[RC] Public Land's Neighborhood Watch - Lori & Rick Stewart
Land managers need to beware of the unintended consequences of their
decisions. Responsible users serve a valuable purpose ? Neighborhood Watch.
Large tracts of land cannot be adequately policed by paid personnel. Activity by
responsible users creates a deterrent to illegal use. Case in point is the
Pennsylvania Game Commission?s decision to drastically restrict access to Game
Lands by Mountain Bikers and Horseback riders (for many of the same reasons
given by the BLM). With the decrease in public activity caused by cutting out
two responsible user groups, illegal use is on the rise (according to newspaper articles). There is
more garbage dumping at the parking lots, more ATV activity to the point where
freshly planted grassland habitat areas
have been ruined, and more beer can litter is being left by "hikers". Plus, I
have personally observed Mountain bikers using the Game Lands illegally ?
knowing their chances of getting caught are slim. These are the same people who don?t stay on designated trails when
access is permitted. I.e. The only ones left out there are the bad apples of
every user group. We the responsible users will stay on designated trails, help maintain the trails, and will report
illegal activity on OUR public lands. We take an ownership interest because we
ARE owners. We form the Neighborhood Watch.
