View Full Version : Willing Seller Looks Good
Just received the following message from Bruce Matthews, Exe. Dir. of the North Country Trail Association. Looks like good news finally. :D
At long last it appears we're going to have willing seller authority. Moments ago the House passed HR 146, the Omnibus Public Lands Bill also known as S. 22. Among many other thing it contains the willing seller language we've needed.
All anticipate quick resolution in joint committee and a Presidential signature.
Great news!!
--B
--
Bruce E. Matthews
Executive Director
North Country Trail Association
229 E. Main St.
Lowell, MI 49331
616-897-5987
but it begs the question from the ignorant among us, what the hell does that do for the hiker trash constituency?
Is it bad that the first thing I thought of after reading the thread title was prostitutes? Just asking.
This Omnibus Bill will add many acres of Wilderness, provide much needed funding for backlogs of management, and provide the needed willing seller authority for the NPS and NFS to buy land for corridor protection of the NCT, CDT, and several other national trails that were denied this authority when they were originally designated.
According the the American Hiking Society, this bill will have more impact on the hiking community than any other single bill that has been proposed for many years.
Here is a link from a previous thread on this subject:
Here is a link to the legislation - take a look at all that is at stake. Scroll down for the Rivers and Trails section.
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=s111-22
but it begs the question from the ignorant among us, what the hell does that do for the hiker trash constituency?
What corridor protection does for the trail basically boils down to this:
Let's say some folks go out and camp in a no-camping corridor, sampling non-authorized substances, and the like.
On a protected trail such as the A.T., the consequences of your behavior (fines, jail time, etc.) rests entirely on those persons.
On an unprotected trail like much of the NCT, not only will the law go after you, but the land manager can close the trail too, to avoid the possibility of such indiscretions in future. Thus ruining not only your day but the hard work of the volunteers that went into creating the trail, and the experiences future hikers won't have.
puddingboy
03-31-2009, 20:00
This is good news, it also includes the Ice Age trail.