Re: Fair Public Hearings?

Back many years ago when I was employed by the BLM to work on the CDCA Plan, I was appalled at the amount of favoritism the BLM showed toward the ORV lobbyists. Part of the problem was because of the sheer numbers of offroad vehicle enthusiasts who bombarded the BLM with public input when the draft CDCA Plan was being developed. Even though there were designated ACEC's (Areas of Critical Environmental Concern) outlined in the CDCA Plan, there were only a very few people who commented on some of the specific ACEC's, which included the preservation of intaglios (Indian artifacts) and preservation of desert tortoise habitat. These people literally didn't have the firepower of the ORV, mining and grazing interests. The CDCA Plan attempted to realistically plan for multiple use, but the old adage, "You can't please all the people all the time" reigned supreme.

All this is not to say that we should give up the fight for what we believe. Individuals and groups can work to ensure that specific areas be preserved and not open to ORV, mining, grazing etc. My point is that it is always better to focus on a smaller subarea of the CDCA or WEMO rather than generalizing about the entire geographic area. Making your issues known to the appropriate authorities by providing cogent reasoning and documentation can and does have a positive effect in the long run.