As the other half of the "exception" indicated by Impartial, I undestand your perspective. I also feel that since Rick is the Webmaster, he can say whatever he wants. I would much rather occasionally have him react emotionally to some of the whining that does take place at this forum THAN to have him shut down this forum.

Sure, there is whining and bitching here, but the many issues surrounding Deep Creek, past, present and future, are critically important. When people love something, of course they will let their feelings show.

This forum and many of its participants share vital information about a place we love so much. Sure, it is very difficult to remain subjective about the complicated issues of Deep Creek.

And sure, the BLM, Forest Service and any other affected governmental agency can jump on this forum and website, but I can't see them deciding to close or modify public access based on the contents of this forum.

As Wizard indicated, there a lot more people using Deep Creek than just the people posting on this forum. The bigger issue is the retention of access for the public good. This question will eventually be answered based on further analysis of issues such as Wild and Scenic Rivers, Endangered Species Act, and Forest Service and BLM Land Use Plans.

The best thing anyone can do is to write letters to appropriate public agencies expressing our concerns for retaining public access and also requesting these agencies to respond to our concerns.

We appreciate your opinions, Impartial, and we hope you can contribute constructively to this forum.