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"Natural quiet" is discussed prominently in many landmanaging-agency planning documents that come across my desk. The subject sometimes appears as a part of the "issues" section introduced by comments received, although it is not uncommon for agencies to introduce it right off the bat, without any prompting from outside interests. Some agencies have elevated "natural quiet" on public lands to the status of a resource - as something tangible and part of the physical environment. "Natural quiet" is not a physical resource. It does not exist without the presence of human beings. There are very special human beings who are visiting public lands with a certain set of values, and these values place a high priority on "natural quiet." These values have been, since 1964, carefully described and protected in the Wilderness Act. Before public land can be considered for Wilderness designation, certain criteria must be present, and these criteria are outlined in Section 1131 (c) of the Wilderness Act. For one, it must generally appear to ha.ve been affected primarily by the forces of nature, with the imprint of man's work substantially unnoticeable. It also must have outstanding opportunities for solitude or a primitive and unconfined type of recreation. Since the time when these criteria were created, "natural quiet" has come to be considered an important component of solitude and a key ingredient to a primitive type of recreation. Land managers use the aforementioned criteria when they are considering whether or not to recornmend, in their land-managing plans, a certain patch of ground for Wilderness designation by Congress. Certain roadless lands in National Forests, and certain Wilderness Study Areas in Bureau of Land Management lands, have been so recommended, based at least in part on the "natural quiet" criteria, as have certain areas in National Parks - back-country Yellowstone, to site one example. These criteria become important management considerations once Congress acts and designates an area Wilderness. Wilderness values should not be important management considerations without a congressional wilder- ness act. We increasingly find, however, that these wilderness values are being included in management considerations for all of public land. "Natural quiet" has been inappropriately included by the National Park Service as an important consideration for the highly developed area around Old Faithful, and "natural quiet" has been included as an important consideration in the management of all BLM lands in Utah. This was a part of the draft Standards' for Public Land Health and Guidelines for Recreation Management for BLM Lands in Utah. "Natural quiet" is fine for Wilderness. However, to impose this component of wilderness values is not fine for the rest of public land. In fact, to elevate "natural quiet" to the status of a physical resource is ludicrous. ering wood for our very own campfire that we will enjoy this evening. It could be that a trail is being cleared. I, myself, have gotten a sense of enjoyment and satisfaction out of giving that starter-rope a yank, firing up the motor, and sawing logs that block the trail. It's time and labor well spent. I'm happy to provide this benefit to all who will pass. To me, the sound of a chainsaw means progress. It means that man and nature are interacting in a mutually beneficial way. It means a useful product for people, and a place for new trees to replace the old. We've got over 1DO-million acres of designated Wilderness for people with wilderness values to appreciate. There, they can find the "natural quiet" that the Wilderness Act man- Other sounds in the rest of public land can be appreciated, and must be acknowledged as a positive part of the experience. For example, I appreciate the sound of a chainsaw. To hear a chainsaw in the distance as I'm hiking along a trail warms my heart. It means that someone is making use of a renewable resource. It means one more home will be built to house a family. It means that children are housed and fed by the wages of a good job. Perhaps the sound emanating from that chainsaw means that a home will be warm this winter, or it could indicate that someone is gath- These (admittedly unnatural) bikes aren't silent but, then again, neither Is nature. dates. The rest of public land is the place to appreciate other values, .those that celebrate diverse recreation and productive use of natural resources. Some of that diverse recreation and some of those productive uses - including not only the chainsaw I mention above, but off-highway motor vehicles - are not silent, but it does not naturally follow that their users should be penalized. eN Adena Cook is the public lands director for the Blue Ribbon Coalition. • Tacoma Arenacross Finale • North caronna Han SCrambleslGICC APRIL 4, 2001 • cue' • Two photos graced the cover of Issue 1114, the first of which fea· tured Bill Clements blasting over a jump at Carlsbad Raceway in California. The second caught Dave Damron leaning hard off of the side of his road-racing machine at wmow Springs in Rosamond, California. Both riders won their classes... A motocross race in Austin, Texas, was interrupted as a trio of young ladies from a local topless dub watched the motocross action from the back area of the track and surprised the Open class with a display of their wares, much in the same way they're displayed professionally. A couple of riders fell, Jack O'leary Jr. won, and most of the riders returned to that portion of the track after the race to see jf their eyes had deceived them ... John DeSoto (CZ) won the 250cc and Open Expert classes at Ascot MX in Gardena, Califomia. Tim Hart (CZ) finished second in both classes. 20 YEARS ABO••• APRIL 15, 1981 Honda's new NS750 dirt tracker was unveiled for the cover of Issue 1114. The new Honda was reported to have 78 hp at the wheel at 8000 rpm. Jeff Haney tested the machine for our cam· eras and had no problem lifting the front wheel off the corners, The machine was to be ridden by Freddie Spencer and Haney in the 1981 AMA Grand National Championship Dirt Track Series ... Bob Hannah (Yam) broke the Suzuki win streak at the Saddleback Motocross National in Orange, California. Hannah split moto wins with points leader and defending 250cc National Champion Kent Howerton (Suz), but the second and most important - mota belonged to the Yamaha star. Mark Barnett (Suz) kept his win streak intact through four matos, although Jeff Ward (Kaw) kept him honest all day and finished second... Mike Kidd (Yam) won round four of the AMA Grand National Championship Dirt Track Series at the Ascot TT, in Gardena, California. Steve Eklund and Scott Parker rounded out the top three. 10 YEARS ABO••• APRIL 17, 1991 • St. louis $upercross 92 30 YEARS ABO••• APRIL 20, 1971 nevvs Team Marlboro Roberts Yamaha's Wayne Rainey was Laguna Seca bound on the cover of Issue II J 4, our Laguna Sec a GP Preview issue. The defending 500cc World Road Racing Champion was favored to win the American round... Rainey went into round two of the 500cc World Road Racing Championship In Australia and stopped the Aussie dominance of the race for the two previous years. Mic.k Doohan (Han) got a bad start but stili raced through the pack to second place, 2.5 seconds behind Rainey... Chris Carr (H-D) won the Sacramento Mile, round two of the AMA Grand National Championship Dirt Track Series, Ronnie Jones (Han) and Scott Parker (HD) finished second and third... Jean-Michel Bayle (Han) won his fifth Supercross of the season at round nine of the series in the Suncoast Dome in Florida. Early leader Damon Bradshaw's spark plug broke and ended his night as he hounded the Frenchman for the lead... Damon Huffman (Kaw) won the 125cc Intermediate class at Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, California, over Donald Upton (Hon). Bobby Bonds (Yam) won the Pee Wee Modified class with 1-2 mota scores. The second mota was won by Jonathan Shimp (Yam), who had problems in moto one.