List,
I think Save the Salt Coalition and all concerned who are on the board have
a good relationship with the BLM and Reilly Industries (who is paying for
the pumping) and have one of the most active legal teams to ever concern
themselves with western lands access, damage and preservation. Another
factor is that this is not all public lands. Reilly owns sections of the
flats as do the Utah Schools. BLM manages it but it is not all federal
lands.
Even though Rick Vesco is no longer Save the Salt Chairman, former USFRA
President Larry Volk is and we hear from both of them regularly about lands
issues.
There is a greater threat from the Washington crowd who want to legislate
western lands with no input from the locals who are effected. The
Gore/Clinton camp has been very nasty about Utah since Bill came in third in
the voting in the 1996 election in this state. They created the Grand
Staircase National Park without setting foot in the state and over the
protests of the full legislative body from Utah. Seventy percent of the
State is tied up in "Federal Lands" administered by the BLM.
The easiest thing for these "environmentalist" (read it as I want to play
where no one else can) groups to point fingers at is the spills from oil,
coolant and the black line on the salt. The racers have to help as much as
they can to contain these things and lessen their impact on the salt. Other
than that they are complaining about the fuels we use but even that is so
minimal that they have very little to complain about.
Be ready! If there is a serious threat you will hear from us immediately.
Wes Potter Secretary, USFRA
----------
> From: ardunbill@webtv.net
> To: landspeedracer@email.msn.com (John Beckett), land-speed@autox.team.net
> Subject: Re: IMPORTANT:Possible Salt Flats Issue
> Date: Wed, 22 Mar 2000 15:40:44 -0500 (EST)
>
>John and Group, just as sure as you're born this is just another
>non-issue, foolish agitation from somebody about some hobgoblin. Sure,
>there are environmental groups, sure they can hire lawyers to go
>confront the BLM about this, that or the other. Sure, some of them are
>fanatics and crackpots, and sure, they sometimes create a nuisance.
>
>The fact is, the environment has to be used by people, and, the
>environment has to be protected in a REASONABLE fashion from more abuse
>than it can handle. But, I am quite certain that speed trials people,
>to most of whom the Salt Flats is a hallowed place, create no adverse
>impact on them by running with care a few times a year, and I'm quite
>certain the BLM feels this way about it.
>
>Anybody can complain about anything, and anybody can sue anybody about
>anything, but the Law, the Courts, and Congress set great store by
>precedent and tradition. The racers have been at Bonneville over 50
>years, do not hurt it, and I am quite certain that politically, and
>under the Law, this activity will be conducted there in 50 years and 100
>years, the same as it is today.
>
>I see no reason for speed trials people to get all upset and ride off in
>all directions by a little spate of agitation like this. In all
>likelihood it will disappear without a trace like a pebble tossed into a
>pond. Cheers from ArdunBill (who has his toe in the water of local
>politics) in the Great Dismal Swamp, Chesapeake, VA
>
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