Bush & Hunters against off roaders!

[jeeperapril]

http://www.peer.org/news/news_id.php?row_id=1029

Please go to this link and read this article. I am mad as Heck about this!!!:eek: Note at the end of the article wonderful AZ is in this too! They are trying to pass law's on this:eek:
______UPDATE_____

Environmentalists are hoping that an executive order passed by President Bush last year may give them leverage to keep off-road vehicles off public lands.

A group of retired rangers submitted a petition last week calling on federal land management agencies to promote hunting and fishing over all other uses, especially off-road vehicles. The group, Rangers for Responsible Recreation, says the executive order to "expand and enhance hunting opportunities" requires land managers to limit the vehicles' use.

"Off-road vehicles are becoming a bigger and bigger problem displacing hunters and anglers," said Daniel Patterson, a former ranger who organized the coalition and is director of Southwest Public Employees for Environmental Responsibilities. "We're not seeing agency managers take hunting and fishing into account" when they develop travel plans.

more
http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2008/04/22/news/state/24-ohvs.txt

[Brian]

Scares me that they will go overboard on this. The key word is ?reckless?, I like to go fast, but I also like to see the wildlife. (Not the kind with the quad doing a hill climb) I think there should be some classifications to off roaders and ORV. A rockcrawler is not the same thang as CR400 screaming down the tral.

[jeeperapril]

Scares me that they will go overboard on this. The key word is ?reckless?, I like to go fast, but I also like to see the wildlife. (Not the kind with the quad doing a hill climb) I think there should be some classifications to off roaders and ORV. A rockcrawler is not the same thang as CR400 screaming down the tral.

I agree, scary thing is that this was posted on another web site I frequent, environmental and wild life issues in the mid west states. I posted up on there also, saying that I would post up on my Jeep club site and see if we could get support against this. I WAS BASHED for it, by whom??? No offense now to you on this site, but it was the HUNTERS, they made it clear to me that they want this bill to go through, they have been tired of off roaders of any kind disrupting there hunting areas, they say we trash them all, scare the wild life away, destroy land...they agree with Bush 100%. I am afraid if the Hunters association or what ever it is called is big enough, new laws will be passed. I hope they leave AZ out of it, it seems more for the Wyoming, Idaho, Montana areas that are raising a stink about it, which I am not surprised about..:eek:

[ssaxman]

They had better be careful or they will be dragging that trophy elk out on foot! :D

[Haughton]

The problem is the irresponsible OHV users. I was turkey hunting with my brother a couple of years ago, and a couple of schmucks on ATVs come up and over a hill looking for antler drops. Now, from my understanding, OHVs are not allowed to blaze new trails...and this is what they were doing.

I enjoy hunting, and I enjoy my Jeep. But I do both responsibly. And I respect everyone's rights to do what they like so long as they do it responsibly and within the confines of the laws. Its the bozos that do as the above do that cause the problems.

I'm certainly not blasting you, or siding with the bill, I'm saying there *IS* a problem, but it's not people like us that are causing the problem, but we will be affected by the outcome.

So what is the solution? How do you keep the keep the idiots from doing crap like the above.

And for the other side, I have seen many hunters camp sites after the left in much worse conditions than I've seen on the trails. Every group has their bunch of scum bags that give that group a bad name.

Just my $0.02.

[jeeperapril]

The problem is the irresponsible OHV users. I was turkey hunting with my brother a couple of years ago, and a couple of schmucks on ATVs come up and over a hill looking for antler drops. Now, from my understanding, OHVs are not allowed to blaze new trails...and this is what they were doing.

I enjoy hunting, and I enjoy my Jeep. But I do both responsibly. And I respect everyone's rights to do what they like so long as they do it responsibly and within the confines of the laws. Its the bozos that do as the above do that cause the problems.
I'm certainly not blasting you, or siding with the bill, I'm saying there *IS* a problem, but it's not people like us that are causing the problem, but we will be affected by the outcome.

So what is the solution? How do you keep the keep the idiots from doing crap like the above.

And for the other side, I have seen many hunters camp sites after the left in much worse conditions than I've seen on the trails. Every group has their bunch of scum bags that give that group a bad name.

Just my $0.02.


I agree with the above, and I posted on the other site stating such, pointing out what we believe in and do as a club, etc...not one response, they just keep posting that they want this to go through etc....so they are not considering "our" side of it, only seeing the bad....:eek:
How about keeping Hunting areas and HOV areas totally separate? is that possible? Or us in the Jeeps can run over the ATV's that are off trail:D Just upsets me that again we are in danger of loosing more dirt.....:(

[Brian]

100% X2

[AZCA Jeeper]

