KEY WITNESS AT OFF-ROAD CONGRESSIONAL HEARING PULLED

[nosmokes]

Gee whiz, he or his superiors couldn't possibly have been pressured into his not showing up because of the ATV lobby. I mean American business just doesn't operate in that sort of underhanded manner, right?
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original-peer

For Immediate Release: March 13, 2008
Contact: Carol Goldberg [phone]

KEY WITNESS AT OFF-ROAD CONGRESSIONAL HEARING PULLED

— Deputy Sheriff Testimony Blocked as Anxiety Rises in Off-Roading Groups

Washington, DC — In a surprise last-minute move, a key witness will not deliver his testimony at the first congressional hearing on the threats to public safety posed by burgeoning off-road vehicle (ORV) damage to public lands. A deputy sheriff from New Mexico was slated to tell Congress about extensive damage caused by a growing “outlaw” element, according to testimony released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).

Deputy Sheriff Alan Franzoy of Doña Ana County was not allowed to board a plane to attend today’s hearing before the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands, chaired by Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ). His office offered no explanation for his abrupt withdrawal but off-road lobby groups have mounted a vigorous effort aimed at the first ever congressional oversight hearing on the topic, entitled “The Impacts of Unmanaged Off-Road Vehicles on Federal Land.”

In his un-delivered testimony, Deputy Franzoy, who is himself an ORV rider and instructor and chairs New Mexico’s Off-Highway Vehicle Safety Board, would have sounded this alarm:

“I’ve seen first hand that an outlaw contingent of ORV riders are destroying our land and endangering private property, livestock, wildlife, and other public land users.”

Doña Ana County covers an area nearly twice the size of Rhode Island and sits less than 50 miles from the Mexican border. In his testimony, Deputy Franzoy cited the use of ORVs “by illegal alien and drug smugglers to circumvent Border Patrol checkpoints…” His testimony details other dangers, including –

* “There is absolutely no protection of the remnants of our prehistoric settlers of the Rio Grande Valley” from the ravages of irresponsible off-roading;
* Huge assemblages of off-roaders in unofficial “party areas” which fuel “a variety of criminal activity beginning with underage drinking and drug abuse all the way to violent rapes and murders”; and
* Extensive damage to landscapes. “The scars of misuse will be visible until the end of time.”

“There is no real mystery why this voice was stilled,” commented PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch, pointing to a history of intimidation and threats from the off-road community that has caused some agencies to cancel public hearings on ORV issues. “No citizen should ever be afraid to testify before the United States Congress.”

In one off-road lobby alert, the fact that “a sheriff from New Mexico” would testify was known even before the witness list was published. The Blue Ribbon Coalition message urges off-roaders to directly reach out because while their lobbyists “talk to the media often, it's just that most of them are biased against OHV users and rarely print what we say.”

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complete release including links to related sources here

[BearSquirrel2]

1. Blue Ribbon Commission is a fraud ...

The Blue Ribbon Commission came by my Mountain Biking board and planted a few shills. They started trying to get people to donate to Blue Ribbon claiming they represented the interests of mountain bikers, pedestrians and equestrians. We had a long discussion. Eventually the shill went away, but not before spouting all kinds or right wing bullshit.

These SOBs have no regard for the land they motor on. They gave little or no thought to where they would ride their multi-thousand dollar vehicles once they bought them. I personally believe that these things belong solely on PRIVATE LAND where THEY should personally pay for the impact of repairing the scars they do to the landscape. MTBers are sick of being compared to them as our human powered vehicles don't have remotely the impact they do. In most cases, they have the same or less impact as pedestrians.

Here is just saying that MTBers are by and large AGAINST inclusion of motorized vehicles in public lands. Just remember that when some of you here try to keep out bicycles.