News and Photos

May 2, 2010

April 26, 2010 Republicans Write Letter Opposing De Facto Wilderness Area Designations By U.S Forest Service WASHINGTON D.C. House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Doc Hastings (WA-04), National Parks, Forests and Public Lands Subcommittee Ranking Member Rob Bishop (UT-01) and 16 additional Republican Members of Congress last week sent a letter to the Chief of the U.S. Forest Service opposing the views expressed in a letter from House Democrats requesting that the Forest Service manage Recommended Wilderness Areas as de facto Wilderness Areas. This would be a gross misinterpretation of the law, circumvent Congressional authority and lock up tens of millions of acres of public land. Citing Wilderness Act statute, the Republicans wrote, The law is crystal clear that the power to designate wilderness rests squarely and solely with the Congress. It is a baseless, twisted reading of the law to suggest that Congress intended to allow an agency to administratively declare an area as recommended for wilderness designation and then to manage that area exactly as if Congress had taken action to make such a designation. The letter goes on to note that, Designating an area as wilderness imposes the most restrictive land use policies that can be taken. As you well know, it places severe limitations on public access to public lands, prohibits motorized and mechanized recreation, severely restricts job-creating and energy producing activities, responsible timber management, and decreases capabilities to respond to fires and emergencies as roads, trails, structures and other facilities are banned.

Feb 15, 2010

ISMA Study Shows 95 Percent of Snowmobile Enthusiasts Consider Snowmobiling A Family Activity Thanks to snowmobiling, winter has become a season to enjoy. Ask any of the three million people who take pleasure every year in the beauty of winter on the 225,000 miles of groomed and marked snowmobile trails throughout North America. "Snowmobiling is one of the easiest motorized recreational life-style activities to learn, making it suitable for individuals of all ages to enjoy an active, outdoor lifestyle in the winter, develop new friendships and extend old ones," said Ed Klim, president of the International Snowmobile Manufacturers Association (ISMA). "Today's snowmobiles are now designed with a variety of comfort and convenience features that make it safe and enjoyable to ride for hours." Klim points out that the reason the life-style activity's popularity has been largely unreported is because the trail system is virtually hidden from public view. Snowmobiling Demographic Profile According to recent research, more than 95 percent of snowmobile enthusiasts consider snowmobiling a family life-style activity. Other important facts the ISMA study found include: * Snowmobilers in North America spend more than $28 billion annually on the activity. * There are 2.4 million registered snowmobiles in North America. * 80 percent of snowmobilers use their snowmobiles for trail riding and touring in marked groomed trails. * 75 percent of snowmobile owners are married and have children living at home with them. * 54 percent of snowmobilers trailer their snowmobiles to go ride. * The average snowmobiler is 43 years old, with an annual household income of $75,000. Family Time Mark Holcomb, his wife Denise and their two sons, Joshua and Jacob, travel every year from their Colorado home to West Yellowstone for their big winter vacation. "We go for a whole week during the World Snowmobile Expo," says Holcomb. We ride together, check out the new snowmobiles and on the weekend the kids race in the snocross." Riding together every season is an investment in the family according to Holcomb. "Snowmobiling is what we do and what makes us happy," he states. "How do you put a price on that?" John Hoff, of Duluth, MN, started riding a snowmobile in 1961 as a way to reach his vacation cabin. Every year, he gets together several times each winter with his six kids and their spouses to ride the trails. Now he is passing on the tradition to his grandkids. "Even in the middle of summer, I talk with the kids and my grandchildren about our snowmobiling trips to the cabin," says Hoff. Common to these families is the bonding experience they've all experienced riding together. Instead of growing apart with age, they have all grown together by sharing a common passion for snowmobiling. Economic Impact Empowerment Through Participation In North America, there are nearly 3,000 snowmobile clubs. Virtually all are involved in trail maintenance, charity fund raising and family activities. For example, during the 2008-2009 season, snowmobilers raised over $3 million for charities. In addition to these individual clubs, there are 25 state associations in the U.S. and 13 provincial and territorial organizations in Canada. "It's important to note that snowmobilers work together to plan, build and maintain their trails. That work is done through area clubs, councils and associations," said Klim. Currently, there are more than 225,000 miles of groomed and marked trails in North America. This amounts to more miles of snowmobile trails than the entire U.S. interstate highway system. Approximately 80 percent of snowmobilers use their sleds for trail riding and touring on marked and groomed trails, with the average snowmobiler putting 1402 miles per year on their sled. Advanced Technology Klim also points at the continuing evolution and design of the snowmobile as a major factor in the life-style activity's growth. "Snowmobile manufacturers have developed cleaner and quieter engine designs, to lower the noise levels as well as emissions," said Klim. "In addition, the continued popularity of longer snowmobiles that make it easy and comfortable for two people to ride shows the impact of the family on the life-style activity. With programs such as ISMA's "Safe Riders - You Make Riding Safe" safety awareness program, continued emphasis is being placed on making the riding experience a safe and enjoyable one. "ISMA encourages all snowmobilers to take advantage of snowmobile safety classes offered through state and provincial associations. These are valuable in helping to familiarize new snowmobilers with proper responsible snowmobiling behavior," said Klim. Popular Activity The popularity of snowmobiling has spread to traditional skiing destinations like Vail, Steamboat and Aspen. These and other resort areas have taken notice and are now offering snowmobile/ski packages. In a recent article, SKI magazine noted that more families are doing more activities than just skiing during their winter vacations. Because of this interest in varied sports, resorts are now offering a greater number of activities to remain competitive and bring in more families. The resorts are discovering that snowmobiling is one of the most popular activities. "Family values and family recreation activity are very important parts of our heritage and snowmobiling provides a family recreation lifestyle that helps join and keep the family together," says Klim.