Damn I hate the way this world is going! Now we have the majority of hunters against us. Why can't people crawl out of their little box and open their minds long enough to hear everyone's opinion/side? Apparently that's too much to ask, because they are too lazy to do the dirty work. Instead of teaming up with anglers and off-roaders to actually gain some momentum in this battle, they side with the president and a bill that will fix only their problems. I though this was supposed to be a United country where everyone got a chance to speak and everyone else listened. It's like we are yelling into a pillow. No one is hearing that the majority of us are good people who follow rules and regulations by treading lightly. Almost all of us even bother to clean up after those that have made a mess in our wildlands. Do these actions go noticed? Of course not. Do environmentalists even bother to consider what we are doing? Heck no! The moment they see a rig with huge meats, a loud muffler, and tubes galore they assume you don't do anything for the environment. Well I'm sorry my Jeep can't go from here to California and possibly back on a single tank, but I do value the environment. Ever looked beyond your vehicle to see where/how it's made. You want to talk energy; fine we'll talk energy. My Jeep was build in the USA by American workers. It was trucked from Detroit to here and nowhere else. Very little impact. Now take you Pruis; right off the bat it's made in Asia. That pollution causing over populated excuse for a continent. So it's assembled there and has to be shipped over here to be sold. But we are getting ahead of ourselves. Starting with the batteries (which contain nickel) that make your hybrid a hybrid are shipped all over the world before it even sees the rest of the vehicle. The nickel used in them is mined at a plant in Canada that pollutes so much there isn't a single living thing within 4 miles of it. Everything is dead due to the acid rain caused by the factory. The nickel is then shipped to Europe where it is refined and only then is it ready to be made into "nickel foam" in Japan. So don't tell me my Jeep is bad for the environment. How the exhaust fumes will help warm the earth or how I can't (even with a permit) go 300 yards off a forest service road to get my kill. Believe me, you won't even know where my tire tracks were as it'll grow back soon enough. Now I'm not saying going off the road/trail is right, because it's not. I'm just saying don't ruin my fun by blocking off areas that other jerks ruin. Leave them to us wheelers and the Forest Service.

And you know what, Screw them anyway. Even if they block off every forest service road, every trail, I'm going to bulldoze my house down, live in a tent and replace it with pile of rocks so that I'll still have an area to wheel.

Oh my, I guess I did ramble on quite a bit. This subject really irritates me. I guess it's because I'm young and just getting interested in this sport. Some of you older guys have been able to wheel a long time. I think I have the same right to wheel as long as some of you have.:D

OK, I stop talking now.

[Bilt4Comfort]

I love bush.

[slickrrr]

if you go wheeling with a hunting liscence and rifle than you are just hunting, dont agree with what they are trying to do but how would they distinguish if you were hunting or wheeling, it is not as though you are required to hunt in camo, and you are able to hunt in a group, and if it is not hunting season than you are "just scouting game trails for next season" I still hope it does not go through

[slickrrr]

I also love bush

[SavageSun4x4]

"A group of retired rangers submitted a petition last week calling on federal land management agencies to promote hunting and fishing over all other uses, especially off-road vehicles. The group, Rangers for Responsible Recreation, says the executive order to "expand and enhance hunting opportunities" requires land managers to limit the vehicles' use.

"Off-road vehicles are becoming a bigger and bigger problem displacing hunters and anglers," said Daniel Patterson, a former ranger who organized the coalition and is director of Southwest Public Employees for Environmental Responsibilities. "We're not seeing agency managers take hunting and fishing into account" when they develop travel plans."


Some of you have this wrong. This group of 'Rangers' is a bunch of radicals and have an axe to grind and the axe is off roaders. This is NOT the first time they have gone after the OHV crowd and each time it has been a different reason why.

In areas where OHV use is permitted many of them close for various hunting seasons....duh.

[skeeter]

They want to sell and develope the land. Keep the public off public land. A bunch of socalists. Al Gore and Barry Obama's buddies.

[sdiker]

Any one hear of these guys http://www.sharetrails.org I know some of the members and what I can tell they are a great group helping to preserve our trails for all activities for responsible users.
It is a simple thing really, radical groups are just rediculous in their views. I know up here in Pine there are a few atv users who tear up the hill cutting new trails all over the place instead of using the existing trails, that looks bad for all of us, they also tear up and down the roads not obeying basic traffic laws, which also looks bad for off-roaders. However that behavior is going to happen as there are always a few trying to ruin it for the rest of us.
Responsibility for our actions goes along way in preserving our off-road way of life. As for us crawlers hopefully we can keep the trail systems open, I have a talk with off-roaders that are not responsible and try to educate them on why it is important to follow some simple rules, when I catch them abusing the area.
Now adays the highways are littered with garbage after careless people don't secure loads and they don't bother to stop and pickup their garbage, as well as campsites or even completely putting out their fires.
I just hope that we will have a long future of off-roading and outdoor enjoyment. I am also an avid hunter/fisherman, been for over 30 years and I also love to go wheelin.
I look forward to meeting some of you up here on the trails.

[skeeter]

I have a place in Pine and hardscrabble runs behind my property. And you're right about the people that tear up the forest going off trail and trashing everything. It seems mostly on weekends we get alot of visitors that have the attitude I don't live here so who cares. I'm a member of the BlueRibbon Coalition and it's a great informative association . If you would like to meet some great folks on the Rim get in touch with the Rim Country Renegades.I met T.C. at a forest service meeting in Payson. They're great folks and have info as to what's going on up North. I'll be in Pine at the end of the week and if you like to do a meet and greet let me know. Skeeter.