Stupid Fawkers. Just don't listen
Dear Congressman Olver,
Yes, I am aware that you are a cosponsor of this bill, which in part is why I took the time to write to you in the first place to voice my concerns. It is quite OBVIOUS that you did not extned the same courtesy and actually read my letter to you, and just replied with a form letter.
I can say without a doubt that you are NOT representing my own, my family's, or my friend's interests based on your reply.
This proposed bill is as misleading as your canned response. It not only blocks oil and gas leases but also blocks motorized recreation from these lands and prevents our citizensform the right to utilize OUR lands.
Specifically, H.R. 1925 would designate more than nine million more acres as federally protected "Wilderness," and directly affect the Moab, San Rafael Swell and Chimney Rock areas (to name a few) in Utah.
These popular OHV areas represent some of the most important remaining OHV recreation areas in Utah, and are some of the most popular with responsible OHV riders. The proposed Wilderness designation would also make the land off limits to ATV riders, mountain bikers and horseback
riders.
Coming on the heels of the recently enacted Omnibus Public Land Management Act, which closed 2 million acres of public lands, this vast Wilderness bill will take away additional recreation opportunities currently enjoyed by local residents and visitors alike. Do you not find it ironic that not a single Representative from Utah is supporting H.R.1925?
Sincerely,
Sean K. Maki
email:
smaki@cbset.org_________________________________________________________
From: Congressman John W. Olver [mailto:cresponder@housemail.house.gov]
Sent: Wednesday, October 14, 2009 5:24 PM
To: Sean Maki
Subject: Message from Congressman John Olver
October 14, 2009
Dear Sean:
Thank you for contacting me with your support of H.R. 1925, America's Red Rock Wilderness Act. You will be pleased to know that I am a cosponsor of this legislation.
As you may know, H.R. 1925 would designate approximately 9 million acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land in Utah as part of the National Wilderness Preservation System and permanently protect against leasing of additional land by the Department of Interior for oil and gas drilling.
On November 4, 2008, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced that they would auction oil and gas leases for 360,000 acres of public land in Utah’s Colorado Plateau, including lands that would be protected under H.R. 1925. Many of the units proposed for leasing were adjacent to National Parks and Monuments and over half of the lands to be leased were being considered by Congress for wilderness designation.
You will be pleased to know that on December 22, 2008, I joined 57 of my colleagues in a letter urging President-Elect Barack Obama’s Interior Transition Team to cancel the inappropriate sale of oil and gas leases. On February 4, 2009, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar withdrew the leases of 77 oil and gas parcels, accounting for 130,000 acres of public land.
On February 5, 2009, I joined 74 of my colleagues in a letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack calling on the administration to defer any future lease sales involving tracts of land under consideration for wilderness designation or other protection by Congress.
Please be assured that I will continue to fight to protect our environment and public lands. Should H.R. 1925 come before the House of Representatives for a vote, it will receive my full support.
Again, thank you for contacting me. Please feel free to contact me in the future with any further questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
John W. Olver
Member of Congress
JWO/sc
Confirmation# 1343403
The integrity of the text of this letter cannot be guaranteed if it was not sent directly from the House of Representatives Email Account, "cresponder." Due to technological constraints, this email address cannot receive replies. If you have questions about the validity of this message, please call my Washington, DC office at 202/225-5335.
