Recieved last week.............................................. ..................


SAWS members:


In February 2009, our members received a SAWS Action Alert regarding the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act (NREPA) that had been recently reintroduced in the 111th Congress by Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-New York. This new NREPA bill in this Congress is HR980.



Please review our previous alert from February 2009 at this link:

SAWS Action Alert: Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act introduced in the 111th Congress



Recently, SAWS has been informed by Brian Hawthorne at the BlueRibbon Coalition, that there may be a committee hearing on NREPA the first week of May. This will not be the first time this legislation has had a committee hearing, but it is important that our elected representatives know how we feel about this lousy legislation. If you did not contact your U.S. Representative last February, or even if you did, it is important that you contact them again within the next week and tell them you do not support this legislation!



Link to look up and contact your US Representative:

Lookup your U.S. House Representative



Comment deadline: Sunday May 3, 2009



NREPA will affect significant acreage (23 -24 millions acres) across the Intermountain and Western states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming as shown in the maps provided at this link:

Alliance for the Wild Rockies - New, Table of Contents



Here is a link to the tracking summary:

H.R. 980: Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act (GovTrack.us)




You may also wish to take a few minutes to listen to SAWS chairman, Dave Hurwitz' interview with Lee Hinkelman in regards to the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act. Dave makes excellent points on the distinction of what wilderness is as opposed to publicly managed lands. There is also mention of how stimulus monies are directed at tearing up 6000 miles of roads. Lee broadcasts from New York but recognizes the values we all hold with the power of our voice to our senators and representatives nationwide. NREPA will affect the entire country in some manner not just within the states where actual closures are proposed primarily in the West. Click on segments 3 and 4 from the Weekend of February 21, 2009 once you have linked to the connection:

IROC



Some of our newer SAWS members may also wish to review our SAWS alert from October 2007, just in case this is the first time you have heard about this outrageous legislation. SAWS has been opposing this legislation and informing our members about this proposal for many years:

Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act (HR1975)






If not you, who else will help stop this insanity?



Janine Stewart

Montana SAWS rep

Snowmobile Alliance of Western States

 

You can see how well organized the snowmobile groups are. This letter is written by professionals. It is very well put together. The ATV community just doesn't have this kind of backbone and level of support/organization. Hopefully it will get there some day. A lot of people downstream could possibly benefit from their efforts.

 

[QUOTE=A lot of people downstream could possibly benefit from their efforts.[/QUOTE]

That's why we try to spread this info around to like minded people... here, Snowest, Pirate4x4, and a few hunting forums.
Blue Ribbon is a diverse organization encompassing Dirt bike, ATV, Snowmobile, 4x4, mountain biking, and equine interests. Pretty much everyone BUT enviro whackos

 

I find it interesting that it is a Rep. form NY state that is reintroducing this bill. I hope the Reps. from the West stand up to her and all the other whackos out there. I'm willing to bet this would also forever close those same areas to oil exploration too.

 

[QUOTE=Elkaholic;2785086]That's why we try to spread this info around to like minded people... here, Snowest, Pirate4x4, and a few hunting forums.



This one is from HuntingWashington .com And KillzElk was the thread originator He also started one to stop the idea of making St Helens a National Park which I also AGREE with him on. Now that one affects these boys, so you got NO replies like the first one!

now with hunters it can be iffy as you can see below. Sometimes they just don't seem to "get it" that we are all in this together and we must see the "bigger picture "of where those that support these kinds of things are really aiming for in the end
You can probably guess which one is me



RE: Legislation Would Close Public Lands to Many Forms of Recreation Reintroduced
« Reply #1 on: April 23, 2009, 07:29:34 PM » Quote

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Info from the link: "Please click the Take Action button below to let your Member of Congress know that you oppose H.R. 980, the "Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act." H.R. 980 would designate 23 million acres of land in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming, as Wilderness. This means each of these 23 million acres would be made permanently off-limits to motorized and mechanized recreation, including off-highway motorcycles, ATVs, 4x4s, snowmobiles and mountain bikes."

Hells Yeah! Can't beat 23 million acres of wilderness! Any chance you can provide us with a link that will tell our Representatives we support this measure?



Logged

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For the listener, who listens in the snow,
And, nothing himself, beholds
Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is.


Elkaholic daWg
Member

Online

Age: N/A
Location: Arlington Wa USA
Posts: 29




Re: Legislation Would Close Public Lands to Many Forms of Recreation Reintroduced
« Reply #2 on: Today at 09:20:13 AM » Quote Modify Remove

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Somewhere on here I stated before that any of us who align ourselves with these enviros who could care less what thier agenda would do to the local areas thier desk dwelling ideas affect....... will be in for a big surprise when thier allies let the cat out of the bag that they are also anti hunting and anti gun also. See what happens when they need you no more.
Thanks Killzelk ....................NREPA sucks. Notice it was introduced by a NYC congresswoman. Maybe we should put Canadian greys in her backyard. These are the SAME people pushing this bill!

