This week, the Department of Natural Resources is hosting an online forum to get citizens' views on public recreation. Unfortunately, motorheads are making it appear that they are the only ones who care enough to weigh in.
Please go to the forum website and let DNR know that these lands are important recreation areas where you enjoy getting out on your feet!
http://dnrforum.wordpress.com/
The site lists different topics for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, but you can still post comments on any or all of those days' topics.
Enforcement and restoration are important because unmanaged motorized recreation can damage trees, soils and water quality, causing Clean Water Act violations and jeopardizing the State's Habitat Conservation Plan for these lands. Damage to the trees also damages the revenue stream for our schools and other trust beneficiaries of the State trust lands. We need to keep our water clean and protect wildlife habitat. We need to restore areas that have been damaged by motorized recreation.
Unmanaged motorized recreation also drives quiet recreationists off their public lands, which is unfair. The forests belong to everyone, but nobody has the right to abuse them or ruin the experience of everyone else. Education and enforcement are part of how we stop abuse of public lands. DNR needs dedicated funding to keep enforcement personnel on the ground. Motorized recreation should only be located where resource damage can be avoided, and where the land manager has adequate enforcement resources already in place.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
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