sample letter to a land manager

Sample Letters

Date

Ned Jackson, Park Manager
City of Rocks National Reserve
P.O.Box 169
Almo, ID 83312
RE: City of Rocks Climbing Management Plan

Dear Ned,

I write to state my opposition to the National Park Service's proposed Alternative D outlined in the above plan and to the current climbing moratorium in the Twin Sisters area. I am a user of the park and have enjoyed, and hope to continue to enjoy, climbing there in the future.

First, the Park Service moratorium with respect to climbing in the Twin Sisters area has been imposed before all public comment on the final plan has been gathered. It is alarming that the Park Service would unilaterally close the area before formally adopting any climbing management plan. Such action reflects a Park Service bias against climbers that is both inappropriate and unwarranted.

With respect to the Park Service's proposed Alternative D, it is my understanding that it would permanently prohibit "all recreational use" in the Twin Sisters area because of its "impact" on the "viewshed" along the California Trail. The idea that a select group of historical enthusiasts could close Twin Sisters in order to secure a one-half mile wide corridor along the California Trail in order to preserve a "viewshed" strikes me as both unfair and ridiculous. Presumably, this pristine "viewshed" would also be violated by other persons on the California Trail, whether hikers or climbers. Perhaps in order to preserve the ultimate pristine experience, the proposed plan should allow no more than one person in any one mile section of the California Trail. Only in this manner could the "pristine viewshed" be guaranteed to certain select individuals. Of course, any such plan would be rejected as unduly restrictive-as should proposed Alternative D.

It is my understanding that the Park Service's own statement in this draft plan concludes that "pioneers, cattlemen and Native Americans over the preceding centuries may have climbed one or both of the [Twin Sisters] spires." It would therefore appear that climbing and scrambling on or around the Twin Sisters were as much a part of the cultural history of the area as were other things the pioneers and ranchers did while passing through or settling the area. Indeed, it would be reasonable to assume that pioneers along the trail saw their guides scrambling up the Twin Sisters in order to get a better view of the trail ahead. Accordingly, in order to preserve the historical "viewshed," climbing should be encouraged-not prohibited.

To exclude hikers and climbers from the Twin Sister area would be to exalt the desires of a very select and limited group of history buffs over the broader needs of the general public, including hikers and climbers. I am adamantly opposed to Alternative D's restriction against climbing in the Twin Sisters area.

Yours truly,
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