Public Lands

The related article chronicles the devastation of land and resources and the dangers to and injuries of hikers at the hands of or, I should say under the wheels of, off-road gas-powered recreational vehicles. Bush has pandered to the self-serving political interests of friends and allies in the motorized recreational vehicle (gas-powered) industry. Of course, given today’s situation with high gasoline prices and the belt-tightening we ordinary drivers are faced with at the gas pumps, the ORV issue stands out as a particularly sore thumb.

Fragile desert lands and forest ecosystems are being destroyed ... and other land users such as hikers are fleeing from dangers such as being run over by "a 12-year old on an ATV he can’t control". The report goes on to tell of cows being run to death; extensive vandalism and intentional destruction of flora and land; the seeming ineffectiveness of BLM (Bureau of Land Management), the agency charged with overseeing this and other public land matters; and the Forest Service’s shrugging off of complaints they say they can’t do anything about. Bush has opened these previously protected lands for this plundering use and, of course, it’s an industry dependent on gasoline and ... you guessed it ... Oil.