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Show THE ZEPHYR/OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2004 PROMOTING SILVER BULLETS 70 years has generated little action from within the conservation, wilderness ‘or non-motorized recreation communities. What a shame, because so much has From Somewhere ite vad tee a THE RV LIFESTYLE Let this serve as a warning and a wake up call to everyone who still enjoys camping and has interest in traditional forms of outdoor recreation. It's a warning I've issued as often as I dare repeat myself. It's a warning that was presented in almost frantic terms back in 1935 by E.P. Meineke, then Principal Pathologist of what was to eventually become the US Forest Service. And it's a warning that for already been lost through our inaction. So much more remains at stake.. You are being propagandized -- not that that should come as a surprise. Here's a few words to explain what's going on behind the scenes. The "Go RVing" campaign, designed to promote the RV lifestyle, is coordinated by a coalition of industry leaders. In addition to the "Go The Extra Mile” program, funds for the "Go RVing" campaign are provided by RVIA member manufacturers Via a per-unit assessment fee. The purpose of this campaign is to reinforce the concept of a particular inevitability and promote a particular vision. What is being promoted is a lifestyle and an industry poised to profit from converts to that lifestyle. It is called the RVLifestyle and whether it appeals to you or not, it is redefining and reshaping ae SCOTT SILVER outdoor recreation. It is, to some degree, redefining and reshaping Americans and THE ‘ARC’ AGENDA From an article, recently published in the Philadelphia Inquirer, comes the following quote: "The lure of the outdoors is not faring well, compared to the lure of electronics," said Derrick Crandall, president of the American Recreation Coalition, a Washington-based organization of recreation companies and trade associations. : Perhaps the lure of the outdoors is not faring well because the American Recreation Coalition and its own Recreation Roundtable have, for nearly 25 years, actively worked to diminish the enjoyment of those participating in traditional forms of outdoor recreation. Why would a recreation lobby do such a crazy thing as that!!? Because they represent a newer breed of non-traditional recreational interests. Perhaps they would do so because they seek to replace existing public lands users with experience-seeking customers eager to buy new forms of commercially provided, toy-dependant, wreckre-tainment. When will those who have long enjoyed hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, birding, canoeing, climbing, horse-riding, bicycling, nature viewing, snow-shoeing, rock-hounding and similar activists attempt to regain control of the message? Today, ARC speaks louder than all other voices combined and it is oft-times the only voice heard. Why, one might reasonably ask, is the lure of the campfire dimming???? Because its being drowned out by the sound of RV generators. Why is the lure of cross country skiing dimming? Because skiers are being driven away by the roar of snowmobiles. Why are canoeists, swimmers and fishermen staying away from lakes ---- because of jet-skis, Duh! But most important of all --- why is recreational use DOWN again this year on lands managed by the US Forest Service, National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management???? From my experience, I'd say that the new and higher recreation fees (fees now charged thanks to the work of ARC) are driving traditional visitors away. And those who are filling the void bring with them new attitudes, toys and values. They are the attitudes, toys and values promoted by the ARC. So is it any wonder that traditional users are staying away in droves! Attitudes are not changing as much as they are being manipulated. But the result is the same and unless other voices are heard above the whine of ARC, traditional recreation will be supplanted. forms of America as more and more people are taught to envy, desire, seek out and buy into this particular lifestyle. Your Public lands are being reconfigured and managed in new ways as a result of this PR campaign. Those changes come at the expense of, and to the detriment of, all other outdoor lifestyles. Meineke saw this coming. I've seen it coming. And while it is no longer possible to avoid this future because it the future is already upon us, it is still be possible to avoid the tomorrow that's being planned for you. Scott PS..... The Go RVing campaign is the creation of RVIA. RVIA's President is the Chairman and Founder of the American Recreation Coalition. Almost everything you have ever heard me say about ARC applies to, and is linked to, this life-style issue. WWW.WILDWILDERNESS.ORG THE IRON RANGERS? Several years ago the USFS starting using “iron rangers” for fee-demo revenue collection. These trailhead collection points are said to be "convenient" for USFS customers but, as I understand it, the cost of collection is unusually high. The USFS has even explored contracting out the operation of these fee-tubes to a private concessionaire, though no deal has yet been made. The appended article reveals two additional problems with these iron rangers, those of vandalism and theft. Knowing all of these problems, I'd love the USFS to provide honest answers to the following questions: "For every dollar the public deposits into a trailhead feetube, after subtracting the costs of installing that tube, collecting the fees put into it, administering the fee program, replacing stolen and damaged tubes, staking out the forest to catch fee thieves, patrolling the parking lots to ticket scofflaws, going to court to prosecute these cases, etc. .... exactly how many pennies from that dollar are left over and become available for funding trail maintenance? Does the USFS even know that number and do they really even care??” My suspicion is they do not. They are interested in proving to Congress that the fee-demo program is a success for that it can be permanently authorized but sadly, their definition of success leave much to be desired. To the USFS, "success" is measured in dollars paid and rate of compliance. And even by those crude measures, after 7 long years, the USFS fee-demo has been a dismal failure. Moab’s Oldest Legal Brewery! Meet me at McStiff's... i - EDDIE PICSZTIFF SDS Restaurant &5 Microbrewery 57 S. MAIN in the WESTERN PLAZA 259-BEER HALLOWEEN COMES TO EDDIE McSTIFF'S! - Trick ot Treat??? MORE YEARS?? |