WARNING OF POSSIBLE NPS EXPANSION IN MOAB AREA

[guest]

<center><font size="1" color="#ff0000">LAST EDITED ON Oct-20-99 AT 04:54&nbsp;PM (EST)</font></center>

This is to warn everyone that it appears that the National Park Service is on the move to greatly expand their territory to tie Arches and Canyonlands National Parks together by converting BLM land to National Park land. Spike and I recently spent a great deal of time, money and shoe leather finding and jumping several new sites in remote BLM managed areas and we have identified MANY MORE NEW SITES to be jumped. This latest land grab will close roads and prevent any of these sites from being accessed even if you are willing to break the law to do them. You simply will not be able to get to most of them because they are 20 to 50 miles in the middle of nowhere and the NPS will close all roads. This has got to stop ! Now they are taking away sites that are legal; sites that we can now jump and camp near for free. What the Hell is going on in this country ? This not only effects us, but lots of other people in lots of other sports. Brothers and Sisters, we have got to get together and do something or we are all going to end up in prison eventually if we continue to pursue our sport.

Earl

[guest]

What if we start talking to the rock climbing community, mountain biking community and other kids on other boards about the land issues and try to gain some support from them? They may not have the same gumption for access to 'jump' or use the real-estate in the same manner, but if their land were to start dissappearing they'd probably freak just as much as we would.

[guest]

Yes !

That is what I am trying to help everyone to see. We need to put aside our differences and get together on this. I have a few e-mails saying things like " I have made a contribution to this cause or this cause, but what else can I do ?" Man, I don't know exactly, but we need to be TOGETHER on this, no matter what. Please excuse me because my heart is in the right place and I really love BASE jumping so I am instinctively feeling a strong need to pull together and do something, but I don't know what would have the most effect. I am being RAT F U C K E D by the system at the present time because of Base jumping and my gut feeling is to fight, but I don't know which direction to strike and be most effective. We've got young BASE jumpers who think it's OK to leave their friend to take the rap for them and spend $25,000 out of his own pocket defending himself while keeping them out of the trouble. We've got new BASE jumpers who jump in Buckhead at 9 pm on Friday night against advice, get busted and shut down a great crane. We've got new people who jump Stone Mountain's gondola with someone else's iron clad plan and carry their gear across the parking lot in front of the rangers because they know better, and get everyone busted in the process. We have a group of people who do not really care about "THE SPORT" who just want to get on T.V. HELLO ! ! ! PEOPLE WE NEED TO START USING OUR BRAINS ! ! ! We need to get together and save our sport before it becomes lost forever and we are only outlaws to be hunted down and destroyed. I am one who has traditionally been against organization. I didn't even want a BASE number. I didn't want to help you. Ask Jean Boenish who the "wild child" was years ago. I have realized for a long time that it would be extremely difficult for a group like us to agree on anything. However, the time has come when we as a group are under attack and we must stand together and garner allies or perish. Let's find a way.

Earl

[guest]

It's weird. After a jump, I want to call every damn person I know - shout to the world how good the jump was, where it was and how high (or low) and go nuts and crazy on everybody about how FUC*ING cool this sport is so they can feed off some of my energy and have some warm fuzzies of there own. I'm trying to be a stand up kind of guy in this sport so that people won't just think I'm a crazy freak with a death wish. But I can't say anything cool about this sport to people, I can't offer the good vibe feed off to others because I'm scared of the person who, even though sees how safe it can be, how fantastic and beautiful both in body and soul, they just couldn't see themselves doing it, so they have to bum out on me for my jumping. It's that one sunnuvawitch that scares me more than the cops, feds and big brother. i'm rambling because i'm pissed about Frank, Dennis (who builds a sweet rig BTW) and some of the others on this sight who are or were incarcerated, fined or chased. okbye... more when i can concentrate.

