Jobe, In my first post here at the DCHS forum, 7-02-2000 as Mojo, I discuss the issues of the concerns you suggest. As I state in that post, DCHS will be under the various pressures produced by increased visitation. It is inevitable. If you use the search engine at yahoo.com and put in " deep creek hot springs " you will see that the " secret " of DCHS is worldwide in a big way. In my local paper today I saw an old picture, probably taken back in the 50's of Bob Hope standing on a patio, of a house, on a prominent hill, in the town I live, Apple Valley, and the view behind showed basically nothing but open desert. Now, that same area is filled in completely with houses. Dramatic change. It will be the same for DCHS. In my first post as Mojo I discuss my hopes in seeing a group of volunteers form for the benifit of DCHS. I am encouraged by the fact that we now have a group of good people who have formed our DCV effort of volunteers. The various agencies in the area have many things to attend to on thier plate of priorities. Those of us who are the users, visitors, caring souls for this special place can really make the differance in helping to ensure that DCHS will remain the unique and wonderful environment that it is. This evening I began to fold the handouts, we, as the DCV group created, and I read it again, and am very pleased by our efforts. Tomorrow, I will put up our first brochure box on trail 3W02. I know the USFS is happy to see the positive direction our group is taking to help DCHS. I am hopeful that over time, our group grows into a meaningful entitiy that will show that people, working together, really can make a differance for DCHS. It is also inevitalbe that we will face opposition. We should be careful about the fine line between advice, and enforcement. I believe that our best interest are served in carrying out our objectives in a diplomatic way, a skill our member Ron is very adept at. Brad Burns is the USFS enforcement Ranger for the DCHS area and it is my honest belief that he does the very best that he can to see that we can continue to enjoy our special place. Brad Burns also supports the concept that DCHS remains a clothing optional environment. Many who appreciate Naturism ( Skinny Dippin ) may not realize the importance that Brad takes this view. Many clothing optional settings have been lost in recent decades because society, and the current enforcement structure decides that it is no longer " OK " to be nekid anymore in some particular setting. I discussed recently with some DCHS visitors that what would happen if Brad was gone and the person holding his position came from a point of view that nudity was inherently wrong in a setting like DCHS. Appreciate Brad while he's here, because the next guy may not be so accepting of the clothing optional scene. And finally, I think the cutting of the vegetation along the Route 3 trail sucks, but to me, the most important thing is that we all will have wonderful times, long in to the future, to spend together, down at OZ :-)
