Take Responsibility

[Grumpy]

November 30, 2009
Responsibility for our own actions
Filed under: first — Tags: access, ATV, New York, OHV, Utah — Doug Leier @ 10:47 am
There’s a point in time when our own actions and choices begin to influence policy changes from others but society has accepted the practice of shedding responsibility and redirecting at anyone other than yourself as being held accountable. Here’s a couple examples of what I’m trying to describe.

I was in a pickup truck helping a friend in a moose hunt when a foundation of gun safety was taken for granted and a 180 grain 7 mag bullet blew the glove compartment above my knees into smithereens and fortunately the only physical fall out was my ears rang for weeks. We’ll never, ever again let a loaded firearm be in or on a vehicle. Never.

Five years ago when stopping at the drive through about once each week I’d order 4 double cheeseburgers. Not just order them and take a couple for late in the day. I devoured every last bite, for lunch. My cholesterol was through the roof and I carried an extra fifty pounds on my body through the field hunting. That was then and now I feel light as a feather and can walk all day. I haven’t eaten four double cheeseburgers in years.

Was it the guns fault the dash was turned into a mix mash of plastic particles and twisted metal? No.

Was McDonalds responsible for my weight gain and high cholesterol? No, not one bit. It was my very own choice and destructive decisions which were to blame, not anyone else. And it took my own personal revelation to realize my choices were not producing positive results for myself or others near me. It’s the moment of personal revelation which can change. It wasn’t my wife or friends berating me into change. And it’s similar in terms of protecting the places and area’s we cherish. If we don’t care about our own health or our own wilderness area no one else will convince us otherwise.

Yes in this day and age we’re numbed to a lack of personal responsibility, shedding blame and misdirected anger, and what better example then a brewing debate over the use of off highway vehicles (OHV) outdoors. I’m not anti-OHV, not at all. I’ve used them for work, hunting, fun and everything in between and like the loaded gun and double cheesburger, it’s each individual choice responsible for their proper or improper use. A gun is as safe as the user. One double cheeseburger won’t put me back into a health funk. But reality in this debate is a camp divided between pro and anti OHV use.







In New York and Utah OHV issues continue to boil as OHV groups and government regulators debated the framework governing their use on public lands and during hunting seasons. Personally the arguement of public land use tug of war between hunters and OHV use is prioritized. First for the land use as hunting if the public property was aquired through hunter license fee’s or excise taxes. The OHV is a tool regulated with regards to it’s legal acceptance in the hunt. Similar to night vision or electronic communication, it’s falls into an ethical and fair chase or access issue into rough country. But the recreational use on hunter purchased or leased acres should not take a back seat to recreational OHV use and/or miss use. It’s paramount to understand the OHV as a tool regulated for the hunt and not as essential to the hunt. As easy as I make this issue out to be as a former game warden I have first hand understanding of the impact on hunting done by OHV users. Note I said the user, not the OHV itself. Sometimes within the allowed framework of laws but outside the accepted ethical use by responsible users is generally where the issues begin to boil.

For many ATV groups, organizations and regulating agencies the years of consternation may not be overcome, but the key is continued dialogue. In recent dealings a New York congressman is working to close lands in Utah, without support from Utah.

Rep. Maurice Hinchey, Democrat from New York, is trying to by-pass the congressional debate of H.R. 1925, which would close over 9 million acres in Utah to OHVs. Since he failed miserably in trying to get ANY representative from Utah to back him in his land grab, he has resorted to asking Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to use his administrative powers to close those lands without debate and without approval from the very state that would be affected.



Here’s the full story
But choosing not to realize potential negative impacts can erode what created such a love for the wild, rough and tumble places in the first place as in Utah and other area’s over the course of time, a trickle down of impacts begin to change the dynamics of the fish, wildlife and habitat.

I remained quiet about this for years, but when a group of thoughtless riders ruined my own hunting experience, I had no choice but to think hard about what I’d been doing. It was time for me to change my habits and to speak out openly on behalf of reasonable and responsible off-road use.

For an entire morning, I’d tracked a herd of elk in an area that hadn’t faced significant pressure from aggressive ORV riding. It was the peak of the rut, and the bugling of bull elk echoed during a perfectly planned hunt. I knew that the long effort of following this herd was going to pay off.

But then, three all-terrain vehicle riders shattered the stillness, roaring into the area on an illegal trail and blasting
shotguns at a flock of grouse. The elk fled — and my hunt was over.
When the point is reached where habitat is damaged and wildlife habits and habitats are altered the repair and restoration may be impossible, but the point is to look in the mirror, acknowledge our own responsibility and take hold for the future of the wild places hang in the balance.


*From WildlandsCPR / SLC Tribune

[iaccocca]

4 double cheese burgers at a sitting and a loaded 7mm Mag in the front seat of a pick-up? This guy should have been on sucide watch.