Bureau about to learn definition of 'pain in the rear' - - Politics

By Martin Hackworth

Local outdoor enthusiasts were treated to a bona fide jaw-dropper last week courtesy of the United States Bureau of Reclamation. A 4,000 acre swath of land managed by the bureau along the Snake River between American Falls and Massacre Rocks State Park will soon be closed. In less than three weeks those who enjoy fishing, camping and hiking in this area will get to experience what rock climbers and dirt bikers already have ? lack of access to one of the region?s best recreational sites.

I?ll disclose, in advance, my general interest in this. I was involved in the sport of rock climbing for the better part of two decades, authoring two successful climbing guides in that time. I am currently the publisher and editor of an e-zine that promotes (among other things) off-road motorcycling. The 1,384-mile dirt bike Tour of Idaho runs close to and perhaps through the affected area. What I am not is a member of the Access Fund, the Blue Ribbon Coalition or any other organization that routinely opposes access restrictions on public lands. That?s because, in my opinion anyway, there are instances where federal agencies restrict access only after careful study and for well-considered reasons. This just doesn?t appear to be one of those instances.

I am about as far from a virulent Fed-hater wandering around in the wild that you can get. We live in a diverse country with many competing constituencies and balancing all their needs is tough. I respect land managers when I believe that they are acting in good faith and as good stewards of our natural resources (for now and the future). But for every reasonable access restriction placed on public lands these days there seem to be many others that just make you go ?What??

Recently I found myself at a desert race, in the middle of nowhere, listening to a federally-mandated spiel from race officials on the terrible consequences of exceeding the 96 decibel noise ceiling (for the rider ? disqualification; for the environment ? apocalypse) on a course right next to an Air Force bombing range. I kid you not. I could actually hear fighter jets off in the distance while this missive was being read. The same mandate also required that all fuel jugs be placed on special U.S. Forest Service- approved tarps instead of the ground ? presumably to prevent small amounts of expensive (and volatile) race gas from soaking into the ground and competing with cattle and wayward A-10s for destruction of rare sagebrush habitat. It?s things like this that?ll tempt even a reasonable person to question the fundamental acumen of the knucklehead on the other end of such an edict.

In the case of this closure along the Snake River, no one seems to actually know much about the reasons behind it other than nebulous talk of ?degradation to a number of resources.? Officials all around the region seemed stunned by the announcement this past week. ?Currently, Reclamation does not have the necessary protections in place to fully protect the natural and cultural resources in this area,? according to Hap Boyer, a local Bureau of Reclamation official. ?This closure is taking place to allow Reclamation to collect the data needed to guide future management strategies and decisions.?

Well, Hap, allow me to retort. Every time I go to the Snake River/Lake Channel OHV area to ride (at least once a week) I stop in American Falls to spend money on gas and snacks. So do the vast majority of the climbers, hikers, fishermen and other recreationalists who visit the area. I wonder how the actual harm to local merchants, in diminished visitors and income, factors into the Bureau of Reclamation?s decision to close a well-used recreational area in order to evaluate some unspecified sources of potential harm. What snail darter or Mesoamerican crystal skull outweighs the right of local merchants to make a living (especially in these hard times) and the right of taxpayers to access lands that they pay to maintain? There might be good reasons, but if there are they are all locked up in the collective consciousness of Bureau of Reclamation officials.

So, Bureau of Reclamation, Upper Snake River Field Office, 1359 E. Hansen Ave., Burley, ID 83118-1821, telephone (208) 678-0461 (I?m sure they?d welcome your calls and letters), as you are taking away one of my principal sources of recreation, I am replacing it with you as my new hobby. There is not a public meeting about this that I will not do my best to attend and no group that I will refuse to speak with. There is no politician that I will be shy about contacting about this and no end to the amount of ink I am prepared to donate to the cause. Unless you are ready to explain to the public the reasons behind all of this (and justify your actions) you are about to experience the meaning of the term ?pain in the rear.? And that?s just from me. The folks with the pitchforks aren?t far behind.

Award-winning columnist Martin Hackworth, of Pocatello, is a senior lecturer in physics at Idaho State University and the publisher of motorcyclejazz.com.

Source: http://www.pocatelloshops.com/new_blogs/politics/?p=8841

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