Congress Holding Hearings to Close Moab....

[yoda13]

I copied this from another forum...they are actually going to hold hearings in Congress about closing, well, most of Utah, including Moab....please take a moment and contact your Congressman...I saw the pictures...I know that some of you like to go to Moab...I went this summer for the first time, and I hope its not the last time....those of you who belong to Pirate or BRC already know about this, but if you don't...please take action...

Congress to hold hearing on closing 9 million acres in Utah
Contact your Representative to Oppose H.R. 1925!
The Chairman of the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands of the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources has scheduled a hearing on October 1 to consider H.R. 1925, America's Red Rock Wilderness Act of 2009. This legislation -- which will ban off-highway vehicle (OHV) access to public lands to those who live and recreate in Utah -- was introduced by New York Representative Maurice Hinchey. To read his press release on H.R. 1925, click here.

However, not a single Representative from Utah is supporting H.R. 1925.

Specifically, H.R. 1925 would designate more than nine million more acres as federally protected "Wilderness," and directly affect the Moab, San Rafael Swell and Chimney Rock areas (to name a few) in Utah. These popular OHV areas represent some of the most important remaining OHV recreation areas in Utah, and are some of the most popular with responsible OHV riders. The proposed Wilderness designation would also make the land off limits to ATV riders, mountain bikers and horseback riders.

Coming on the heels of the recently enacted Omnibus Public Land Management Act, which closed 2 million acres of public lands, this vast Wilderness bill will take away additional recreation opportunities currently enjoyed by local residents and visitors alike.

The AMA needs your help now to stop H.R. 1925. The fastest way to reach your U.S. Representative is to call them. You can find contact information for your elected officials by entering your zip code on AmericanMotorcyclist.com, clicking on "Rights," then "Issues and Legislation." Additionally, a prewritten e-mail is available for you to send to your Representative immediately by following the "Take Action" option and entering your information.

Please contact your Representative right away and urge them to oppose H.R. 1925.

[raven_jk]

And.... We pay these people. Nice.

[TBJK]

Copied from here http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_13461786#



Washington » Everyone who participated in a congressional hearing Thursday on a bill granting wilderness status to massive areas of Utah agreed the state has spectacular lands that deserve protection.

But passionate disagreements emerged over how to accomplish that.

Utah's five federal lawmakers appeared at the House subcommittee hearing to denounce the Red Rock bill, a statewide effort 20 years in the making that would protect 9.4 million acres from new roads, mining or off-road vehicles.

"There are beautiful pristine areas of Utah that need to be protected, but this bill goes far far beyond that," said Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, the ranking Republican member of the public lands subcommittee. "This particular bill is a relic of the past. It has not been successful since the age of disco and it will not be successful now or in the future."

Utah's congressional delegation favors smaller county-level bills where local politicians, business leaders and environmentalists agree on what lands deserve the government's highest level of protection, such as the Washington County lands bill that designated more than 250,000 acres of new wilderness earlier this year.

But the supporters of the Red Rock act, led by the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, say a statewide bill is needed to head off the ongoing damage done by off-road vehicle enthusiasts.

Robert Abbey, the director of the Bureau of Land Management, sided with Utah's lawmakers, saying he preferred "an approach that is more geographically focused" instead of a statewide wilderness bill.

In his written testimony, Abbey said: "Many of these lands are extraordinary, with unmatched wild land resources." Yet he also pointed out that the Red Rock proposal would "present serious challenges because of existing and conflicting uses," including active mining and biking trails and OHV trails.

The Red Rock act's sponsor, Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-N.Y., said he was open to all alternative ways to protect these lands, which include the San Rafael Swell and Desolation Canyon, but he thought "a small piecemeal strategy" would take decades to accomplish.

Utah's lawmakers made it clear they didn't appreciate so many politicians from other states pushing a bill impacting lands only within Utah.

"To those colleagues who have put their names on this proposal I say: Thanks, but no thanks. I think as a congressional delegation we have proven we can handle the question of wilderness in Utah," Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said.

Hinchey said the bill was not only supported by people outside Utah. The Red Rock act has been created by Utah environmental activists and a recent poll commissioned by SUWA and conducted by Dan Jones, shows that 60 percent of the Utah public supports wilderness designation of 9 million acres or more.

He said the BLM has already found that 75 percent of the lands included in the Red Rock act have wilderness characteristics and the proposal impacts "just 40 percent of the public lands in Utah."

Utah's lone Democrat in Congress, Rep. Jim Matheson, said he opposes the Red Rock act because it fails to take into consideration the views of those outside of the environmental community. He urged the bill's supporters to follow the "bipartisan road map for future legislative success," that is the Washington County lands bill.

Sen. Bob Bennett said this road map is poised to create consensus wilderness legislation in other areas of the state as working groups in counties such as Piute and San Juan are actively seeking a compromise.

And Bennett brushed aside complaints that these regional bills would take too long.

"They have been trying the statewide approach for 20 years and haven't produced a single acre of wilderness," he said.

Bishop also criticized the bill for not including detailed maps and for taking in areas that don't qualify for wilderness because they are currently being used for mining or recreation.

SUWA members and other supporters of the bill say they have a series of technical changes ready to go and they would like to discuss other ways to improve the bill. They are seeking serious discussion with Utah's lawmakers, saying they want to move forward on two tracks -- the Red Rock bill and the county-level proposals.

But Utah's lawmakers didn't seem interested in the slightest.

"A statewide wilderness bill," Bennett said, "simply will not fly in the United States Senate.

[yoda13]

Thanks for posting this...I had lost track of the fact that I posted this here....I am monitoring it closely over on Pirate and I will report back with any adverse developments...

If anybody actually watched the hearing, or the video of it, it was pretty one sided and a joke, and they gave a hard time to anyone who spoke in opposition to the bill, still I am more hopeful today than I was last week...the opposition does seem to be getting the word out...

[TEXASKEV]

Any update on the outcome of this?