[guest]

Hey Man,

Tell the WUFFOs how you feel anyway. Eventually, everyone will understand this just like they finally understood rock & roll music and racial discrimination and women's rights and well, you know. So let it all hang out. The one person I thought I could never get to understand was my Mom, and she has been sitting right there in that Georgia courtroom with me for quite a while now. She has watched our criminal justice system fail in every way. She has seen her son convicted of Felony he did not commit. She even got in the Sheriff's face and asked him this," Do you like to fish ? Do you like Baseball ?" He said "yes maam". "Well", she said, "my son likes to BASE jump. It's his thing just like fishing and baseball are yours". She then asked him,"have you ever hunted Doves on a baited field ?" "Now don't you lie to me". And the Sheriff said "yes maam I have". And my Mom said,"well don't you think that's a hell of a lot worse of a crime than jumping of a tower with a parachute". The Sheriff hung his head and said "yes maam". This goes to show that even a simple old woman raised on a South Georgia farm can eventually understand enough about how we feel to stand up for us. So never give up, my friend, because if my Mom gets it anyone can and will if we are persistent and BASE jump with dignity and class. I am a BASE jumper and I am proud of it ! You be proud of it too brother.

Earl

[guest]

Whoa, Earl! 20 to 50 miles?! It sounds like you may need to check out a map of the proposed boundary change. It is true, however, that many good BASE sites, including those in the Labyrinth Canyon, Lockhart Basin and Indian Creek areas would be absorbed by the proposed addition.

Of course, all the sites would be illegal so the access issue is somewhat moot. But, if you were willing to break the law, you wouldn't have to walk more than a couple miles from the nearest road or jeep trail.

By the way, I'm against the NPS adding any more acreage to Canyonlands National Park for a variety of reasons, one being the loss of currently legal BASE sites. But I think it's important for the facts, not gross exaggerations (like "50 miles" and the closing of "all roads"), to be presented. Especially to the readers of this board who may not be as familiar with the Moab area as you and I.

Matt Moore
Moab, Utah

[guest]

Well I guess I have been challenged on a matter of distance by one who does not agree and has accused me here of "gross exaggeration". Here is my rebuttal. If anyone cares to look at the 1:75,000 Moab West topographic map and go to latitude 38 degrees-7 minutes by longitude 110 degrees-2 minutes, you will see Bowknot Bend. On the Northwest side of the bend there is a site that Spike and I recently jumped which requires traveling approximately 20 miles to get to the exit point and if extracted by a really badass 4WD from the bottom requires starting on a different road and traveling approximately 30 miles to get out. There is an option of walking 8.5 miles and then climbing out of Hey Joe Canyon which is hard to route-find in (the Green River Basin is infested with some of the meanest Mosquitoes this side of Louisiana) and is a poor plan in case of injury considering the tiny, rock-covered road between trees and talus. Let's see, 30 20 = 50. I am, as always, referring to round trip distances. After all, that is how far one would have to walk if the roads were closed. Now you are probably going to say, but they'll never close Spring Canyon Point Road and Spring Canyon Bottom Road. Believe me, these are in their limited access, total closure and access by permit under guide supervision plan. There are no less than 10 other sites that I have identified and several that Spike and I jumped recently that would also be very difficult to access without traveling between 15 and 35 miles round trip overland in the face of road closures proposed by NPS. I will share the GPS locations for all the sites that I know of when our new video is done next year. Matt, I do not waste my time posting this information to banter with people like you who consider themselves to be the self-appointed detail and accuracy police. I do it because I see a huge surge in bold land acquisitions being carried out by the Federal Government and I want to make everyone aware of this trend. If I am to be attacked, I have no incentive to participate in this board. It is becoming the lair of a group of immature, children who do not deserve the hard work the jumpers who have been around a long time have put into the preservation and defense of this sport. I assume from your post that you live there. If so, get on the path and get some more information and make some positive suggestions, man. Don't waste your time attacking me. This is not a competition between brothers. Besides, most people who attack me usually lose the contest because I thrive on adversarial environments. However, this is not the time or the place. I am not your enemy. In fact, I would like to get together with you the next time I am there. People, I have decided after a long wait in observation to get involved and try to help the group. I have been content with my lone, night vigils and my closely held secrets. This bandit style has served me well. Each and every time I get involved with others who are outside of a very small and totally devoted "to the death" circle. I get burned. I wish I could somehow give each and every one of you a taste of the pain that has gone along with our "lessons learned" but hell, we never listened either so forget it. And Matt, e-mail me or call me. Meanwhile . . . . . .

HUM IT ON DOWN ! ! !

Earl

[guest]

do we have any idea on how many Basers there are in this country?

