This may be a bit off the wall, but here goes....

We all know land access and keeping trails and public lands open is important for many reasons. But what I am seeing is a need to not only save our trails, but save our national forests and other public lands. Urban sprawl is eating up land at insane rates, leveling and killing all in it's path. Including a few off road areas and long time trail systems of various legal standings. Ok, so it's wiping out wildlife habitat and ecosystems too. Since a lot of us hunt and simply enjoy a stomp in the woods, and many other forms of outdoor recreation. So maybe it's time we step in. Pretty darn obvious the greens and tree huggers are too busy with trivial *issues* to bother with the biggest threat to our environment ever. And then throw in government agencies selling off public land to *support* various needs and projects without considering the long term effects of their actions.

Bottom line....is it time off roaders fight for more than just our favorite trails???

Agreed.

You said:
And then throw in government agencies selling off public land to *support* various needs and projects without considering the long term effects of their actions.

Could not agree more. I have seen way too much public land end up in the hands of developers and other special interests long before the general public were even aware that the land was available. These closed door or perhaps shady deals not only make me somewhat jealous (truth) but they also block access to the public lands behind them. Land that once was freely accessible and available for hunting, fishing, camping, and backpacking opportunities. Furthermore, we the public are locked out of the opportunity to bid on this land as individuals. Since these deals are conducted without public knowledge the good citizens--the owners of this land cannot be assured that they are even getting a fair price for their piece of our common national inheritance. Nor are we as a group allowed the voice to weigh in on the best use of this public land and that my friends is down right un-American. Just take a look at Colorado and Utah if you want examples... Land once closed to off road vehicles to preserve it in a natural state for our children is now marked "Private Property--Keep Out-- Violators will be prosecuted."

Yes.

Look...it's PAGAN!

The Canadian River in Texas faces a very similar problem. The trails are open for public use, and perfectly leagal for OHV's. BUT....finding access is becoming ever more difficult without crossing private land.

For the traditional archery club I'm in, land has become a serious issue. We have leased the old landfill from the city of Denton to use as our target and tournament range for many years, at a once very miniscule price of a few dollars per year. Again, it's a out of use land fill with crap leaching out of the ground along the perimeter. Yet recently our lease jumped to $600 per year! Hmmm...you think the city is planning to sell it off for developement as soon as the time limitations are up??? We have one year to find a new site, and again, urban sprawl has driven the price of even the least desirable of properties through the roof.

And after grabbing another cup of coffee, a scary thought entered my head as I was thinking "This is all good and fine, but where and how do we start and make it happen?". Being Denton has two major universities, and as you can guess, a predominantly liberal tree huggin' greenie attitude among the student populous. Would a covert effort to launch the greens against urban sprawl instead of outdoor recreationalists in general work? The majority of us get itchy trigger fingers just thinking of these type of people. Yet their groups are better organized and stronger than most off road clubs I can think of. Is it a bad thing to try and redirect their focus? Who knows, it might turn a few of them into real world enviromentalists. I've turned a few heads commenting that real enviromentalist don't sit on their dead arses and whine about things, they get out do something to help.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Dennis Mitchell,

okay now what do we do oh i know we can all right petions and letters to the senators govenor and so on........BUT DO THEY LISTEN DO THEY EVEN GIVE A SHHHT i am pretty sure yall know the answer to that

I do think it's past time to re-focus, but to what end? Are there really enough wheelers that are willing to donate their time, energy, and resources to make a difference? Is there any real way to compete with the big $$$$$ that the greenies are throwing around? The more I lurk around and learn, the more I think we're fighting a losing battle, sound like I want to give up? Yup, it sure does, but there's no way I can do that with a clear conscience. A while back some of us tried to make a difference on a national scale, did it work? Nope not even a little bit. The off-road community can't even unite without the stupid in-fighting! I lurk several of the so-called "big-dog" boards and they can't even agree on anything, they spend more time arguing about who's right and who's wrong, than trying to organize an effective strategy to combat the closures. I think YJCRAWLER's right, our elected officials could care less about what "we" want. We don't have sufficient numbers or dollars to interest them. I've said it before and I stand by it, until we organize and unite all off-road user groups we don't stand much of a chance. Do I have the answer? Of course not. Have I given up? Not a chance, I still write letters to my elected officials, I still vote for my sport, but I have focused my energies on working with the local government offices that control our wheelin' areas here. IMHO, as unfortunate as it is, until someone or some organization with the time and resources steps up and unites all user groups for the greater good, I don't see alot of change happening.

Sorry, I'll get off my soapbox now...