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Show PAGE THE ZEPHYR APRIL 89 trails. are aware that there are probleas in lapressing everyone with the iaportance of being responsible. Unfortunately, there is a certain saall nuaber who will not accept our advice. Soae of the offenders are local people who think that since it is their backyard, they are exeapt froa the rules of conscientious behavior. I 'a going to focus on the Sllckrock area because I sense that probleas aay be developing there and I'd like to clear the air about what aay be happening. First, I'll spend a couple of paragraphs describing the area and its history as I understand it: Basically, the Sllckrock area is a peninsula of land bounded by the Colorado River, Negro Bill canyon on the east and Moab canyon on the west. The only vehicle accesses are off the Sand Flats road. Lots of rooa and lots of rocks for everyone. Cattle have always wintered there. Over the years there has been mineral exploration. There are two nain vehicle roads , one that runs along the ria above the town of Moab alaost to the Colorado River, and another that leaves this road a little aore than a aile froa the Sand Flats road and proceeds out to the point of Negro Bill canyon and its junction with the river Sure, over easy by john sensenbrenner Jin Said I can write anything I want. So I wrote a story on ay optlaictic and hunorous reflections on the econoalc dilemma in S.E. , Utah. But Jla said he'd rather see soae thing on the Jeep Safari since only two weeks a wrote I satire about the away. Alright, snappy characters you see around at Safari tine. Uh, uh, Jim said he wants no fiction to confuse the readers particularly satiric fiction to confuse us with other organs of comunications (stoaach, intestines . . . whoops, gotta watch that). Then, relaxing a bit and showing a more liberal spirit, perhaps, he says, when the tone of the paper has been settled we can have aore latitude to stray into lighter sate rial. O.K. Sure is tough working for a pit nicking editor. Vhat do you think he'll say when he reads that? Well, here is, a Jeeplng issue straight up, no confusing netaphor , no hunor, just the unvarnished poop: Everyone in S.E. Utah has becone aware of the large nunber of bicyclists that have been using our trails. He 're glad to see then cone on the scene. He welcoae then and feel that we share a conaon bond in our interest in that is using this beautiful country and seeing to not degraded in any way that would dinlnish its naglcal There is effect on all who are lucky enough to enjoy no reason that with careful and responsible use of the trails we should not be able to handle the increased traffic without damaging this resource. The key is in lapressing all users of the area with the iaportance of respecting its beauty and in seeing to it's little it it it. it it leave, it is in the sane condition as when we entered. Fart of the problen is that each year there is a new group of enthusiastic folks ready to go out and enjoy the land unaware of our efforts, thinking that they are the first and the last to want to be out on the that when we we canyon. Many of the vehicle recreational trails have been in use since the SO's by individuals and groups such as the Point! & Pebbles rock club. Dale Parrlot was shown soae of the motorcycle trails by Andy Anderson of the club in 1963 and at that tiae the trails were "painted," not in the sense of the present paint job on the bike trail, but spotted at great Intervals and obvious turns and rocks. Motorcycle recreation was recognized by the BLM in 1979 when the aore extensive painting was approved and lap lamented and the bike trail was christened . . . for motorcycles. Bicycles had not yet Bade their appearance. The present bike trail is a large loop with a nuaber of spurs that covers much of the sllckrock. The 4 wheel trails also take the fora of a sunburst with numerous spurs and sub loops, but there are no painted Barks on the course and, because there is so little soft ground, there is little indication that the trail is there. The first large group of 4 HD vehicles was the 1982 Hell's Revenge Jeep trail into the area with 75 vehicles that ran the aaln loop, and the trail had been run with about the saae number of vehicle over roughly the saae course ever since . The Red Rock 4 Uheelers routinely run all the trails and in the process police any debris and litter that aay have been deposited, whatever the source. During the weeks following the Safari the club always performed this task and picked up the noalnal amount of trash that had accumulated, and the rocks were returned to the peace and quiet of a few vehicles for the rest of the year. Last year after the Safari, an ominous dragon reared its head above the Hell's Revenge Sllckrock bike trail and threatened to disturb the calm and peaceful area where there had always been an attitude of camaraderie and cooperation aaong recreational users. Jeeps and motor -- DAVE'S COREJER MARKET 4TH EAST & MILLCREEK DR. 259-699- 9 welcome runners, bikers, jeepers easier visitors canyonlands is egg-citin- g editors note: the zephyr apologizes for friendly dave's terrible pun; we believe he should be placed in a punitentiary. 11 cycles had always accepted each others presence without question or anlaoslty, frequently helping each other out More and aore over the past four years of trouble. come have like a silent wave on a rocky beach. bicycles No problea. Glad to see thea discover and use this wonderful place. It's always heartening to find soaeone who agrees with one's own values. There is plenty of rooa and no reason to expect conflicts, unless artificially generated. No one then using the area felt selfish about it. No one felt that it was 'ours." No one felt that they wanted to use 'theirs" but that "they" weren't welcoae to use "ours." During and after the running of the Hell's Safari trail we were angered by the abuses by a nuaber of the participants, aalnly ovsrenthusiastlc, in soae cases intoxicated, college students who had Ignored our admonitions about drinking on the trail. Hhlle we were considering measures to prevent a recurrence of such unacceptable behavior on our Safari trails, seeas that coincidentally an idealistic bicyclist had been surreptitiously auditing our performance and to our eabarrassaent witnessed the littering and multiple trailing that had occurred, and righteously registered a complaint. The clandestine aanner of the "investigation" angered us and we were annoyed that the perceived abuses were exaggerated, but we had to adalt that there was merit to the complaint. He were also appalled that the complainant concluded that we , Jeepers , should be banned froa the area except by permit, and even though subsequent correspondence established a spirit of cooperation we cannot disregard the fact that such a selfish idea was in the ainds of soae bicyclists even though this was the first overt suggestion of such a measure. Permitting by the BLM is a door that I don't think anyone wants to open. There are enough restrictions on the public lands without Revenge it asking for aore. Soon after new restrictions are iaposed on Jeepers it won't be long before bikers are included. It would be foolhardy for any group to subject itself to additional government restrictions, and inconceivable that Jeepers would unilaterally agree to such a proposal. This dark cloud was followed by the revelation that routing was being finalized on several alias of trail to be painted for bicycles, and has further heightened our apprehensions about the Sllckrock area. He are nervous about forfeiting any more of our off road trails. He quietly lost part of the Moab Ria trail to the Behind the Rocks Hllderness Area over our feeble objections when the study failed to recognize the trail because that corner of the area is on sllckrock. He lost a favorite trail in Negro The Bill Canyon HA. Sllckrock area of course is not USA, but now we sense what could be the beginnings of a problem there and our concerns have prompted me to write an open letter to Dave Minor of the B1M for written clarification on our future in the Sllckrock area. Next aonth, I'll share that letter with you, and the BLM's response. Until then, happy recreating. |