Dear HCN,
I have been riding
motorcycles for 27 years, and currently my son and I have six
bikes, four of them dirt bikes. Recently, Clark Collins of the Blue
Ribbon Coalition was kind enough to send me a sample copy of his
group’s magazine. The coalition’s aims, such as promoting
responsible use of public lands, are beyond reproach, as is their
code of ethics … “respect designated areas.” I wholeheartedly
agree with these aims and firmly believe that there is a place for
recreational vehicles on some of our public lands (HCN, 12/9/96).
Unfortunately, the bulk of the magazine was the most outlandish and
confused right-wing nonsense I’ve ever read. Some
examples:
* “… many (environmental groups) want
to put an end to civilization …” ( a book
review)
* “Most understand the folly of leaving
things be for nature to manage by itself.”
(editorial)
* “… the Sierra Club and other
so-called “environmental groups’ oppose human use of not just these
(timber), but all other natural resources.”
(editorial)
* “Much that passes for environmental
decline is an abstraction, generated by computers.” (Alston Chase
column)
* “We must work to decouple conservation
policies from regulation …” “A policy cannot be good for the
environment if it is bad for people.” (editorial from The American
Conservation Ethic Project)
Perhaps some insight
into this proliferation of hostility toward not only environmental
groups, but also science and reason, can be gleaned from the
organization’s supporters and members. These include Boise Cascade,
J.R. Simplot, Potlatch Corp., and Crown Butte Mines Inc. Do you
suppose the Blue Ribbon folks are being
used?
Sorry, Clark. I’m a dirt rider and love the
sport dearly. But I’m also a father and feel that our “rights’ to
use public land carry with them the responsibility to leave it in
at least as good condition as we received it. I don’t see that your
group, or those with which you are siding, is really interested in
doing that.
Bob Clancy
Sandia
Park, New Mexico
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline On motorheads and responsible dirt-biking.
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