[pct-l] PCT & Public Land Use

[blisterfree@xxxxxxxxx (Brett)]

I have the right to burn down a national forest. Why? Because I'm a
taxpaying American, and I own that forest.

I have the right to shoot endangered species of wildlife. Why? Because I'm a
taxpaying American, and I own that wildlife.

I have the right to blow up logging equipment only minutes before another
mountainside is laid waste to clear cutting. Why? Because I'm a taxpaying
American, and I own that mountainside.

Clearly, the above claims are ridiculous. And of course I don't believe any
of it. Regardless of the intent, whether perceived as good or bad, these
acts are illegal. ATV and mountain bike use of the PCT is likewise illegal,
irrespective of the user's "intent" (self-justification, usually) and the
fact that he or she may be a "taxpaying American."

All too often we hear the "taxpaying American" excuse employed in defense of
one's illegal or, moreover, damaging use of public lands. These
excuse-makers are an unfortunate product of our times: too many people, too
much technology and mechanization in the hands of many, and far too little
wilderness, all compounded by a selfish, human-centric viewpoint that was
doomed from the start, which now grows in proportion to nature's shriveling,
and which will doom us all if not self-corrected.

Ideally, we restrain ourselves. Restraint - that is our highest calling as
we become an ever more powerful and alien species on this planet.

Lacking idealism, we have laws - the best stopgap measure going. Man's laws
are not always in line with the ways of the wilderness - far from it. But
when they are, then that is a fine example of my money well spent. Every
taxpaying American should be proud to know that a few pennies of his labors
have rewarded him with a national treasure: the Pacific Crest Trail,
preserved and protected, at least by law, and worth defending.

There is also an implicit premise in the "taxpaying American" excuse for
carte blanche use of public lands. It is a false premise. The thrust of its
argument boldly declares that wild lands are intrinsically costly to
maintain, that they are a resource dependent upon man, if not for their
outright survival then for their enjoyable aesthetic and
recreation-conducive qualities. In actual fact, nature in a natural state is
exceedingly cost effective: it's free. If more of us, including our
legislators, were willing to accept nature on her own terms, nature would be
less the slave to beauracracy, and our unnatural focus on the "money path"
to so-called freedom and direct representation would give way to a humble
form of absolute empowerment.

- blisterfree


>>  "US public lands are just that- public. Everyone has a right to use them
not only backpackers. This includes the PCT and the land surrounding it. It
is not up to some vote or petition or public opinion on who uses public
lands. When taxes are no longer used to support them you will have a leg to
stand on but until then people have a right to use them- whether ATVer,
backpacker, or mountain biker." <<