A few comments and questions on other threads have led me to ask something about our purpose...maybe just something to keep in mind and discuss in group meetings. In the Mission Statement, as it now stands, we say first that we want to preserve DCHS as it now exists, and then that we believe in open public access. Yet, sometimes the wording gets a little twisted, and I am hearing that our function is to preserve public access. I think we need to be clear on this.
I know that there are some people who have been denied access through the Bowen ranch for good reasons, such as a high number of complaints about them from other users. Well, I do believe in public access, but would not want to be an "activist" for the cause of making sure that predators, for example, have every right to access the springs. So, just what are we preserving, here?
According to Katrina Island, whoever that really is, we should be angry that our government wants to protect an endangered toad. Well, if we are about preserving the springs and its environment, then the right of the species of toad to exist in its environment is a part of that, and should not lead to us jumping up and down and screaming about our "rights" to the springs. Sorry, but in that case the toad has first rights, and a group that wants to preserve the springs needs to recognize that.
Another topic that the group needs to consider is, of course, membership. How is it defined? Does anyone who says "I'm a part of this group" get to be a part? I've heard that Mike Castro and Katrina Island have been excluded at this time. Does that mean Gail Fry or Wm. or both, since Katrina is a fictitious character?
I sometimes find that I ask questions that get completely ignored. Maybe that is because I'm asking things that others have already discussed at some point, or because my questions are sometimes uncomfortable. That's o.k., I'm not trying to win a popularity contest, and if I ask things that have actually been answered (as opposed to avoided) I hope that someone will tell me so, so that I will not take silence as avoidance.