117 Montana Business Owners Beg Dubya to NOT Lift Roadless Rule

[JoseCuervo]

It looks like the people who are the backbone of Dubya's economy don't agree with his trashing of our hunting spots...

Businesses ask roadless protections
Posted Sep 15, 2004 - 11:15 AM

More than 100 Montana business owners on Monday sent a letter urging the Bush administration not to act on a proposal that could lift restrictions on road building and logging on 58.5 million acres of national forests.

In the letter to President Bush, the business persons said they "benefit greatly" from recreation in national forest roadless areas. The 117 businesses represented included outdoor gear companies, guides, restaurants, a dentist's office and several service operations. Sky Sterry, of Wookey Backpacks in Bozeman, said much of his business relies on selling products to people who pursue outdoor activities in roadless areas. He worries that lifting the roadless designation on 6 million acres of national forest in Montana will put a dent in the number of people who come to the state.

"Preserving these wild areas is incredibly important because you can't go backward," Sterry said. "Once they're logged, once they're roaded, it's just a different ecosystem entirely."

This summer, the Bush administration proposed reversing a Clinton era ban on road building and logging in national forest roadless areas. Under the proposal, governors could then petition to have the roadless protections remain in place.

Bush administration officials say the new rule is, in part, intended to provide more local input about how national forests are managed.

Public comments are being accepted until Nov. 15.

Gia Fairchild, owner of Missoula-based Lewis and Clark Trail Adventures, said her much of her business is directly tied to taking tourists into remote areas protected under the roadless rule.

"They precisely choose us because we're going to take them off the beaten path," she said, adding that that lifting roadless protections could potentially result in a "devastating" loss for the business.

Advocates of the roadless rule say the protections not only benefit outdoor companies, but local economies fueled by those who move to the area for the quality of life and recreation that the roadless areas offer.

Many of the businesses whose names are on the letter are located in Bozeman, Missoula, Livingston and the western portion of the state. Only one, The Base Camp, is located in Billings.

 

[Wapiti Slayer]

WOW! So there are millions of FATASS ATV RIDERS wanting to ride their ATVs every place possible and that would create less business? Makes a lot of sense. More area to ride, more people according to all statistics provided here! Hikers wouldn't generate half the expenses as Fat ass atv riders! Hotels, breakfast, dinner, bar tabs, all that fuel they burn? Seems a little strange. And the "dentist's office" I'm sure that's a big money maker!

By Calif. Hunter - I've edited this rather than delete it. Next time, the whole post goes.

[ 09-16-2004, 10:28: Message edited by: Calif. Hunter ]

 

[Ithaca 37]

Post deleted by Calif. Hunter

[ 09-16-2004, 10:28: Message edited by: Calif. Hunter ]