[Rockhounds] PRPA now public law

[Wes Lingerfelt]

Kris, My wife has 3 pins in her ankle and can not walk very far. With the 
new land closures she is very restricted in the places available to go 
rockhounding. This isn't fair at all! However, I've been following the trend 
since the days Senator Alan Cranston made his name famous as a protector of 
the desert. In my mind the colleges and Universities of this country have 
turned out brainwashed bureaucrats that now sit in the congress and the 
federal agencies deciding what we as citizens are allowed to do and the 
places we can go. I hear the term "save for the next generation" and wonder 
just how the next generation will have any better access than we do.
I have an extensive collection of rocks obtained by purchasing estates of 
old rockhounds. That is the new playing field for rockhounds as the old ones 
are no longer available.
regards,
Wes
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Kris Rowe" <lapidary.specialties at gmail.com>
To: "Rockhounds at drizzle.com: A mailing list for rock and gem collectors" 
<rockhounds at lists.drizzle.com>
Sent: Wednesday, April 01, 2009 2:49 PM
Subject: Re: [Rockhounds] PRPA now public law


> Wes, as one of the "handicapped" persons who've been shut off from access 
> to
> legislatively appointed "wilderness" areas, I'm personally resentful over
> the apparently arbitrary closing of areas that have been developed off & 
> on
> for over 100 years. I looked at this bill, found myself baffled and
> dismayed, and emailed my Rep & Senators.
> No reply other than the form kiss-off was given, save that the Bill 
> passed.
> I thank those who've been able to pry their way into the halls of power,
> where the true constituency of each representative is measured in campaign
> contributions, for their diligent work.
>
> The question of "why?" make regulations that cannot be practically 
> enforced
> due to budgetary constraints becomes tragically apparent when viewing the
> demonization culture that has overtaken Washington, spanning party
> boundaries and making the denial culture that prevailed before seem
> relatively inviting.
>
> The regulations exist so examples can be cherry picked (remember the saga 
> of
> "Sue?") and displayed to attempt to cow those who've not paid (and paid 
> and
> ...) either enough money or enough lip service to curry Congressional or
> bureaucratic favor.
>
> To be perfectly clear, I do not believe in group demonization. However,
> since the days in the '80s when I was "observed" by state officials with *
> binoculars* from across the street in downtown San Francisco while
> performing my job of smog testing, I learned that certain people are
> automatically suspect and considered guilty before trial or even
> investigation. My personal character was never even considered, I was a *
> mechanic,* and therefore guilty by association with any less than honest
> mechanic. (Email me for the story of how I ended their "observation.")
>
> I am still hoping to someday discover that I have simply not asked the
> proper search words to discover some uniform, non-arbitrary set of
> regulations that will tell me that my status as a commercial collector on
> Public Lands is governed by something other than a local bureaucrats
> personal opinion of what I should be "allowed." If you have access to a 
> web
> page or regulation book that says how I can obtain legal license to 
> collect
> a non-locate able resource without being subject to the bureaucratic "may"
> that has been the rule, as far as I can ascertain, please post it.
>
> Personally, I've tried ( and gave up years ago) to find someone who cares 
> at
> the local Forest Service District level about "allowing" me to look for an
> old garnet mine in Sequoia Park, and all I got was a "huh?" I want to do
> things the legal way, but, what IS the legal way? I don't want to make a
> fortune and pay big taxes, I just want to have my quiet small business 
> that
> allows me to pick up eroding rocks off of the surface or from a stream or
> from an old mine dump in the middle of the forest that no one's seen or
> cared about in 80 years and send them to collectors who'll enjoy them, and
> do it *legally*.
>
> Note: *I want to do this LEGALLY, if possible. Is it?*
>
> I don't want to be an outlaw, or be reduced to begging at the hand of
> someone I pay, or to talk down hardworking public servants, some of whom I
> deeply respect. I simply want to a straight, simple answer.
>
> If an area needs to be closed due to a legitimate reason, please present a
> valid real life example.
>
> Case in point, does anyone actually know an *individual* who has 
> contracted
> asbestosis from exposure in the Clear Creek Management Area? When I see
> "could" in EPA statements, I see someone playing an anti-litigation
> maneuver, which is quite understandable in today's lawyer driven society.
> But why not simply tell me that, instead of pretending to care about my
> health? Why not post a BLM Ranger at the entrance to the Area, with a
> register that limits me to a less than dangerous exposure allowance? (Wow,
> I'd apply for that job!) Why not a "hold harmless" declaration, 
> recognizing
> my Constitutionally expected personal responsibility?
>
> Why make me wonder what they're really up to?
>
> I am serious, dear friends. I want to believe that all of those who choose
> Public Service are noble and outstanding individuals. I know many who are,
> and have known some who weren't. I don't want to be coddled, I simply want
> to have a *bottom line*. If I must seek out private land owners who will
> trust my word & bond, so be it. If I must buy a license and file reports, 
> so
> be it. But please don't tell me that I must spend countless hours (and
> millions of dollars) and kiss countless tushes to be told that no one 
> wants
> to take responsibility for answering my questions.
>
> That answer leads me to the obvious question: "If I'm paying you, why 
> won't
> you give me a *simple answer?*"
>
> Thank you. I hope that you will help, if you can.
>
> Kris Rowe
>
> PS: As far as petrified wood goes, I agree with poundage restrictions. I
> personally restrict my in situ pet wood collecting to private lands, and
> collect alluvial wood only from private gravel pits. It's worth the 
> efforts
> involved.
>
> BTW, some AFMS officials seem to take some exception to these newly passed
> laws. Here's where to find what they say: ALAA and Land Access
> Issues<http://www.amfed.org/sfms/S3213.html>