Time to Write a Letter!!!

[Nat & Richard <trailride@foothill.net>]

Here's what we sent off in today's [snail]mail...

December 31, 1998

Mr. Pete Wilkins, Team Leader
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
Bureau of Land Management
337 South Main St, Suite 010
Cedar City, UT 84720

Dear Mr. Wilkins;

As long time members of the endurance riding community and as two of the 1998
participants in the Outlaw Trail Endurance Ride, we wish to register our deep
concern for the future of that Ride as you consider management alternatives for
the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

The OT Ride is a truly unique experience for all who participate.  We have
ridden and assisted with presenting numerous endurance rides in the past 20
years, including the Tevis Cup 100-Mile One-Day Ride here in Northern
California.  We can testify that the OT Ride is extremely well managed,
conscientious in its care of the trails and protective of the wilderness areas
that the riders cross.

It would appear that, of the several "action alternatives" being proposed, only
the "No Action" alternative is available to allow this Heritage Industry to
survive in it's present form.  Our experience suggests that if this riding event
were forced to be scaled down to fit within the constraints of one of the other
draft alternatives, it would fail financially and would quickly cease to exist.

Had it not been for this well organized event, we would never have considered
entering any of the beautiful areas covered by the 265 mile OT Ride, on
horseback or otherwise.  One does not simply pick up a map from the local ranger
office and plunge into this kind of wilderness unescorted.

Therefore, we ask that the Bureau modify one of the existing alternatives so as
to permit the OT Ride to continue in its present form or else pursue the "No
Action" alternative. 

/s/ Natalie V. Arnold     /s/ Richard J. Goodwin

cc:	Senator Bob Bennett
	Senator Diane Feinstein
	Senator Barbara Boxer
	Congressman Chris Cannon
	Congressman John Doolittle


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