4.179.45.169

 

Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Conny, MT
Posts: 1,002


Y2Y Yellowstone to Yukon Eco-Region SB5064

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Has anybody heard of this?? I just received this in an email this morning...


Why you must oppose SB 5064 (Yellowstone To Yukon -Y2Y):
>
> -----1. Anytime the government puts a circle around your home,
> property or
> business it means they are going to begin to close down, limit and
> heavily
> regulate activities within that circle.
>
> -----2. Y2Y is the Yellowstone to Yukon Wildlife Corridor. That means
> that
> everything within will be managed giving wildlife the highest
> priority.
> That means you and your activities will gradually lose.
>
> -----3. Private property will begin to be purchased by organizations
> like
> the Trust for Public Land and Nature Conservancy as well as the
> government.
> Gradually economic activity within the area strangles over time as
> private
> property and private businesses are eliminated.
>
> -----4. Ranchers, miners, forestry, farming and other such activities
> will
> be in the greatest danger. The managing agency (US Fish and Wildlife
> Service, Park Service, Forest Service, BLM or state land agencies) will
> look
> to control and buy as much land as possible.
>
> The largest undeveloped parcels will be in the most danger first unless
> they
> are a big business that has the money to fight back. They will be left
> for
> last after most of the other landowners are gone.
>
> -----5. Cities, towns and private property will have access reduced.
> Cities will largely be left alone until the project is almost done.
> But
> small towns and private property owners will be in immediate danger.
>
> -----6. Traditional uses like family recreation, hunting, fishing,
> off-highway vehicle use, rock hounding, and many others will be
> heavily
> restricted or eliminated.
>
> -----7. Small business will gradually strangle as more and more
> regulations
> are added and the population is reduced with more land going into
> government
> ownership.
>
> -----8. Large businesses will be left for last because they have the
> money
> to fight. Sometimes the managing agency will make a private deal with
> large
> businesses to get them out of the battle. The large businesses will
> think
> they are safe and will remain quiet and out of the battle. The
> managing
> agency will go after them later when many of the other people and
> businesses
> are gone.
>
> -----9. A vast series of new land use regulations will be imposed to
> control land use jeopardizing private property rights, access and
> economic
> growth.
>
> -----10. All of these actions happen gradually in different parts of
> the
> area so that the people living there are often not aware of the
> gradual
> shutdown and economic strangulation of their communities and living
> areas
> until it is too late.

 

I'm afraid they do "get it". Wilderness is plenty huntable and just because someone who knows little of the facts blabs "they're taking away hunting rights" on some snowmobile website doesn't make it the least bit true. There are no areas of Wilderness (with a capital W) that are closed to hunting. That means you have to get off your ATV or horse and hunt....as in walk. Bigger game and better habitat for them. Yes, I'm a hunter and I get it. I'm also an ATV fan. I understand there are two sides to every story.

 

Look at my handle, would you think that maybe I might be one of those "Iffy" folks

 

Sorry....Tend to get a little blunt in this forum. Thought you were trying to say the hunters didn't get it. I agree though that having that many "roads" removed wholesale is a problem. It'll never pass as written anyway, nothing does. I can only imagine (hope) that a more organized and planned system for ATV and snowmobiles will be born if this legislation is enacted. There certainly will be benefits for some hunters though......without ATVs and horses there will be a lot less competition in the high country, that's for sure.

People have to remember that this is federal land, managed (like it or not) by Washington. Those that choose to live in or adjacent to federal land need to take the good with the bad, or move. It's like the people that buy a house near an airport then complain about noise. Things change, uses change, attitudes change, then laws change. The only reason this land has been available to them in the first place is because of the "government". Otherwise it would all locked up in huge private ranches owned by Bill Gates or Ted Turner. It was the "tree huggers" of yore that fought to build these massive tracks for all Americans. People have vastly different opinions on this matter, but that's how I feel. Thank God it's a national resource and at least we have the ability to voice our opinions on the matter. If it was all privately owned land we wouldn't likely be having any such discussion because "we" never would have hunted or snowmobiled on it to begin with (on the same scale).

 

What I really meant is that as far as outdoor recreationalists go I will bet most hunters have more in common with as you ATVer, or me Sledder (even though those tracks would almost make you both) 'and the horsemen than the average tree hugger. How about divide and conquer? that is where the "get it" comes in. I would also bet that if Teddy Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot were alive today ...they would also have more in common with us than the other side. Just my .02