'Sharing' means everyone gets to play

I'm writing in response to a letter by Edd Blackler (5/7/09), a local public land user impacting the environment of our Flathead National Forest lands both on foot and hoof, who wrote to complain about having to share his trails with others. After reading Edd's "thoughts' on 'sharing", I find myself wondering if Edd's Kindergarten teacher marked the box on his report card – "Does Not Play Well with Others." Like most kindergartners, Edd just doesn't like to share "his" sandbox Let's examine some of Edd's sandboxes, he has quite a few that he won't ever have to share.

Edd and his extremely fit friends can hike to the top of Mount Aeneas, enjoying peace, quiet and solitude within the 15,000-acre Jewel Basin Hiking Sandbox where there will be no motorized activity to erode the quality of his 'shared" nature experience. He might be slightly disturbed by the realization that his horse-mounted brethren were arrested, fined, jailed and forfeited their beloved steeds to ninja-suited Federal Troopers for their criminal trespass on our "protected" public lands, but what the heck, he didn't really want to 'share" with them today anyway. Edd's exclusive sandboxes also include the 239,936-acre Scapegoat Wilderness Sandbox, the 80,000-acre Mission Mountain Wilderness Sandbox, and the 285,771-acre Great Bear Wilderness Sandbox, where Edd can legally share with his equestrian friends, regardless of the amount of trail damage caused by hooves or the spread of non-native weeds. Nevertheless, the Feds would be required by law to arrest, fine and jail Edd's little buddies who chose to ride their bicycles for the crime against nature of operating a mechanized conveyance within the boundaries of such "protected" areas.

When he is in a rare 'sharing" mood, Edd's favorite and largest nearby sandbox, the desolate and empty 1,500,000-acre Bob Marshall Wilderness Sandbox is available for Edd's ideal "trail experience…a walk or horse back ride along a single treaded trail…" When Edd is feeling really social, he can share a hike with friends from all over the world in another of his private sandboxes, 1,013,594 acre Glacier National Park, a supremely quiet and peaceful place (except for the noise from helicopter tours).

Edd can seek his perfect trail "experience" of peace and tranquility in literally millions of nearby pristine Wilderness acres the Feds have reserved just for Edd, but he can't share a single mile of multiple-use trail. I am personally grateful Edd has so very many personal playgrounds where he has an outlet for his selfishness. When my friends and I are enjoying the quiet moments, listening to the sounds of birds, watching the griz and mountain lions frolic with bunnies among the flowered high alpine meadows atop the most distant reaches of the multiple–use Swan Range, we love to share these wonderful "experiences' with those fortunate hardy hikers enjoying the freedom of a multi-day hike and with experienced backcountry horsemen, the only other travelers that can get to these places without motorized conveyance. The fact that we arrived at such a special place by riding motorcycles has little bearing on our 'shared" experience.

Perfectly aware of which trails are still legal for motorized travel, our kindergartner friend Edd chooses to pick fights like a playground bully, in one of the very few sandboxes still 'shared" within our multiple-use National Forest, the Estes Lake trail. I freely admit that this trail is overused, but let's examine for a moment why. This trail that Edd simply can't 'share" is one of the few remaining trails legal for ATV travel in our Flathead National Forest. Almost all the other mileage claimed as legal to OHV use are either motorcycle-only trails or improved dirt roads you could just as easily drive on with a Buick. I don't even own an ATV, but Edd's letter, coming on the heels of the recent criminalization of motorized travel on an additional 20 miles of trails in the southern Swan Range, just doesn't sit well. Edd carefully includes the classic anti-access zealot line that he believes there are places where folks should be able to enjoy their OHVs. He just as predictably fails to identify any.

It is just another salvo in the never ending quest of the anti-access movement to manipulate public perception of motorized recreation through contrived press. Lawsuits, and the threat of lawsuits, are what govern our public lands today. An agenda of endless lawsuits against the American taxpayer has cost us all millions of dollars in Forest Service legal expense, along with lost timber industry income, increased risk of catastrophic forest fires, and most importantly, loss of our traditional freedom to access our own public lands. The agenda is simple – motorized closure of all public lands. Local readers are fortunate to live in a place where we are free, for now, to personally observe reality in the back country. Unlike the well-intentioned urbanites that are easy targets of clever misinformation, we can see with our own eyes the vastness of areas already closed to motorized travel.

I have enjoyed many quiet back country experiences with my family and friends. When we stop for a particularly beautiful view, we savor the quiet and solitude that only the back country can bring. Choosing to reach these spectacular spots by hiking, biking or by legally riding motorcycles or snowmobiles within legally designated boundaries enhances the shared experience for us. We have never had a problem sharing these experiences with other trail users. Edd seems to believe there is a Constitutional right to be free from any and all minor annoyance in one's life caused by the existence of others who do not think and act exactly as he does. In America it's supposed to be just the opposite – we are expected to be tolerant of the legal activities of others, even if we personally find such activities momentarily annoying. Hopefully, those of us who enjoy hiking, biking, cross country skiing, as well as motorcycling, ATVs and snowmobiling can continue to 'share" the few remaining multiple-use public trails. And Edd, if you get tired of playing in your private sandboxes, you're invited to 'share" the multiple-use trails too!

Doug Deaton is a Bigfork resident.