A friend of mine said to me the other day, "Have you seen the movie Happy Feet? No. Don't. Its got a lot of environmental stuff in it."
My response I could tell was a bit shocking to her, "You would be surprised at how I view the environment."
Just because my political beliefs point firmly to the right doesn't mean I, or other concerned and informed conservatives, don't have opinions that when viewed from the right seem out of phase with the GOP. It seems far to often that when you are pigeon holed as being republican or democrat, that all your opinions are in agreement with either Rush Limbaugh or Rosie O'Donnell. My thoughts on the environment are not based on my belief in business or from what I hear from talk radio. Nor is it based on 'An Inconvenient Truth' and Greenpeace or lately Outside Magazine.
My thoughts on the environment come from a life lived outdoors; fishing, hunting, hiking, camping, 4x4ing, trail running and traveling. I worked as a National Park Service Ranger. It comes from a father who I have no clue if he's a democrat or republican but retired as a Colonel in the National Guard and worked as both a Fish and Wildlife agent and a EPA criminal investigator. I have cut down a few trees and planted a few more than I have cut down.
In regards to open spaces, our wilderness is a precious commodity and the word that comes to my mind is stewardship. The environmentalist mentality cloaked in socialism and bolstered by most liberals in congress is a Leave It All Alone mentality. They would prefer to fence it all off, fine anyone inside it and let it do its thing.
I will certainly not stop any movement to conserve our open lands but I have a serious problem with not doing anything in it. It is not enough to protect these lands from elements who would do harm to it, but it must be protected from itself.
Think of city park. In the proto-typical environmentalist mentality the park will be fenced off and only walkers will be allowed inside. There are no garbage cans because users must follow a personal code of Leave No Trace Behind. In time the park will be in disrepair because there is no maintenance crew to trim the trees, pick up trash or maintain pathways. In time no one will go to the park because it is ugly or forgotten. Someone starts a fire and because of overgrowth the park burns unmolested and threatens a nearby apartment complex.
In the context of federally protected land areas, these parks need to be cleared of low lying brush so forest fires will not have the capacity to reach hundreds of thousands of acres and threaten homes and families. Back burning is necessary to create fire breaks and protect communities. Fire roads need to be created, not only for access to remote areas but act as a 'rally point' for hikers.
A rally point, or similar term such as handrail or protective line, is used to describe the direction of travel if lost. When your hiking in the backcountry it is good to have an agreed upon place to meet if someone from the group is lost. As not everyone carries a map but everyone should have a compass, cardinal directions are best. Based on where you are at on your trip, having a pre-determined grid coordinate to meet at is unrealistic whereas knowing anyone considered lost will travel east to a logging road or a lake is realistic.
The crux is this, as a green conservative, it is incumbent upon me to ensure our lands are protected for not only our future enjoyment but our future industries. It is one thing to protect our lands but another to realize it can improve the lives of those living around it or that a portion of those lands can limit our dependency on foreign imports. Business is not always bad for wilderness. Hunting is not bad for wilderness. Forestry projects are not bad for wilderness. Leaving wilderness to itself can be bad for for our economy in terms of forest fires, increased federal spending on fighting those fires; lost homes and lives, increased insurance payouts based on those loses; not to mention decreased ability to discover and sustain natural resources that can benefit our countries well being.
My response I could tell was a bit shocking to her, "You would be surprised at how I view the environment."
Just because my political beliefs point firmly to the right doesn't mean I, or other concerned and informed conservatives, don't have opinions that when viewed from the right seem out of phase with the GOP. It seems far to often that when you are pigeon holed as being republican or democrat, that all your opinions are in agreement with either Rush Limbaugh or Rosie O'Donnell. My thoughts on the environment are not based on my belief in business or from what I hear from talk radio. Nor is it based on 'An Inconvenient Truth' and Greenpeace or lately Outside Magazine.
My thoughts on the environment come from a life lived outdoors; fishing, hunting, hiking, camping, 4x4ing, trail running and traveling. I worked as a National Park Service Ranger. It comes from a father who I have no clue if he's a democrat or republican but retired as a Colonel in the National Guard and worked as both a Fish and Wildlife agent and a EPA criminal investigator. I have cut down a few trees and planted a few more than I have cut down.
In regards to open spaces, our wilderness is a precious commodity and the word that comes to my mind is stewardship. The environmentalist mentality cloaked in socialism and bolstered by most liberals in congress is a Leave It All Alone mentality. They would prefer to fence it all off, fine anyone inside it and let it do its thing.
I will certainly not stop any movement to conserve our open lands but I have a serious problem with not doing anything in it. It is not enough to protect these lands from elements who would do harm to it, but it must be protected from itself.
Think of city park. In the proto-typical environmentalist mentality the park will be fenced off and only walkers will be allowed inside. There are no garbage cans because users must follow a personal code of Leave No Trace Behind. In time the park will be in disrepair because there is no maintenance crew to trim the trees, pick up trash or maintain pathways. In time no one will go to the park because it is ugly or forgotten. Someone starts a fire and because of overgrowth the park burns unmolested and threatens a nearby apartment complex.
In the context of federally protected land areas, these parks need to be cleared of low lying brush so forest fires will not have the capacity to reach hundreds of thousands of acres and threaten homes and families. Back burning is necessary to create fire breaks and protect communities. Fire roads need to be created, not only for access to remote areas but act as a 'rally point' for hikers.
A rally point, or similar term such as handrail or protective line, is used to describe the direction of travel if lost. When your hiking in the backcountry it is good to have an agreed upon place to meet if someone from the group is lost. As not everyone carries a map but everyone should have a compass, cardinal directions are best. Based on where you are at on your trip, having a pre-determined grid coordinate to meet at is unrealistic whereas knowing anyone considered lost will travel east to a logging road or a lake is realistic.
The crux is this, as a green conservative, it is incumbent upon me to ensure our lands are protected for not only our future enjoyment but our future industries. It is one thing to protect our lands but another to realize it can improve the lives of those living around it or that a portion of those lands can limit our dependency on foreign imports. Business is not always bad for wilderness. Hunting is not bad for wilderness. Forestry projects are not bad for wilderness. Leaving wilderness to itself can be bad for for our economy in terms of forest fires, increased federal spending on fighting those fires; lost homes and lives, increased insurance payouts based on those loses; not to mention decreased ability to discover and sustain natural resources that can benefit our countries well being.
