Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

~ . " '" e, N ..... Cl N "' Q. « en w ;: Z w ~ o r o WHEREAS . the Preside nt of the Unite d St at es has issued his Exe cutive Order 11644 dated Februar y Brh, 197 2 wh ich in effect greatly curtai ls. restri ct s. an d limits th e use of Fed eral public la nds b y off-roa d recr eational vehicles: and WH EREA S. an esti ma te d five millio n users of o ff-road recreational vehicl es regularl y sec k asy lum from th e over crowded cities to enjoy th e natural beauty and solitude found o n Federa l publi c lands: a nd WH EREAS. the use rs and enthusiasts arc all persons seeking a health y environ me nt. clean air an d water. open space . natura l b eau ry. an d wilde rness abu ndant in a variety of flora an d fau na : and WHEREAS . these same en t husiasts an d users arc employed. taxpa ying a nd voting me mbers of t he gen eral pu blic a nd as such memb ers sho uld be entitl ed to share in th e use o f th e Fed eral pub lic lands: and th eir tax dollars: a nd WHEREAS . the Presid ent o f the Un ited States co uld have spo nso red th e introd uct ion of legislati on th at would provide fo r the tran sfer of th e Federal gasoline tax pa id b y users of o ff-ro ad vehicles not used on t he highw ays and no t claimed as re funds b y the users to est ablish a trust fu nd fo r th e admin istration. d evelopment a nd mainte na nce o f recr eatio nal areas a nd trai ls fo r off-roa d vehicle use rs: and WHEREAS . the Presid ent inst ead has performed a d is-ser vice to these enthusiasts an d use rs with his nega tive approac h to the co nti nue d use of Fed eral p ublic la nd s throu gh the issu e of Execut ive Order 1 1644:an d WHEREAS . the se ent husiasts an d users recognize that th e Presid ent may have b een misled an d misinfo rmed b y ove r-zealo us. ultraconservationists, into believing th at all suc h usc is detrime ntal to th e public land: a nd WHEREAS . th ese ent h usiasts . believing t hat conservation sh ould be consistent with th e need s of th e general p ublic, hold th e co nt inued pursuit o f th eir sport and recreation mo st d ear and pr ecious: and WHEREAS . th e Presid ent and Chi e f Executive o f th ese Un ite d Sta tes could have p erform ed a vital service to the enthusias ts and users of re creation al vehicles b y encouraging the agencies under his dire ction to pro vide facilit ies and tr ail networks for • WHEREAS . these enthusiasts will seek leadership which directs its effo rts to a po sitive man ner to t he enthusiasts' use in partial return fo r a portion of , NAME pr o vide as much of th e pub lic lands as is environmentally p ossib le. to th e continued usc of all the public, including the off-road recre at ional vehicle enthusiasts : NOW. THEREFORE , BE IT RESOLVED , by t he u ndersigne d, that the President of th e Unit ed States b e enco uraged b y th ese pe titions and individual lett ers o f off-ro ad recr eati on al veh icle ent h usiasts to amend Ex ecutive Ord er 11 644 to dir ect a posit ive a pproac h to th e co nti nued usc of the Fed eral pub lic lan ds b y o ff-road vehicle ent husia sts : an d RES OLVED FURTHER. th at such a me nd ing action be accomp lished at th e earliest possib le o ppo rtun ity to ena b le these e nthusiasts wh o are associa ted with th e estima ted five mill ion off-ro ad recr eat io nal vehicles to a ppro ach th e po lls for the purpose of voting on issues o the r than th e use of Federal public lands: and RES OLVED FURTHER. that the President sp onso r th e intro d uctio n of legisl at ion th at ca lls for t he tran sfer of the est imated five milli on dollars in Fed eral gasoline tax dollars paid annua lly b y th e users o f o ff-road vehicles int o a recreational vehicle trust fu nd to be used for th e developme nt. ma intenanc e and admin istration of off-road recr eational vehicle areas an d trails. ADDRESS AGE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 • 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 When co m plete d, mail to : PRESIDENT RICHARD M. NIXON White House Washington . D. C. 2051 5

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