Correction: American Recreation Coalition -- <font size = "4">The Drunks Bar </font size "4">

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Date Posted: 12:47:20 02/09/04 Mon
Author: NKLS Cody
Subject: Correction: American Recreation Coalition
In reply to: NKLS Cody 's message, "Whew! If it's not Jesus, it's Disney" on 16:12:09 02/05/04 Thu

There are so many of these anti-environment money grubbing groups in North America that it is very easy to get the names mixed up. The one I mentioned above is one of the most powerful and, of course, the biggest offender because it's comprised of most of the organizations known as "the extractive industries" that want to destroy what little there is of the public lands remaining on the continent and export the notions elsewhere in the world.

http://www.wildwilderness.org/docs/wiseuse.htm

The �Wise-Use� and Government Connections of American Recreation Coalition
Ask a few hundred avid outdoor recreationists �Who or what is the American Recreation Coalition (ARC)?� and you may not get even one correct answer. Ask the same question to members of the 107th Congress and you�ll be amazed at how well informed are these men and women.
Why the difference? Are Congressmen so much smarter than outdoorsmen? Or does it have something to do with the fact that, for nearly 20 years, ARC has wined, dined and entertained our elected representatives as ARC infused into these men and women its own values and objectives? Does the fact that you and I now need to purchase �trail passes� and �adventure passes� if we wish to enter our national forests and public lands have anything to do with what has been going on behind closed doors in Washington, DC? You bet it does!

Have you stopped to ask: Why is it that these new fees have been imposed almost exclusively upon low impact recreationists and wilderness users, while motorized recreationists have largely been exempted?

Consider for a moment, the following direct quote taken from the web site of an ARC member.

The 1996 survey {commissioned by the ARC supported Recreation Roundtable} was also designed to help the recreation industry and government officials understand public attitudes towards higher recreation fees, asking how much more recreationists would have been willing to pay on their last visit to a Federal recreation site. Four out of five reported a willingness to pay more while one in five were unwilling. Not surprisingly, those who were extremely satisfied with their most recent experiences at Federal sites were far more likely to pay higher fees.
Recreationists who were least willing to pay higher fees were fisherman, RV�ers, and motorcyclists/snowmobilers. Campground users and off-road bicyclists reported the highest willingness to pay more.

The Recreation Roundtable is comprised of chief executives from more than twenty of America�s leading recreation companies, including Coleman, REI, Walt Disney Attractions, Times Mirror Magazines, L.L. Bean, and KOA.

You already know that ARC is �partnering� with Federal land-management agencies in the implementation of the �recreation fee demonstration program.� Would you be horrified to learn that ARC is also an active participant in, and supporter of, the �wise-use� movement? Would you be repulsed to hear that ARC bestows its sincerest adulation upon our nation�s most anti-environmental and anti-wilderness, Congressmen? Or would you become furious if you learned that these elected officials are currently working with ARC to craft new legislation specifically designed to privatize, commercialize and motorize your public lands? More importantly, would you do anything about it, if everything we just said were true?
Presented in this report is a concise review of the currently available internet documentation which explains ARC�s connections to the �wise-use� movement and gives some idea of the influence ARC carries with particular governmental officials of this nation.

The many questions we have just asked of you can not be satisfactorily answered simply by reading the materials presented in this document. However, we believe a rather clear picture begins to emerge when this material is considered in combination with the three other literature reviews Wild Wilderness has already published.

There remains one final literature review to be written. What does the American Recreation Coalition really want? What is the common agenda shared by ARC, its 100-plus member corporations, the �wise-use� movement and America�s most anti-environmental Congressmen? We�ll give you a hint: Privatize, Commercialize and Motorize.

If you find this material disturbing, don�t despair. If you share our worries about the future of opportunities for the enjoyment of traditional low-impact recreation upon America�s public lands, speak up. We need not passively accept what ARC would otherwise foist upon us.

Wild Wilderness is a tiny organization with neither political connections nor financial resources. We need your help. We need you to become actively involved in this issue and to spread the word far and wide. And most of all, we need you to complain about what�s happening. Complain to legislators, to government officials and to your local newspapers. Speak with larger, more powerful, organizations. Share with them your concerns and ask them for specific suggestions on how you can wage an effective personal campaign. Better still, ask them to join in this effort, and help put a stop to ARC and its friends.

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