Feb 15, 2010

A few years ago a number of major universities in the western United States conducted a study to determine the key reasons people recreate and in particular why people go snowmobiling. The answers didn't surprise those of us that snowmobile. The top five reasons people snowmobile are: 1. To view the scenery 2. To be with friends 3. To get away for the usual demands of life vTo do something with my family 4. To be close with nature Intuitively, the snowmobile manufacturers agreed with the university studies, but we wanted to find out a little more about non-snowmobilers and snowmobilers alike. The International Snowmobile Manufacturers Association commissioned a study to help us better understand the snowmobiling market. The study was conducted during the -2006 winter and it concluded non-snowmobiling recreation enthusiasts have a high level of interest in trying out snowmobiling. The research initiative had four objectives: 1. What is the profile of current snowmobile owners? 2. What are the key motivators that drive purchases? 3. What aspects of snowmobiling are valued by snowmobilers? 4. What are some of the key barriers preventing prospects from purchasing a snowmobile? The research data was collected in two large focus groups. One held in New York and the other in Minnesota. There were also internet, telephone, and mailed surveys to residents of the US and Canada. The return rate was exceptionally high and what we discovered in our research work was very interesting. Non-snowmobilers do not view snowmobiling negatively at all. There are a lot of people who don't snowmobile, but really want to try it. Most non-snowmobilers have no idea where the snowmobile trails are. They don't know where the trail heads are, and they don't know very many snowmobilers. They would love to rent a snowmobile and they would welcome being asked to go snowmobiling by a club or snowmobile organization member. On a 10-point scale, non-snowmobilers across North America rated their desire to go snowmobiling as high as an 8 or 9. Non-snowmobilers - like snowmobilers - long for a strong sense of social interaction with friends and family. We know snowmobiling is a social activity and we enjoy being with our family and friends on a beautiful snowy day. Snowmobilers and non-snowmobilers alike look forward to relaxation and stress relief that snowmobiling provides. For a great number of us, snowmobiling provides the chance to feel like a kid again. For many of us, it's a family fun excursion which provides us an opportunity to pull the kids away from the distractions and friends that prevent better day to day connections between ourselves and our family. Non-snowmobilers clearly identify with the social aspect of snowmobiling and quickly fall into the category titled "Here's to Good Friends." This group of individuals (including snowmobilers and non-snowmobilers alike) index very high in RV ownership and are active through the summer in camping clubs and other recreational vehicle related activities. The biggest challenge we have in attracting new snowmobilers is showing them where and how to enjoy our chosen winter activity. They would welcome an invitation to go snowmobiling and be introduced to the Snowmobile Club and Snowmobile Association social network, the great trail system, and the play areas we all enjoy. A majority of the adults living in the snowbelt of North America are potential snowmobilers. Their vacation spending habits are similar to ours and they look forward to trying something new and exciting. Non-snowmobilers don't quite understand the excitement they see in our eyes when the snowstorm warnings are issued - but I believe a few hours on a snowmobile in great wintry conditions would make anybody understand why we cherish those soon to come winter snowstorms.

