Wednesday, August 20, 2008
One mans viewpoint
In the struggle to preserve beach access, it is important to realize that this is not primarily a fight about environmental protection as it is about land use. Many folks accuse Audubon and their cohorts of putting birds before humans. This is not so much the case. They care deeply about people and recreational opportunities—their own.
What should be perfectly clear is that the expressed objective of the anti-ORV side is to transform the most high-value recreational portions of the CHNSRA’s public lands into nothing less than a semi-private bird watching arena. Their vision was clearly revealed in an interview of Chris Cainfield of NC Audubon by a Richmond Times Dispatch reporter for an article printed last May. Below is an except from my Letter to the Editor in response to the unabashedly pro-Audubon viewpoint Times Dispatch piece (which regrettably was not printed or even acknowledged).
“On another point, the printed statement by Chris Cainfield that "less beach driving would make the area more attractive to other visitors" [thus mitigating any decline in park visitors] is an egregious fallacy. It is a safe estimate that as current and potential future beach users, fisherman, surfers, and general recreation interests outnumber these “other visitors†by at least a hundred to one. More ominously, this statement by Chris Cainfield reinforces the notion held by most knowledgeable observers, including myself, that the real motivation here is not so much the welfare of individual birds, let alone bird species, as an attempt by a minuscule-size user group to transform the Cape Hatteras National Seashore Recreation Area into their vision of what these public lands should be.â€
The more recent disclosure of the formal Negotiated Rulemaking Committee proposal to turn the south end of Ocracoke Island into a “Wilderness Study Area†again illuminates the intent of Audubon and its cohorts. In their minds, “Wilderness†undoubtedly means highly restricted access, while “Study Area†means controlled bird watching activities. One should anticipate that they believe that these activities will essentially be managed by themselves through the implementation limited permit system geared to their specific interests—just as they managed to dictate to the National Park Service the exact terms of the consent decree—just as they cite interpretive conclusions from wildlife studies that they themselves have funded and/or conducted—just as churn out misrepresentation, misinformation, outright falsehoods that the media gobbles up and prints forth as fact with essentially no critical review or counter points.
And, don’t think that their vision is limited to Ocracoke. If they have their way, we would see total closure of the Cape Point, save for a roped off corridor terminating in a turn around area some distance away in which they could park their (limited permit) vehicles and set up spotting scopes.
It is almost unimaginable that in any remote way, shape, or form someone can think that it is acceptable to call for public lands that were specifically set aside by the US Congress as a recreation area; lands have been effectively managed for wildlife protection and vehicle-based recreation for many decades--and turn them into the private domain of a select few individuals.
Yet, this is exactly what is happening. Friends, we can not continue to let special interests have their way. Yes, get angry. Get very angry and do something about it. We cannot allow for misinformation to shape the public’s perception of what is happening at the CHNRA. We have to get the word out—get the truth out! Write and call! Write and call your local newspaper editor and television and radio station to let them know exactly what is going on. Keep contacting your elected officials. Up to now, the media has failed us. The local federal judiciary has failed us. With a few notable exceptions, our governmental representatives have not come down on the side of the people that elected them. However, this cannot stop us. We must keep fighting and let the truth be told. THIS IS THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. This is still a democracy. Not only do we have the numbers but we have the truth on our side. WE WILL PREVAIL.
It is not going to be easy. Expect no help from the Department of Interior. We have to help ourselves. Mr. Wenk’s recent testimony on Capitol Hill was extremely disappointing but hardly surprising. Our government is intimidated by a couple of special interest groups and their legal counsel. When the feces hits the fan like it did, government bureaucrats invariably cover their posterior and follow the path of least resistance—especially at the very top. Without attempting to make any apologies for a lack of spine at the federal level, the government was technically in violation of the law. Further, Audubon and DOI have legally (in the consent decree terms) reserved themselves the right to sue again if they like. Expect the posteriors to remain draped.
In short, the truth is that a special interest group has managed to highjack cherished public lands that were being effectively managed and enjoyed in an environmentally responsible manner, in a naked attempt to shape these same lands to fit their narrow interests.
