"Mecca is under attack !"

Trail closures, land closures, government interaction, on and on and on ! When will this all end fellow tribe members, when we have no where left to ride ? Or when we finally make our stand ? I live in southern Utah, and up until now it had seemed that we had escaped all this crap, no longer, mecca is now under attack ! I have received an email from the "Utah Shared Access Alliance" and its is a disturbing proposal from the, Southern Utah wilderness Ass-ociation calling for congress to close 9,400,000 acres of current BLM lands to, and i quote, TO ALL MOUNTAIN BIKES AND MOTORIZED VEHICLES ! Enough is enough, its time to let our voice be heard, not with useless words or plea's, or lobbying the fat slobs that run our country, with all respect to IMBA (which i am a member of) its not working guys ! To all mountain bikers who care where they will ride tomorrow and the day after that, i am proposing a "National Poach a Trail Day" its the only way to save whats left. Imagine if 1000 hardcores showed up at the Grand Canyon and poached the mule trail, and at the very same time millions poached a recently closed trail of their choice, and made it known. This may seem excesive to some, but whats happening to OUR lands is not ? I urge my friend Jimmy Mac and Mountain Bike Action to print this letter ASAP, along with the attatched email i received, thanks for the time, and may the bike gods help us...

sincerly, kevin talbot....






September 21, 2009

Dear Dave,


We have attached below a copy of the Blue Ribbon Coalition's (BRC) Alert regarding the upcoming committee hearings and SUWA's wilderness bill. BRC is located in Idaho and is a strong advocate for the off-road community on land use issues. BRC has a national presence and works on issues all over the country. USA-ALL focuses solely on Utah land use issues. BRC is a strong partner and ally of USA-ALL and we encourage you to act on their suggestions.

BLUERIBBON COALITION ACTION ALERT!


House Subcommittee to Hear SUWA's Wilderness Bill

Action Requested

Dear BRC Action Alert Subscriber,

The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) last week announced that on October 1, 2009, their massive Utah Wilderness bill, known as the America's Red Rock Wilderness Act, will be heard in the U.S. House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee. According to SUWA, the bill would designate 9.4 million acres of land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Utah as Wilderness.

In their announcement, they write: "This visionary wilderness proposal was first introduced as legislation in Congress in 1989 by former Utah Congressman Wayne Owens." Visionary my eye. After Clinton traveled to Arizona to announce a massive 2 million acre National Monument in Utah, Utah's voters showed Owens the door. When he left, SUWA's bill stood at 5.7 million acres, an increase from a previous proposal of 4.1 million acres.

According to a Congressional Research Service report, 5.7 million BLM acres is nearly 3 times the BLM wilderness recommendations and 75% more than the BLM's Wilderness study acreage. The 5.7 million acres amounted to 26% of all BLM lands in Utah, and 11% of the entire state.

In 1995, not even the radicals at SUWA "visioned" that 14 years later their 5.7 million acre bill would balloon to 9.4 million acres. That's over 45% of all BLM lands in Utah off limits to all mountain bike and motorized recreation.
Utah's political representatives need to know that the majority of Utahans oppose this. And they need to hear it from you. Today please.

Rep. Rob Bishop: 202-225-0453
Rep. Jim Matheson: 202-225-3011
Rep. Jason Chaffetz: 202-225-7751

Be polite. None of Utah's Representatives or Senators support SUWA's madness. If you call now, you can make SUWA's bill like toxic waste, so that none of Utah's representatives will ever come near it. Ever.


As always, please call or email if you have questions or need help.

Brian Hawthorne
Public Lands Policy Director
BlueRibbon Coalition
208-237-1008 ext 102
__________________________________________

I would add that if you are a member of USA-ALL and or BRC that you mention that in all communications with your Congressman.

Sincerely,


Michael Swenson
Utah Shared Access Alliance