Re: [Paddlewise] Commando Camping

Oops.  Accidentally sent this from someone else's email (thought I had
switched the computer account over to mine).  This was from me, Mark Lane.
Sorry.
Mark

> Nick Schade wrote:
>
>
> >I have mixed feelings about the watertrails concept. I am a member of the
> >Maine Island Trail Association, the originator of the idea. I see the
> >service they provide as getting permission to use private islands.
> [snip]
>
> I agree completely with all that Nick said.  I too am a supporting member
of
> MITA, and I think they are doing good work.  They aren't really "selling"
> anything -- the membership fee is a mere $15 or so.  (They depend
primarily
> on voluntary contributions of much larger amounts.)  One of the most
> important things they are doing, IMO, is to promote the idea of voluntary
> member self-management.  I suspect there has been some . . . discussion
> within MITA about more closely regulating island use, or requiring advance
> reservations, permitting, things like that. . . but these ideas have
> apparently been rejected in favor of voluntary self-management.  I like
> that.  People should feel more "connected" to the islands if they feel
some
> responsibility for them.  Instead of creating an "other" in the form of a
> regulatory or management body, to which one must "apply" for "permission"
or
> something like that, MITA is promoting a notion that integrates its
> membership into the process.
>
> I think this parallels a trend within the environmental movement (or some
> sections of it) that would remove the conceptual "barriers" between us and
> our planet that have, in a sense, been created by the movement itself (for
> example, challenging the concept of "wilderness" as distinct from the rest
> of the planet, which distinction in itself may more readily allow
> degradation of the rest of the planet, and thus may be a harmful way of
> thinking. . . ).  (The fascinating magazine Orion seems to be on the
cutting
> edge of this.)  I don't know that much about it at this point, but I do
find
> it interesting, and at any rate I am pleased with MITA's philosophical
> stance and will continue to support the organization.
>
> I don't know anything about any other "water trail" organizations, and so
> can't comment on them.  I did read an interesting article in a recent ACK
> about a water trail project through Maine lakes to New York.  My biggest
> concern about these things is that they will result in heavier usage, and
> naturally I want it all to myself <g>.  . .  .  Of course, heavier usage
> *can* be good, if properly done, as it brings more people closer to the
> earth they live on and thereby *may* help save the place. . . .
>
> Mark


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