[Nick]

START talking "TIP-TOE" ? As an avid rock climber, and member of The Access Fund, I recognized their logo atop the main page for this board. The Access Fund is a national, non-profit organization dedicated to keeping climbing areas open and to conserving the climbing environment. In addition to this organization, many recreational climbers volunteer and organize local work crews to do trail maintenance and cleanup at their favorite crags. This is all in effort to enhance public relations and keep our resources available to future climbers as well as ourselves. For more info on The Access Fund, see . They also work with The Conservation Fund. Other places you could go visit for more info on climbers; and . I do believe that organizing our efforts is a good idea, as your "E"s and our cliffs are one and the same. Although the idea and the sentiment behind it are well-placed, I'm not sure about the feasibility of starting a new organization. Perhaps we just need to collaborate our efforts instead. Personally, I am hoping to combine our two sports. I plan on enrolling in jump school in the spring and look forward to eventually jumping off of the faces I climb.

[Nick]

Access Fund: www.accessfund.org

Climbing magazine: climbing.com

Rock and Ice (the climbers magazine):
www.rockandice.com

[guest]

Hi Earl,

This isn't an attack, brother; it ain't a competition, my friend; with all due respect, here are the facts:

The boundary of the proposed expansion of Canyonlands National Park DOES NOT include the site you referred to on the NW side of Bowknot Bend. When the idea to expand the park was made public earlier this year, the boundary DID include the canyon BOTTOMS of Tenmile, Hey Joe, Spring, Hell Roaring and Mineral canyons. The boundary stopped at the rim of each canyon. The boundary did not, even in the very beginning, take in any of the mesatop lands above and between the canyons. The Spring Canyon Point and Spring Canyon Bottom roads were NEVER included in the proposal. While it's true that the original (see below) proposal would've made this site illegal, the access roads would still have remained under BLM jurisdiction and are not, under any plan, slated for closure (also see below).

The fate of these two roads lies in the hands of the BLM. The BLM recently released their latest Wilderness Inventory (1998; encompassing 5.8 million acres of land worthy of Wilderness) and both of these roads are to remain open even if the surrounding land gets designated Wilderness. In fact, even the most ambitious wilderness proposal out there, from a non-profit environmental organization called the Utah Wilderness Coalition (1999; encompassing 9.1 million acres), still leaves these roads open except for the last section of the Spring Canyon Bottom Road below the rim. This would entail a 3.5 mile walk up the canyon from the LZ to reach the nearest vehicle. A far cry from 50 miles!

Last month, the NPS revised the boundary for their proposed expansion. They've COMPLETELY excluded the aformentioned canyons. The new boundary follows the western rim of Labyrinth Canyon from the current park boundary up to the mouth of Keg Spring Canyon and takes in lands to the WEST of the rim.

Again, this isn't an attack on you, Earl. I've known of you for a decade now and have got alot of respect for you from your climbing forays. I just want folks to know the facts and you weren't presenting them. You can't have a civilized discussion with anyone, especially with a NPS or BLM official, unless you have your facts straight. It's no secret that you, and to an extent I, do not approve of certain NPS policies. But let's all listen first, do our homework and keep our emotions at bay till we completely understand the facts!

Swing by if you get a chance next time you're in town. I'd love to grab a beer and bullshit with ya.

Matt Moore
Moab, Utah
matt@deserthighlights.com
www.deserthighlights.com

[guest]

My apologies to you, Matt. My original information came from a Xerox sent by a ranger friend in Washington DC which simply showed a large bulging circle from the Northwest corner of Arches to the Northeast corner of Canyonlands and a similar one below the two parks. You have clarified things with much more accurate and detailed information than I was basing my assumptions on regarding the proposed park expansion. I am concerned, however that the agencies will, true to form, follow this initial step with a more all-encompassing plan in the near future after the bad taste is gone from most peoples' mouths. And you are correct in that, like others, I am really pissed-off at government's out-of-control behavior and have a tendency to get very emotional about it. This sometimes gets out of hand but, I assure you, my heart is in the right place. I guess I wasted a lot of time "bowing up" at you and I am sorry. I accept your kind invitation and will follow tradition by buying the beer when I arrive. And now I fully expect to be "sandbagged" on something really scary.

Earl