Posted by Glenn on April 26, 2001 at 11:59:43:
In Reply to: Channel Islands Marine Reserves posted by Swani on April 25, 2001 at 12:45:12:
Just to give you guys a heads up. A lot of the "eco-nazi" (Sierra Club, ORCA, etc.) agendas to close off areas don't mean simply no taking of game, in many cases they prohibit any vehicles (other than man-powered of course) access to the area. In other words, the area would be restricted from boat travel unless on a sailboat, canoe, kayak, etc. Anything with a motor will be prohibited from accessing the area. Sure would make a lot of the dive spots tough to get into on most dive boats.
In addition to diving I also enjoy off-roading and there have been a lot of pushes by the eco-nazis lately to close off areas as "wilderness lands." Sure the name sounds pretty and conveys images of un-developed land, but this also means no vehicular access. Meaning, no off-roading, no motorcycles, ATVs, etc. which suddenly means 99% of the people will no longer have access to what once were public lands. Currently there is a push to prohibit the use of personal watercraft on Lake Mead because of their supposed "enviornmental imapact" despite the fact that the enviornment is just fine and dandy.
So just be careful what you are expecting to happen by these preservation methods as it's tough to dive a site if boats can't get to it.
Glenn