Got a rather interesting reply to a Letter to the Editor.

[crawler#976]

The topic came up in the thread below:

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=30261

And after I replied on the letter to the editor, I received the following comment:

JK wrote on Aug 6, 2009 9:48 AM:

" Mark, I can understand you wanting to get out into some semblance of the outdoors but would you ruin that experience for others by bringing in motorized vehicles just because you have trouble walking nowadays? Do you have grandchildren? Wouldn't you like them to have some real forest with forest sounds and smells left to explore someday?

Sometimes it is better to be satisfied by the mile or two hike and leave the wilderness as you once found it -- without the smell and noises of gasoline clunkers, without the invasive, erosive roads that bring in all the invasive species so damaging to our fragile ecosystem. Just because you can doesn't mean you and others like you, should. "

my reply:

JK, All I can say is...

I'm truly sad for you.

Restricting motorized access for the disabled is just another form of discrimination, one that I have a hard time believing most folks support.

I am privileged to know and have traveled with people who have much more severe handicaps than I do. Please take the time to look at my friend Lance's organization DisabledExplorers dot com.

Thanks,

Mark

 

[Clark White]

Knowing nothing more then the original article, it is apparent to me that she frequents places that are abused by 4wheelers. I am by no means blaming quads and dirt bikes, but every grope has it's idiots and it sounds to me like she searches them out and hangs out with them so she can have something to cry about, being clueless about the rest of us who do NOT abuse the places we visit with vehicles.

Clark

 

[1leglance]

We are talking about areas that are already legal to access.
We are not asking anyone to grant new access to wilderness areas.
That is the first and most important point.

Next we need to recognize that there is an abuse problem. And look at it as we would if the abuse was occuring in any other area...
Crazy boaters...deal with the problem people not the regular folks.
Crazy drunk drivers on the highway...pull them over and let the rest of us go by in peace.
Street corner thugs...the cops will watch them and let me walk right by.

Now where it gets tough in the outdoors is the lack of budgets for enforcement vs the scope of area to cover....that is where the rest of us come in just like a huge outdoor block watch.
We need to take resposibility for ALL motorized users and help shut down the bad guys.
Or if you don't want to put yourself in a position of speaking to the yahoos then speak to your congressman and make sure the driect the funding to where you want to see it go.

Lastly it is an image problem as much as anything else....we need to show how motorized access helps with fire patrols, wild life studies, disabled access, quality of life and so much more.

These are our public lands and it really is a squeaky wheel thing, the question is which wheel will squeak the loudest.

 

[Lichen]

"..just because you have trouble walking." ? What a rude answer! She sounds like a real eco-terrorist freak. Better not go near the Grand Canyon Lance, you might get arrested.

 

[ryguy]

Its funny how the least knowledgeable people have the strongest opinions. Hes all cause, no cranium if you ask me. Send him a tread lightly brochure so we can cram some knowledge into his ignorant head.

 

[ox4mag]

Well, the response was certainly very disappointing and one that I, as the editor of a magazine, find quite disturbing.

It's true that a few bad apples in the 4-wheel community has spoiled the lot. That's why responsible land use education is vital to our passion as off-highway enthusiasts. I would suggest using this as a rally cry with every land access group such as BlueRibbon, TreadLightly!, NORA, UFWDA, etc to build the case that responsible land access isn't a privilege but a right. And believe you me, when it comes to this subject I will do everything in my power to promote land access for all (whether handicapped or not).

Again, sorry to see the response but use it to empower the cause rather than foil it.

 

[Scott39]

The topic came up in the thread below:

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=30261

And after I replied on the letter to the editor, I received the following comment:






my reply:

It figures with these ENVIRO-NAZI`S.
A ton of this crap is happening all of Colorado.

My brother in law. He fought forest fires for 15 years here in the Colorado rocky`s, now he has MS and he is in a wheel chair for the rest of his life. The only way he can get up to these county and forest roads, is by 4x4.

Now all the ENVIRONMENT NAZI`s tell him he can`t go because he can`t hike.

THIS DISCRIMINATION IN THE WORST WAY!!

So after all his 15 years of VOLUNTARY FIRE fighting, this is what our GOVERNMENT and ENVIRONMENT NAZI`s do to him.

NICE REWARD!

 

[ntsqd]

Talk to him about filing an ADA lawsuit.

 

[Scott39]

Talk to him about filing an ADA lawsuit.

Does he need to live in Colorado? He lives in lake Arrow Head, and he will be moving back here to Co. in about 2 years.