CompuServe Thread

We saw a two part program concerning the Calif. Desert Protection Act (of all places on the Christian Broadcasting Network-CBN) last week (Wed and Thurs nites I believe). I knew this legislation was a joke and was being railroaded but I was still taken aback by what this program revealed. Unfortunately I didn't have the VCR running and was only able to catch a few minutes of each program. But what I saw was appalling. They discussed the point that it's illegal to designate areas as wilderness if they have already been "developed". This was explained to mean no roads or structures. What are "roads"? Likewise "structures"? They stated that the BLM has produced new maps recently, the dirt roads used to access the areas in question have been deleted. The cameras showed the road surfaces and the usage was obvious and fresh, these are currently in use! And they are all over the designated areas. They interviewed a mine claim owner of a working mine operation, again inside a designated area…he stated rangers had come out and dynamited his "road" in two places so that it no longer can be "defined" as a viable road on the maps. The program showed the damage to the environment caused by the dynamiting, including a small brush fire. They then interviewed a spokesperson defending the Act as protection of the tortoise etc, he stated he had NO PROBLEM with this dynamiting if it furthered the passing of the Act. They showed a picture they asserted was taken in 1991 of a small miner's structure alleged to be one of the first structures ever built in the area. A building of some historical significance but INSIDE one of the wilderness areas. They then showed the same location as it appears now. Want to guess what it looks like? The building has also been dynamited, all that remains are a few scraps of the metal roof. Everything else has been bulldozed (nice way to treat a wilderness!) flat and covered over. The program suggested that anyone who has a valid mining claim within the designated areas may have standing to sue the govt asserting their land claim rights (perhaps including maintaining their access by way of the "disappearing" roads). But this means each individual will probably have to sue and persue their own cases. It wasn't stated (at least not in the parts of these programs which I saw) but can certainly be inferred that the supporters of the Act think the disenfranchised individuals won't have the means to press their cases. Another point was made, the cost of putting this Act into effect is estimated at $300,000,000. It's my understanding that rangers are being cut back due to budget constraints, the govt is going (has gone?) broke and this Act proposes to throw this much money into the desert? It goes without saying what happens to govt spending "estimates" once the cash flow begins. Declaring these areas (and it is a patchwork quilt) wilderness will mean the existing encompassed roads and trails can't be used for ANY vehicular travel. No off road recreational vehicles of any sort (dirt bikes and 4 WD trucks for example). But there are a great many other desert users who expect to be affected by the ban on vehicular travel besides motorcyclists. This isn't just a "fight" between off road motorcyclists and environmentalists (although my understanding is that that's how it all started back in the 1980's). It encompasses many other hobbyists and commercial operations: fossil hunters, rock hounds, mineral collectors, ranchers, and miners to name a few that I know are up in arms. To be fair it must be understood that noone is saying these areas will be closed to the public. Just that the public (who OWNS these areas) will have to WALK in and will only be allowed to CARRY out what they can hold with no motorized conveyance. How far has anyone safely walked in the desert recently? And carrying all one's supplies? Right. Got any mules? At this point the rockhound community believes they will be permitted to continue to collect mineral specimens and other rocks but only as hobbyists. Fossil hunting appears to be at great risk of being stopped. It's being argued the only appropriate fossil hunting must be done by professionals in that field. But those professionals themselves state that the amateurs are the only resource available to locate fossils which are weathering out of the ground and being destroyed by natural forces. The professionals don't have the resources to be everywhere at once. The professionals also assert that their skills are equalled or even bettered by the skills of some of the amateurs. The California desert is a harsh foreboding place to the uninitiated. It also happens to be the only known location of rare earth minerals in the US. The CBN programs didn't go into the mining operation detailed in AMA magazine (at least not in the parts I saw). For those who aren't members of AMA and didn't see the article, it discussed a mine in one of the designated areas. I don't know the current status of this particular mine since the AMA article was presented around a year ago. But at that time the proposed legislation took this mine's existence into account and it was going to be allowed to continue to operate (inside one of the "wilderness" areas) after setting aside a land reclamation fund of some millions of dollars (one to four million, I think, I can't remember the amount). Guess who's the adminstrator of the reclamation fund??? The US Govt? The BLM? The Forest Service? Dept of the Treasury? NO…THE SIERRA CLUB! The legislation is currently in conference committee having passed both the House and Senate. I'm posting this to RIS sections 9, 13, and 14; and the Geology forum of Math/Science. The only forum I regularly follow is RIS sect 14 (and occasionally Geology) so I will probably not see responses elsewhere but I think this issue is important enough to post on these boards. Don't like being told to wear a helmet? Get ready for another shoe to drop. -Russ