Josh,...


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Posted by MoparNorm on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 at 11:43PM :

In Reply to: Re: My turn to rant.......Isnt it Ironic.......... posted by Josh Burke on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 at 7:30PM :

All kidding aside, I don't think the $150 is even an issue here, the issue is the closing of so-called public lands, to mixed uses. That constitutes a 'taking' and is prohibited under the Bill of Rights. So yes, it is a constitutional question which the lawyers can have a field day with, burning up all of our money and time. The County law does not in fact have to be stricter than the federal law. The county road predates the existence of the Forest Service, as does the Federal Staute which protects existing rights of way. What is at question here is an expansion of Federal jurisdiction or interpretation by the Feds that they are above the Federal law because of other issues. If the road was a Federal FS road then they would be correct in their protection of the closure, however it is not a Federal Road and as such they have no juridiction over it. However they can and do have jurisdiction over the Federal lands that contact the road, and I think that will be their position, that the folks who traveled the road, left the County right-of-way and drove over the Federal grass and weeds. At the core of the argument is the random and arbitrary way in which the Federal land use is administered, open for back backers, hikers and mountain bikers, and closed for vehicles and some domestic animals, such as horses and dogs. The supposed use of Forest Service lands, as opposed to Park Service lands, was originally mixed use. I'd like to see some handicaped groups, someday contest the vehicle closures as illegal under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Tree hugger groups are worried about their vunerability to the ADA and often will have weekend treks with disabled folks, just as a mitigating activity, for future reference in potential lawsuits.
Lastly, each Forest District is administered differently, with the District Ranger's policies varying from district to district, depending upon how much ego and how much of a tree hugger the District Ranger is. This is a far cry from the equal protection clause, however it is a small issue in the overall scope of current events and the war, but everyday more and more acerage is closed forever. In CA most forest was first off-limits to off-road travel, then off-limits to trail driving and now hunting is prohibited also. There will be no end until ALL use is restricted. So there is a lot more at stake than $150.
MN



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