mountain bike use. Wilderness puts limits on group size (usually “12 heartbeats&rdquo
and often requires permits and fees for overnight visits. Wilderness limits the State of Idaho's ability to protect and manage for wildlife and wildfire.When considering designating public lands as Wilderness, Congress and federal land managers are advised to consider the “relative scarcity” of Wilderness in the area. In this area, there is certainly no scarcity of Wilderness. In addition to the 217,000 acre Sawtooth Wilderness that is right across the valley, immediately to the north is the largest Wilderness in the lower 48 states, the 2.3 Million acre Frank Church/River of No Return Wilderness, and contiguous to that (separated only by a single dirt road) is the 1.3 Million acre Selway/Bitteroot Wilderness. Adjacent to both of these vast Wilderness areas is the 206,000 acre Gospel Hump Wilderness.
There is no threat to these lands. No large commercial clear cut logging operations are pending. No mining operations, with bulldozers at the ready, can or will threaten these lands. Recreational use is intensively managed with an emphasis on protecting natural resources. This legislation seems to be “Wilderness for the sake of Wilderness,” and nothing more.
Thank you for considering my views on these important bills. I hope you will support efforts to modify or changes these bills to protect recreational access. Please keep me informed.
YOUR NAME
YOUR ADDRESS
WASHINGTON STATE
Senator Ron Wyden
http://wyden.senate.gov/
http://wyden.senate.gov/contact/
Senator Maria Cantwell
http://cantwell.senate.gov/
http://cantwell.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm
WYOMING
Senator John Barrasso
http://barrasso.senate.gov/public/
http://barrasso.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactUs.ContactForm
SOUTH DAKOTA
Senator Tim Johnson
http://johnson.senate.gov/public/
http://johnson.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=ContactForm
LOUISIANA
Senator Mary L. Landrieu
http://landrieu.senate.gov/
http://landrieu.senate.gov/about/contact.cfm
ARIZONA
Senator John McCain
http://mccain.senate.gov/public/
http://mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.ContactForm
UTAH
Senator Robert Bennett
http://bennett.senate.gov/public/
http://bennett.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=ContactForm
NEW JERSEY
Senator Robert Menendez
http://menendez.senate.gov/
http://menendez.senate.gov/contact/?i=ENV
ALABAMA
Senator Jeff Sessions
http://sessions.senate.gov/public/
http://sessions.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ConstituentServices.ContactMe
ARKANSAS
Senator Blanche Lincoln
http://lincoln.senate.gov/
http://lincoln.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm
TENNESSEE
Senator Bob Corker
http://corker.senate.gov/public/
http://corker.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=ContactMe
COLORADO
Senator Mark Udall
http://markudall.senate.gov/
http://markudall.senate.gov/?p=contact_us
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Senator Jeanne Shaheen
http://shaheen.senate.gov/
http://shaheen.senate.gov/contact/
Link