Christine’s Trail

Movie night is this Sat 8-9 at Winchester Drive Inn

Journey to the Center of the Earth
PG
8:45pm

Dark Knight
Keith Ledger
PG 13
10:35pm

Hancock
Will Smith
PG 13
1:15am

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Movie night 7/12/2008. Movies & times are:

The Indredible Hulk
PG 13
9:10 pm

Hancock
Will Smith
PG 13
11:20 pm

You Don’t Mess with the Zohan
Adam Sandlier
PG 13
1:05 am

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The Trailchasers’ July meeting is Tues 7-15. Movie night is this Sat. 7-12. I’ll send out movie info on Fri.
See you soon,
Christine

UNITED FOUR WHEEL DRIVE ASSOCIATIONS

www.ufwda.org

info@ufwda.org

1-800-448-3932

ACTION ALERT

July 3, 2008

Action Alert

Contact your US Senator or Representative NOW and ask them to co-sponsor and vote in support of HR 6233 and s 3113.

Background

On June 11, 2008, members of the North Carolina US congressional delegation introduced HR 6233 & s 3113 to return management of Cape Hatteras National Seashore Recreational Area back to the National Park Service by setting aside the recently enacted consent decree that has virtually eliminated pedestrian and off-highway vehicle access at Cape Hatteras National Seashore Recreational Area. The bill will reinstate the Interim Management Plan for Species Management adopted through the NEPA process and public involvement by the National Park Service and the US Fish and Wildlife Service and set aside the consent decree. The consent decree was a result of law suit settlement with Defenders of Wildlife and The National Audubon Society represented by Southern Environmental Law Center.

What to do

We need all of you, in every state across the country, to contact your US Senators and Representatives asking them to co-sponsor and support HR 6233 and s. 3113.

How to be the most effective

1. Visit – visiting your elected officials is the most persuasive method of convincing them to support HR 6233 and s. 3113
2. Fax - faxed letters indicating who you are, where you live, why you care, and why they should care are more persuasive than other methods of sending a letter.
3. Call – a personal call is very effective and more effective than e-mailing
4. E-mail – e-mailing a letter is less effective than visiting, faxing or e-mailing a letter, but will work if that is the method that enables you to do your part.
5. Mail – using the U.S. Postal Service takes up to 30 days for delivery so it is the least effective choice in contacting your elected officials.

How to find your US Senator or Representative

To find your US Representative(s) click here : https://forms.house.gov/wyr/welcome.shtml

To find your US Senators click here : http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Talking points

These talking points are derived in part from information at the Free Island Press, July 1, 2008, “The Case For Passing Legislation That Returns Management of the Seashore to the Park Service”. www.freeislandpress.org. And from information on the University of North Carolina website, www.learnnc.org

• Ask them specifically to co-sponsor the bills
• Ask them specifically to support passage of the bills
• Cape Hatteras National Seashore Recreational Area was established first and foremost as a national seashore recreational area under its enabling legislation
• The 2007 nesting season, prior to implementation of either the Interim Management Plan or the consent decree, was the most successful piping plover breeding season in over 20 years
• Under the consent decree, a single plover chick is given enough beach area to cover the decks of three U.S. Navy super aircraft carriers, the largest warships on earth
• In most American communities, a convicted child molester can live closer to a public school than a fisherman and his family can get to a plover
• The Atlantic piping plover population is fast approaching 2,000 nesting pairs — a figure that makes them eligible for de-listing as threatened
• American oystercatcher numbers were better last year under the interim strategy than they are this year under the consent decree, proving the consent decree doesn’t work
• The Outer Banks of North Carolina attract 5 million tourists each year to the area’s many beaches
• The park is largely inaccessible under the consent decree during the spring, summer, and fall, when the majority of Americans who visit the park take their vacations
• In 2003, tourists spent $600 million dollars in the Outer Banks. The consent decree is causing a tremendous loss of this tourism revenue resulting in an extremely damaging economic impact state-wide in North Carolina
• Before implementation of the consent decree Judge Boyle declared his intention to provide the environmental groups exactly what they sought without hearing any evidence from either point of view and precluded the intervening parties, Dare and Hyde counties and the Cape Hatteras Access Preservation Alliance, from entering any evidence at all in open court. This occurred within the first few minutes of a February, 2008 scheduling conference in Judge Boyle’s court.

