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June 29, 2004
Stupid Hurts - Part 1
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I'm sure you seen or heard the saying before, usually in relationship to an injury from doing something stupid. Well it also applies to the actions of a few riders who frequent Clear Creek and who don't seem to give a damn about the rest of the OHV community. I talking about the guys who cut fences and ride in closed area.
I have observed the handiwork of a very good rider who recently decided to carve up the hills in the Natural Area and the barrens above Staging Area 3. Went out of his way to find gaps in the fences to trespass. Another reader wrote: "I was riding with some of the (name deleted) and was surprised at the self serving reckless attitudes that rationalized fence cutting. I heard one of them say "They're gonna close this place down anyway, so I'm gettin mine right now". WTF are they thinking?" Exactly! A self-fulfilling prophecy if I ever heard one. It is bad enough that we have to fight the radical enviros every step of the way, but to have the hard work of the organizations that have stepped up to the challenge undermined by people like this is a tragedy.
I believe there is a future for OHV use in Clear Creek or else I would not be investing my time. There are going to be more closures, in fact the current management plan calls for half or more of the barrens that are currently open to be closed. If the BLM had done their job over the past five years this would be the case today. Unfortunately, with trespass like the reader observed, the restrictions and closures will be even greater in the future.
It is incumbent on everyone reading this blog to be proactive and try to educate these idiots, if that is possible. If not, turn them in. I will write more on this subject another time and hopefully recruit some of you to help with the education and monitoring efforts this fall when the riding season starts again at the Creek.
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October 9, 2005
Stupid Hurts, Part 2
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For the past several years I have stood at the entrance and admonished riders to stay on existing routes and not to travel cross-country or make new routes. I want to believe that most riders are observing these rules. Unfortunately, there are a few renegades who refuse to conform and have flaunted these rules. There are also new riders coming to Clear creek all the time who don't get the message and think that it is a free for all. Well, it ain't!
I have warned that this type of behavior would lead to problems and now it has. One of the declarations filed by the Center for Biological Diversity contained numerous pictures taken in Clear Creek of cut fences, tracks in creeks, riding behind closed signs and random riding on semi-baren hillsides. Now this behavior by some of our fellow riders is coming back to bite us in the ass.
As I said in Stupid Hurts "It is incumbent on everyone reading this blog to be proactive and try to educate these idiots, if that is possible. If not, turn them in." This will not be popular or easy but it needs to be done before these idiots screw all of us by their behavior. If the judge decides to close Clear Creek because of these declarations and associated pictures, the blame will fall squarely on the heads of these riders.