Sierra club reference- my mistake

[Horsestwo@aol.com]

Ridecampers;

It was my mistake to use the Sierra Club as an example of an environmental
extremist group.  I was trying to let a ridecamper know that "extremists"
exist in both camps i.e. that a pioneer rancher who tears ribbons down in the
National Forest is a VANDAL just as much as those "wacko environmentalists."
His thinking, according to her, was that if we endurance riders could get lost
we don't deserve to be there.

I foolishly used the term "Sierra Club types" to describe the idiots who would
tear down markers, vandalize trucks with trailers, or any of the despicable
acts committed by ignorant, know-it-all types that think they are preserving
Mother Earth in some holy war.  I am an ENVIRONMENTALIST and an endurance
rider and they are not mutually exclusive.  We do need to realize the impact
that our sport has but that doesn't mean that no competitive event can be held
in the Forest because some group thinks it could be detrimental to the
environment.  I have disliked the Sierra club as a spokesman for me as an
environmentalist since they came out some years ago with that proposal.
Whether competitive events belong in Wilderness areas or in National Parks
might be debatable but it should be based on science not "feelings."  But it
was still wrong to lump them in with the radical environmental groups or
individuals.

I know that most trail riders are very conscious of not littering, cutting
trails, etc., and we need to be aware that some laws or proposals or temporary
trail closures are to protect an area.  But we must remain vigilant to not
allow a bureaucracy to make uninformed decisions about OUR National Forests.

Heidi said it best "The problem is the mindset (whether it is in the
bureaucracy or elsewhere) that somehow one centrally-generated set of rules
should apply to all situations.  What we need is to each have a better
understanding of how nature works so that we can individually decide which
action fits which circumstances."

Sorry I inflamed the Sierra Club members and no offense was intended.  My
apologies also if I misconstrued what was written in the original post.  So
many rides have their trail marking vandalized (and having been lost for more
than an hour it is personal with me) that I jumped to the wrong conclusion.

Melanie in AZ