The rally is tomorrow afternoon (Weds May 7th) from 1600-2100 EDT (4p-9p)

http://www.pirate4×4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=676594

VIRTUAL ONLINE RALLY FOR UPPER TELLICO OHV AREA
Pirate4×4.com builds on a successful rally format to protest more route closures

After
an extremely successful virtual rally for Johnson Valley and the world
renowned Hammers rock crawling trails in California, Pirate4×4.com
members are shifting their focus to the east coast and are once again
gathering for a massive virtual rally to save the Upper Tellico OHV
Park in North Carolina. On Wednesday May7th, 2008, Pirate4×4.com, a
leading website for the OHV community, will hold this rally from 4 to 9
pm eastern standard time.

In 2007, the Southern Environmental
Law Center, in coalition with Trout Unlimited and P.E.E.R. (Public
Employees for Environmental Responsibility) filed a notice of intent to
sue the Untied Stated Forest Service, claiming it was in violation of
the federal water pollution act. This coalition stated that the Upper
Tellico OHV area was dumping sediment into nearby streams and
destroying the habitat of local brook trout. In turn, the USFS closed a
major portion of the Tellico trail system.

There are many
arguments against closing this popular OHV area, and many organizations
involved in keeping it open. Carla Boucher, the attorney for the United
Four Wheel Drive Association states, “United Four Wheel Drive
Association (UFWDA), along with its partners Blue Ribbon Coalition and
Southern Four Wheel Drive Association, are committed to taking all
steps necessary to save our access at Tellico, including legislative,
administrative, and legal action!” This rally will bolster the efforts
made by these organizations in this battle by showing a large
contingent of OHV users who back and support these organizations in
their efforts.

Virtual rally participants will be asked to post
their experiences, photos and history recreating with their families in
the Tellico area along with their feelings and beliefs as to why the
trail system should not be closed. Their comments will be posted and
tracked in a bulletin board format, with a goal of creating a lasting
record of how important this area is to a vast number of people in the
OHV community. Tellico is one of the very few public areas on the east
coast for OHV recreation. Interested parties are encouraged to
participate in the rally and read the thread.

On March 12th
2008, Pirate4×4.com hosted a similar virtual rally for the world
renowned OHV trail system in Johnson Valley, CA. That rally had nearly
1,500 posts from OHV enthusiasts all across the world in a four hour
time span. Saved in time in order to create a lasting homage to the
rally, to date the Hammers rally has been viewed by over 48,000 people.

# # #
If you would like more information on this topic, or to schedule an interview with Nick McCracken, please e-mail him at orangecherokee@yahoo.com. For Kurt Schneider, Pirate4×4.com land-use Editor, Please e-mail Kurt at kurtuleas@pirate4×4.com

# # #

Basic Rally Instructions:

1. Please post up your concerns on the Upper Tellico OHV area being closed. You MAY make multiple posts!

2. Tell people how you have enjoyed Tellico in the past! (Tell us stories!)

3.
If you have never been to the Upper Tellico OHV area, voice your
concern about this closure and tell people how you or your club
recreates responsibly in your own area! If you have always wanted to go
to Tellico, let us know!

4. Show them what this area means to the entire OHV community!

5. Post pictures! Trail rides, camping with your family, etc.

6. Have fun, but please remember to be professional. Many eyes will be on this thread!

7. MAKE SURE you see what number post your FIRST post in the thread is!

Please put that number somewhere in your sig-line so we know who has posted!

http://www.pirate4×4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=676594

United Four Wheel Drive and Blue Ribbon have teamed up to fight the closing of Telco.

Read more here  –> http://www.sharetrails.org/releases/media/?story=573

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Once again it’s time to plan for the our annual Fun Run, it’s time to volunteer for the Fun Run Committee. Also, it’s time to update our Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and we need committee members. This is an excellent opportunity to have your voice heard.

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The April car show that was to be at Bass Pro has been canceled. Bass Pro has a new promotions person and the phone tag has gotten out of hand and the time to short.

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FWD-FWD has posted the SWFWDA Quarterly flyer and packet. (click here)

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