Fwd: Mud bogs and traps, another view...

[sean <o2design@wsu.edu>]

Charles,
I appreciate you taking the time to voice your thoughts in the DN.  I 
would suggest that the attitude you express below (that mud on a 
truck means law breaker/meadow abuser) is at the core of the problem. 
There are certainly places a truck can get muddy legally.  And where 
the damage is not ecologically substantial.  Because one person sees 
that activity as dumb, distasteful or harmful does not make it so.

We live in a landscape pulverized annually for wheat and other crops. 
We sacrifice tons of soil erosion for economical bread.  Acceptance 
of damage to landscapes for human gains is all around us.  It is a 
tradeoff we make.  We make it for food, shelter, economic gain, 
convenience, and, yes, even recreation.  There is a continuum of 
sorts when we look at the level of impacts rec area development 
requires.  There is wilderness, and there are motorspeedways.  One is 
effectively untouched.  One is paved over, effectively locked up in 
concrete.  OHV trails lie in between.  Nature is not under lock of 
pavement, nor is it left in its original state.  OHV areas are not 
the most vile, though they may strike hard at many sensibilities.

Let's address the issues as they are, and not as our personal 
preferences lead us to call right.  OHV enthusiasts constitute a 
legitimate (and enormous--both numerically and economically) leisure 
pursuit.  You don't need to like or understand them.  But as 
Americans we should accept their right to recreate AND the 
responsibility of our public agencies to meet their needs in a 
responible manner.

s

>
>
>I wrote this for the Daily News but they put my column off for a week so it
>won't run until Monday the 24.
>
>Spiking muddy meadow bogs-Recent reports have detailed how supposedly
>dastardly environmental wackos have spiked mud bogs that were formerly
>meadows.  It seems the motorheads among us have decided to ruin yet another
>good thing with all-terrain vehicles and 4-wheel drive trucks.  That is, when
>they see a moist little forest meadow, they pulverize it throwing mud all
>over themselves and their rigs.  You've seen them at the local car washes on
>Sunday evenings.
>
>The spikes are welded rebar set in retaliation and to prevent the idiots from
>continuing.  Good idea, bad execution.  Local buzz on the Moscow Vision 2020
>listserver has suggested perhaps the understaffed, underfunded U.S. Forest
>Service begin spiking mud bogs themselves and placing notice of same up so
>the activity will stop.  Better idea, still bad execution.
>
>A look at the design of the devices shows some to be two pieces of rebar bent
>in a "vee" and welded while interlocked at the apex.  Sort of a steel
>chicken's foot and leg shape that will always land with one spike pointed up
>and three legs supporting it.  It's not a new idea; the device is called a
>caltrap.
>
>Caltraps date back to the heraldic armorers who produced them as a defense
>against an advancing cavalry.  The symbol is used in numerous shields and
>emblems including that of the Third Marine Division where the three grounded
>points stand for valor, fidelity, and honor.  The fourth stands for
>literally, "don't tread on me!"
>
>Now all we need is for a legitimate equestrian to ride into a caltrapped mud
>bog and injure a horse.  Whether placed by environ-lack-of-mentalists or
>anyone else, devices that are intended to injure and maim have no place in
>society.  The fact they've gotten tires so far is beside the point.
>
>I might add that once again it is a minority of ORV users who are screwing it
>up for the aged and infirmed who can legitimately use a minimally impactful
>ride to lands they pay taxes for.  Too bad, it happens all the time....
>assholes!
>
>Charlie Powell
>Moscow, ID


-- 
Thanks,
s


         * * * * * * * *
         Sean Michael
         .dwg