Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127116
by major pl anning organizations, and ap proved by both Dem ocrat ic an d Republication administrations. Allegation: Myth : Pro posed wilderness areas contai n ma n y mi les of roads used by thousands who will lose access. Fa ct: The proposed wildern ess ar eas are " roadless" &s required by federal law. There ma y be som e primitive trail s. BLM Response: (T his myth ) is not a myth ; it is a fact, The con fusion lies in the definition of wh at constitutes a road and how im portant roads are for access to desert areas. Altho ugh th e areas p roposed for wilderness designation in 57 contain no improved or mechanically maintained roads, they do contai n ma ny " ways" which are maintained solely by th e passage of vehicles. T he ways cu rrent ly p rov ide essent ial access for recrea tio nal a nd o ther users of th ese areas - access that would not be perm itted under wilderness designation. Such access is especiall y important in desert ar eas where severe environmental conditions often mak e non veh icu la r m eans of ac ces s impractical and even dangerous. Allegation: 57 wi ll close on ly about 1500 miles of ways shown on BLM ma ps in proposed wildern ess; another 1500 mi les of routes will form perimeter roads; and 700 miles of dirt routes have been ch erry stem med into wilderness units. BLM Response: 57 will close over 2200 mi les of quality access rou tes. This wi ll have iI serio us effect on existing access for ma ny uses and will concentrate use into o ther areas. Allegation : 57 is th e next logi cal step in the p la nning process. BLM Response: S7 scuttles years of pl an ning and public participation that cost $8 million and destroys a caref u ll y devel oped p lan that achieves bala nce among competing user s. 57 is a dramatic and abrupt change of direction from the 1976 Federa l Land Pol icy and Management Act which is currently being carried ou t by BL M. Allegation: 57 would no t close roads or limit vehicle access to the desert. BLM Response: Access is a critical issue in a desert environ ment. Closures of small segments can crea te extensive de tours or serious ly affect recreation o pportuni ties. S7 wou ld close over 2200 mi les o f critical routes. S7 wou ld also limit further expansio n of access for recreation.. .to the eig ht mill ion acres of proposed wilderness. Allegation: Tracks from ma neuvers conducted by Ge neral George S. Patton in 1942 are still visible in the desert . BLM Response: Although much has been wrruen about the visibility of scars left as a result of General Patton 's tank maneuvers , th ere is li ttle truth to the all egation. Some of the tracks ar e still visibl e from th e air, but most have been erased by nature. Also , many of the tracks 'attr ibuted to World War II maneu vers actuall y occ u red much later , during Operation Desert Strike in 1964. Finally, it is diffi cult to eq uate the marks left by hundreds of heavytracked tanks o pera ting in close formation to tracks left by ligh tweigh t, ru bber-tired cycles. Allegation: For every mi le of desert travel by a four-wh eeled vehicl e, 3.3 ton s of soil is displaced. BLM Response: T he figure (3.3 ton s) is misleadi ng and cannot be applied to the desert across the board wi thout sig n ific a n t error. Other studies have shown on ce a trai l is established , th ere are o n ly small am ounts of displ acement over tim e. Since mo st tr ail s/ wa ys are well established, a figure of less th an th at quoted wou ld resu lt. • ' 1st Annual DI "DIRT TRACK SPEED WEEK" 80m In .. the USA, Rolling Thunder, Dirt Track Racing -THE AMERICAN LEGEND IN ACTION- ™ ~~~- rn .... CD .e rn .... E CD .ern CD rn ECD rn.>t:. EE.Q «~g « 'iii ...J~ ...JE «"0 0« CD~ . . .- 00 0..- ·c «0 lI:"iij ~ .~ «E ...J"O ...J« «- - -tii c .... o~ -CD _c CCD :;j(!) 0 oc :;jCD OC oCD .~ o Oc ~ o 0 .~ 0 ~ ~ 0 The 1st 7 Rounds AMRA-Pros "World Championship Pro-Series". - AND . . The 1st 5 Rounds of AMRA-Pros "Amateur World Championship" Dirt Track Series 2/23 thru 2/27 Amateur Sign In 10 a.m. Daily - Races 1 p.m. Sun. 2/21 Mon. 2/22 Tues. 2/23 Wed. 2/24 Thurs. 2/25 Fri. 2/26 Sat. 2/27 Sun. 2/28 Phenix City, AL 'h mi. . - OFF Lake City, FL .l8 mi. ' Patatka/Satsuma, FL V mi. . Ocala, FL 'l8 mi. Tampa, FL 'h mi. Tampa, FL 'h mi. Tampa, FL 'h mi. 2/23 thru 2/27 Pro Sign In 6 p.m. Daily - Races 8 p.m. Sun. 2/21 & 2/28 pro Sign In 10 a.m. - Races 2 p.m. SPECIALI Sat. 2/27 & Sun. 2/28 in Tampa, FL at the Florida State Fairgrounds Speedway - The 1st Annual DI "REUNION OF THE LEGENDS" Held in conjunction with a Very Special Vintage Flat Track Motorcycle Show. See, ta lk with, interview and get personal autographs from many of Dirt Trackings Living Legends as well as seeing the actual motorcycles t hey rode on to become living legends. For more info. con tact AMRA-Pros, P.O. Box 1644, Tarpon Springs, FL 34689 Ph_813-938-4573 0