LONG ISLAND 4X4 FOR BEACH ACCESS

This will affect all user groups we must ban together and stop this

Please pass the word we all have to fight to stop this.

Bluewater vs NPS law suit

Statement Regarding Intervention in National Park Service Lawsuit

IRVINE, Calif.--Jan. 13, 2006--The Motorcycle Industry Council, the Specialty Vehicle Institute of America, and BlueRibbon Coalition took action last week to protect traditional off-highway vehicle use currently allowed in approximately three dozen units of the National Park System. The three groups, representing the off-highway vehicle industry and enthusiasts, have filed to intervene in pending litigation aimed at barring this use.

In November, plaintiffs led by the Bluewater Network filed suit in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., alleging that National Park Service actions to allow these uses are illegal. The suit named the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service as defendants. The MIC, SVIA, and BRC sought to intervene on the side of the federal agencies and defend OHV use on these public lands. Allegations by the plaintiffs disregard the law, history, and the facts about regulated OHV use.

Currently established laws, rules, and management plans allow carefully regulated off-highway vehicle use in a variety of National Park System units, and allow park visitors from Florida to Massachusetts to Alaska to enjoy these traditional uses. The MIC, SVIA and BRC believe it is important that public lands are managed in a way that both preserves and protects the land, while taking into account the growing popularity of OHV recreation and the opportunity for OHV enthusiasts to enjoy the outdoors in an environmentally responsible manner. For these reasons, it was necessary to come to the table in support of the National Park Service and OHV enthusiasts nationwide.

There is a long history of recreational OHV use in many areas under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service. In many cases, OHV use in these areas predated the designation of the area as a unit of the National Park Service and the designations were made with the understanding that OHV use would continue to be allowed.

In Massachusetts, OHV enthusiasts who frequent the beaches primarily to go surf fishing helped lead the effort to designate the Cape Cod National Seashore and were assured that these traditional uses would continue. In Alaska, native villagers were given the right by law to continue to use OHVs in many areas for subsistence hunting and fishing. Overall, the National Park Service carefully regulates these uses to assure that natural resources including fish and wildlife are conserved.

The MIC, SVIA and BRC support the National Park Service, OHV enthusiasts, and the continuation of carefully regulated use in areas with a long-standing history of OHV

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
November 29, 2005

CONTACT:
Carl Schneebeck, Bluewater Network, 415-544-0790, ext. 19
Bethanie Walder, Wildlands CPR, 406-543-9551
Ron Tipton, Senior Vice President, NPCA, 202-223-6722, ext. 266
Robert Rosenbaum, Arnold & Porter LLP, 202-942-5862

Conservation Groups File Lawsuit to Protect National Parks From Harmful Off-Road Vehicle Use
Survey of Parks Reveals Extensive Damage from Off-Road Vehicles, Lack of Funding for Enforcement

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Bluewater Network, a division of Friends of the Earth; the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA); and Wildlands CPR today filed a lawsuit against the National Park Service and the Department of Interior in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.,
alleging that those agencies have failed in numerous ways to protect the National Park System against the extensive damage caused by all-terrain vehicles and other off-road vehicles in America's national parks.

The plaintiffs met with the Park Service in July 2004 and raised concerns about off-road vehicle damage in the national parks. The agency responded by conducting an internal survey of all national park sites. The 256 responses available to the plaintiffs demonstrate that off-road
vehicles are causing widespread damage in America's national parks.

"Despite evidence of damage, the leadership of the National Park Service is simply proposing more studies of the problems caused by off-road vehicles in some parts of the National Park System and has refused to take any action elsewhere," said Carl Schneebeck, public lands campaign director for Bluewater Network and a former Park Service ranger.

Park managers reported that off-road vehicle use is harming archaeological sites at the Grand Canyon; tearing up hiking/horseback trails at Olympic National Park; crushing animal burrows in Arches and Canyonlands national parks; and facilitating fossil poaching at Badlands
National Park, as well as affecting the experiences of other visitors. Park managers at the Appalachian Trail reported that damage from off-road vehicles is the trail's "most pernicious" problem.

"Because of the damage off-road vehicles can cause to the natural wonders of the parks, the law expressly requires the agency to regulate the use of off-road vehicles," said Robert Rosenbaum of Washington, D.C., law firm Arnold & Porter LLP, counsel for the plaintiffs.

In the Park Service's survey, many park managers reported having insufficient staff to monitor the impact of off-road vehicles on the parks and enforce park regulations.

"Due to lack of funding, many parks are struggling to enforce the rules on the books to protect the treasures in our parks and the safety and experiences of visitors," said NPCA President Tom Kiernan. "In the meantime, the parks protecting our national heritage are being spoiled."

Exacerbating this problem, the Department of Interior has proposed a draft revision of the parks' management policies. The draft weakens protections for parks and could lead to increased use of off-road vehicles. The public can comment on the proposed changes to the Park Service's management policies over the next few months.

"National parks were created 100 years ago as preserves for our national heritage-not as playgrounds for off-road vehicles," said Wildlands CPR Executive Director Bethanie Walder. "The existing policies to protect our parks must be upheld and enforced."

Joe Feliccia

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