Assuming they’re able to read, some of the morons who get their jollies
from trashing the natural landscape might have read that the Badlands
wilderness bill is about to get passed and decided to get out there and
do more damage while they could.
David Eddleston, organizer of the
group Friends of the Badlands, sent us a report from the battlefront
last week. According to him, he and other “Fobbitts” patrolled the area
on Jan. 8 and found signs of “recent incursions from both quad ATVs and
powered dirt bikes at various points.”
Signs marking the area
as closed to motor vehicles had been blasted with gunfire. “Oddly, a
locker had been dragged approx 200 meters into the Badlands and
securely installed on a rimrock ridge. And that had also been used as a
target,” Eddleston added.
Elsewhere, a road leading into the Badlands showed “very recent tracks of what seemed to be a front-end loader heading south. As we were running out of time, we did not follow it to check whether material had been dumped to the south.”
We’ve never been able to understand the mentality (using the term loosely) of people who can’t have a good time without destroying stuff, preferably through the use of big, loud vehicles and/or big, loud guns. But they’re never going to go away, which makes the news that the Badlands finally is going to win federal wilderness status especially welcome – and makes the claims of those who argued such status wasn’t necessary all the more ridiculous.
Last week the Badlands bill passed the Senate on a 73-21 vote, clearing the way for what should be easy passage by the House and the signature of President Obama. The Badlands bill and other legislation to expand wilderness areas had been stalled in the Senate for years, largely through the efforts of Sen. Tom Coburn, an Oklahoma Republican whose steadfast opposition to any and all spending measures earned him the nickname of “Dr. No.” Democratic advances in the last election provided the votes to hurdle the measure over the procedural barriers Dr. No threw in its path.
It’s true that the kind of depredations described by Eddleston can still happen despite the federal wilderness designation. But the important thing is that the wilderness designation is, for all intents and purposes, permanent – it would take an act of Congress, not just an executive order, to undo it.
That means the Badlands is now permanently protected from efforts to reopen the area to motorized uses – and where such uses are allowed, abuses are inevitable. The yahoos may be a minority among off-roaders, but it only takes one of them to wreck a fragile natural environment that’s been there for thousands of years.
So here’s a tip of the hat to all those who battled for so many years, in and out of Congress, to win wilderness status for the Badlands – and the toe of THE BOOT to the idiots who like to trash it.
This article appears in Jan 22-28, 2009.
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Actually, hunting is allowed in wilderness areas. As a wilderness supporter, liberal, and responsible shooter, I tire of you lumping all shooting enthusaists with the quad yahoos and other rednecks. Nobody likes shot-up trash out in the desert, or tire tracks in nonmotorized areas.
Jack Dagget, If you had bothered to read the article a little more carefully you would have noticed that there was no mention of hunters or hunting nor any mention of ALL gun “enthusaists” being OHV users or rednecks. They actually say it is a minority of “yahoos” that are the problem. Before you start bitching about being labeled a redneck because you own a gun, you should have a valid reason. Personally I disagree and think that the majority of OHV useres (and snowmobilers) are ignorant yahoos who don’t care about anyone but themselves let alone the environment.
Yes, I have been out in the Badlands,and for some of the junk thats out there,fridges,garbage and debris. Recently out walking and found and old freezer and someones old garbage.We need to protect our wilderness areas for our future and for our childrens future. I love going out there and spending the day walking around,what a neat place!
Warning! If I catch you dumping,destroying or riding your dirt bike or 4×4,I will turn you in to local authorities!!!
It is always a downer when people destroy and disrupt natures beauty. I just want to ask the concerned to not stereotype all dirt bike riders with these backwards morons. I have been riding dirt bikes all my life, but I have not, and never will, participate in the destruction of nature. Instead, I ride my motorcycle at motocross tracks and other designated areas. The top level of professional motocross riders train like olympic athletes and are paid millions to ride their dirt bikes. In comparison, the real motocross riders I know in Central Oregon are highly dedicated, smart individuals who train and ride during the week to race on the weekends. Me and all the other true riders seek to portray the sport in a positive light. Sadly, their is also a sect of dirt bike riders who barely even ride, and when they do they go out in the desert with a cooler full of beer and destroy things. If you want to see what real motocross is tune into CBS tommorrow(1/24/09) at 9:30 a.m. for the supercross race.