Blog Archives for Franklin Seal

By Franklin Seal - November 24, 2008   I wanted to share this impressive overview of the off-road vehicle problem that I stumbled across this morning: Wreckreation: Off Road/All-Terrain Vehicles and Their Impact on the Environment written by Kirsten Anderberg and hosted by Mostly Water. After a very thorough summary of every aspect of the impacts of off-road vehicles, solutions to the problem and obstacles standing in their way, she concludes:

By Franklin Seal - November 20, 2008   There’s been a lot of news this week about the Utah Bureau of Land Management’s recently unveiled oil and gas lease sale that includes parcels directly adjacent to Arches National Park (for update on recent developments see post script below). The National Park Service, local residents, regional environmental groups and even the local city and county governments have raised threats of legal protests or serious concerns.

By Franklin Seal - October 28, 2008    During his October 23 show, Stephen Colbert of the Cobert Report aired this hilarious five-minute take on the gas-price crunch, it's dampening affect on off-road recreation and the resiliency of Hummer-owners' love for their "sport." He introduced the piece by saying, "The Hummer is in danger, but one patriotic group is working to save our chariot of freedom." (05:01)

By Franklin Seal - September 16, 2008      "We discovered that a full 50 percent of ATV riders chose to ignore the signs and go around a closure" -- Mesia Nyman, Forest Service officer  

By Franklin Seal - September 12, 2008   In addition to being at the cutting edge of watershed restoration via road removal, preventing new wildland road construction and stopping off-road vehicle abuse, periodically, the staff and board at Wildlands CPR also get to do other fun things like meeting our  organizational development goals and paying the bills.

By Franklin Seal - August 12, 2008   The Washington Post published an article today that examines the growing violence of off-road vehicle recreationists. The article ­ 'Off-Road Rage' Climbs as Trails Get More Crowded ­ sparked an interesting discussion in the comment thread. One comment in particular caught my attention. A hiker going by the handle “tharmon” wrote, "My solution to this issue has been to confine my hiking trips to places where vehicles of any kind cannot go."

By Franklin Seal - August 12, 2008   The Arizona State Parks Trail User Survey is currently underway. Log on and take the survey. Quiet users can help set priorities for trail management in Arizona, and to help determine how a portion of the Heritage Fund and the OHV Recreation Fund should be spent. You know the off-road vehicle users will be flocking to the survey.

By Franklin Seal - July 24, 2008    The lengths to which off-road vehicle appologists will go in their frustrated attempt to burnish their tattered public image never ceases to amaze. Off-road vehicles and their riders have been tagged as one of the biggest problems besetting our national forests.  The Forest Service was trying to do the off-roaders a favor in having the Ad Council create the cute little public education spot warning ATV riders that their machines can spark forest fires.

By Franklin Seal - July 11, 2008   Jeffery St. Claire, author of Red State Rebels, has a great post today on his blog of the same name. His article, Wasting the Wayne, Ohio’s Only National Forest, covers a report by the regional forest protection organization Heartwood.

By Franklin Seal - July 11, 2008    I stumbeled across the article below in the most recent issue of the Backcountry Hunters and Anglers journal. The entire journal is online in PDF format, but I've reproduced the article here to encourage more folks to read it. The author, Mark Clifford, was born and raised in northern California and completed a Ph.D. in Comparative Pathology at the University of California, Davis. His passions include hunting, fishing and habitat conservation.