Bob Denton wrote: > > Do the "rednecks" have any less right to enjoy their pastimes on their > river, then we do? It's a tough question with no easy answer.. > From: Peter van den Hurk [snip] > > We were looking forward to a quiet weekend on the Peace River, away from > > the Homecoming madness in Gainesville. But this was even worse. And it is > > not only my own peace that I am worried about, I am worried about the > > river. I was disgusted by all the trash that is floating around, and I can > > see that the landowners are not happy with the hundreds of people camping > > on the banks each weekend, without any facilities around. Obviously nobody > > cares to dig a pit for his/her droppings, fire circles are everywhere, > > clothslines are left behind, and then there is the trash! Beer cans and > > glass everywhere! Sandy (I believe) has since weighed in with her evaluation of this incident, and she was not offended or put off. OTOH, Peter's description sounds horrific. I think I'd have been in Peter's camp, though I can understand Sandy's "go with the flow" attitude. The part which locks me up, though is this: if paddlers (fat, skinny, red-necked or green-necked -- makes no difference) abuse shorelines in the way Peter alleges, I would not blame landowners and/or public officials if they shut down camping. We have lost camping on the ocean beaches round here for EXACTLY that reason. That is where I also disagree with Bob. If others are so negligent that MY opportunity to use a public resource is eliminated, then it does become a concern of mine. We need to be vigilant about this. In Oregon, there was an attempt a couple years ago to pass a law which would have greatly reduced paddlers' use of streamsides (below high water marks) -- fueled by landowners' concerns over abuses like those on the Peace River. Thanks to a strong effort by paddlers, including paddleshops (Alder Creek comes to mind), the initiative was defeated. Lobbying and political action to keep our paddling access rights are practical realities these days. -- Dave Kruger Astoria, OR *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Mon Nov 08 1999 - 19:02:28 PST
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