They must be stopped. We must take back our own government and get the truth out. If we do that –we can not lose.
Chris in Richmond
What should be perfectly clear is that the expressed objective of the anti-ORV side is to transform the most high-value recreational portions of the CHNSRA’s public lands into nothing less than a semi-private bird watching arena. Their vision was clearly revealed in an interview of Chris Cainfield of NC Audubon by a Richmond Times Dispatch reporter for an article printed last May. Below is an except from my Letter to the Editor in response to the unabashedly pro-Audubon viewpoint Times Dispatch piece (which regrettably was not printed or even acknowledged).
“On another point, the printed statement by Chris Cainfield that "less beach driving would make the area more attractive to other visitors" [thus mitigating any decline in park visitors] is an egregious fallacy. It is a safe estimate that as current and potential future beach users, fisherman, surfers, and general recreation interests outnumber these “other visitors†by at least a hundred to one. More ominously, this statement by Chris Cainfield reinforces the notion held by most knowledgeable observers, including myself, that the real motivation here is not so much the welfare of individual birds, let alone bird species, as an attempt by a minuscule-size user group to transform the Cape Hatteras National Seashore Recreation Area into their vision of what these public lands should be.â€
The more recent disclosure of the formal Negotiated Rulemaking Committee proposal to turn the south end of Ocracoke Island into a “Wilderness Study Area†again illuminates the intent of Audubon and its cohorts. In their minds, “Wilderness†undoubtedly means highly restricted access, while “Study Area†means controlled bird watching activities. One should anticipate that they believe that these activities will essentially be managed by themselves through the implementation limited permit system geared to their specific interests—just as they managed to dictate to the National Park Service the exact terms of the consent decree—just as they cite interpretive conclusions from wildlife studies that they themselves have funded and/or conducted—just as churn out misrepresentation, misinformation, outright falsehoods that the media gobbles up and prints forth as fact with essentially no critical review or counter points.
And, don’t think that their vision is limited to Ocracoke. If they have their way, we would see total closure of the Cape Point, save for a roped off corridor terminating in a turn around area some distance away in which they could park their (limited permit) vehicles and set up spotting scopes.
It is almost unimaginable that in any remote way, shape, or form someone can think that it is acceptable to call for public lands that were specifically set aside by the US Congress as a recreation area; lands have been effectively managed for wildlife protection and vehicle-based recreation for many decades--and turn them into the private domain of a select few individuals.
Yet, this is exactly what is happening. Friends, we can not continue to let special interests have their way. Yes, get angry. Get very angry and do something about it. We cannot allow for misinformation to shape the public’s perception of what is happening at the CHNRA. We have to get the word out—get the truth out! Write and call! Write and call your local newspaper editor and television and radio station to let them know exactly what is going on. Keep contacting your elected officials. Up to now, the media has failed us. The local federal judiciary has failed us. With a few notable exceptions, our governmental representatives have not come down on the side of the people that elected them. However, this cannot stop us. We must keep fighting and let the truth be told. THIS IS THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. This is still a democracy. Not only do we have the numbers but we have the truth on our side. WE WILL PREVAIL.
It is not going to be easy. Expect no help from the Department of Interior. We have to help ourselves. Mr. Wenk’s recent testimony on Capitol Hill was extremely disappointing but hardly surprising. Our government is intimidated by a couple of special interest groups and their legal counsel. When the feces hits the fan like it did, government bureaucrats invariably cover their posterior and follow the path of least resistance—especially at the very top. Without attempting to make any apologies for a lack of spine at the federal level, the government was technically in violation of the law. Further, Audubon and DOI have legally (in the consent decree terms) reserved themselves the right to sue again if they like. Expect the posteriors to remain draped.
In short, the truth is that a special interest group has managed to highjack cherished public lands that were being effectively managed and enjoyed in an environmentally responsible manner, in a naked attempt to shape these same lands to fit their narrow interests.
They must be stopped. We must take back our own government and get the truth out. If we do that –we can not lose.
Chris in Richmond
