ORV Management In Sensitive Areas Of Wharton
- Thread starter Teegate
- Start date
Another article on "The Map"! It may be just a repeat though.
http://thesandpaper.villagesoup.com/p/state-introduces-off-road-map-in-wharton-state-forest/1385824
http://thesandpaper.villagesoup.com/p/state-introduces-off-road-map-in-wharton-state-forest/1385824
The power of social media is amazing. In 13 hrs Dave's site had 1,000 followers and over 2,700 in three days
Just a comment on the petition, and really the overall message that needs to be discussed - The PPA has been very effective at defining the conversation and driving the narrative, which will always come back in their favor. I think the second to last paragraph of the petition really plays into that. We need to change the conversation to out terms - conservation allows for responsible usage - not locking people out.
Just look at the examples the PPA has used as "illegal ORV damage", the "Remember: Every Puddle is actually an endangered species' Vernal Pool", etc. As long as they are defining the conversation they will use their egregious examples, true or not, and redefine what "damage" is, encompassing more and more as "illegal ORV damage" until the forest is off limits to everyone. The solutions to the damage should be saved for later, when the forest service actually wants input from all key stakeholders, until then we are just playing into someone else's narrative.
Just look at the examples the PPA has used as "illegal ORV damage", the "Remember: Every Puddle is actually an endangered species' Vernal Pool", etc. As long as they are defining the conversation they will use their egregious examples, true or not, and redefine what "damage" is, encompassing more and more as "illegal ORV damage" until the forest is off limits to everyone. The solutions to the damage should be saved for later, when the forest service actually wants input from all key stakeholders, until then we are just playing into someone else's narrative.
That is the key right there. They think they have all of the answers and we don't. The truth is nobody has all of the answers but we have more than them. If they were more incline to listen to those who use the woods the problems will be much easier to solve.
From what I understand the site emails your representatives as soon as you sign. The "___ needed" is just to set a goal. It increases each time it's reached.
I'm not really sure I agree. I think what I proposed is a pretty sane and balanced solution that addresses everybody's interests. I think that showing the recipients of the petition that there's a reasonable solution to the problem goes a long way.
Clearly the PPA is worried as they're now begging people to contact their representatives about this. From an email I received this morning:
"Please let your legislators know that you support this Motorized Access Plan by calling or emailing them today. It is very important that they hear from you and that they support this effort by the NJ DEP to better protect New Jersey's natural resources and encourage all types of recreation in Wharton State Forest."
I think a petition is a good idea…. but MoveOn.org? Isn't there another site that could be used?
This one takes your address and figures out what representatives to mail based on that data.
It was this, change.org, or me cobbling something together by hand.
Regardless of the site, it certainly represents a step forward in terms of ease of use, compared to the method I had written up. And, given the PPA's email this AM, we need to generate as much traffic as possible, because you can bet that some of the PPA faithful will blindly click their petition....
Ok. So really we should stay focused on discussing the Wharton closures in this thread rather than discussing social media and petition sites. Lots of people are visiting this thread from all over trying to find information. It'd be much more helpful if they didn't have to wade through a lot of stuff that is irrelevant to the issue.
Someone can make a new thread in General Discussion to chat about the tangental stuff.
Someone can make a new thread in General Discussion to chat about the tangental stuff.
Any possibility of creating a separate topic for this, as this one can get buried if a different thread starts up under this topic.
Good points. PPA's email was very convincing. They left out a few salient details, but that has been discussed here. Like many others of you, I will not be renewing my membership. What a shame!
Done, welcome aboard!Ed, I just applied. Please approve me?
Here's a video that purports to show Al Horner driving through a rather large puddle:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=9PjO2juMdXo&app=desktop
Do as I say, not as I do?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=9PjO2juMdXo&app=desktop
Do as I say, not as I do?