Jan 28, 2010

"Would you be more likely to take a winter vacation to West Yellowstone, Mont. if no snowmobiles were allowed in the park?" Greater Yellowstone asks this question on its Web site, and is going to file suit against the Park Service for allowing snowmobiles. Answer the poll! Here is the link. http://greateryellowstone.org/issues/wildlife/index.php?category=wildlife

Jan 21, 2010

I'm sure that you have all heard that the Yellowstone Park Service has decided to only allow 318 snowmobiliers per day into the Park in the up coming winter. That is down from over 700 allowed last year. I received a call from the PBS station in Bozeman. They wanted to know what I thought about the decision. It is very hard to condense over 10 years of litigation and politics into a 30 second interview. I was going to write down my thoughts. However I ran into an article written by John T Prusak in the latest issue of SnowGoer's magazine. The article follows: Stop the Misinformation Great news, the Minneapolis TV anchor gleefully reported. In the month of July, Yellowstone National Park set a record when more than 900,000 people visited the park. The park also set an all-time high for June, when more than 644,000 people visited America's first national park. Park officials attribute the boost to relatively low gas prices this summer. Yep, thing are looking up in Yellowstone-attendance records were being broken this past summer as people made their way through one of America's treasures. The hotels and campgrounds in and around the park were packed-it was a great summer, local folks would tell you. Sure enough, there's only one thing that's threatening this great piece of Americana-snowmobiles. Just look at the numbers. Last winter, fewer than 33,000 snowmobiles entered the park over a four-month period (all numbers in this piece are from the National Park Service). Those snowmobiles were required to stay on the trail-a singular ribbon that takes visitors to and from Old Faithful. In fact, snowmobiles are allowed on less than 1 percent of the 2.2 million acres of Yellowstone National park, and only on strictly enforced, guided tours traveling on the best-available-technology snowmobiles. Moreover, combining snowmobiles, automobiles, snow coaches and any other means of travel, Yellowstone had 86,793 visitors from December through March last winter, but from May through October, it'll have more than 2.7 million visitors, and the total for all of 2008 was 3 066,580. So, fewer than 3 percent of annual visitors enter in the four-month winter, and snowmobiles are the problem? During the summer, RV's, trucks, motorcycles, tour buses and passenger cars clog the roadways and fill campgrounds. None of these vehicles cause air pollution? None of these people litter? In fact, we celebrate the great numbers of summer visitors in Yellowstone---press releases are written, newspapers rave about Americans getting back to nature, the talking heads gush. It's as if each of those 900,000 July visitors were magically transported in vehicles that dont require energy, none of the people ate, drank, had any bodily function or encountered any animal. Instead, they somehow hovered above the park, and none saw each other-each person was on their own tiny island of peace and solitude. Yet one-tenth of that number entered the park over a four-month period last winter and just 3.7 percent visited on snowmobiles. Stated anther way, in July the average daily visitors was 29,048. Last winter, an average of 205 snowmobiles per day entered the park. And snowmobiles are the problem? A 'Salt Lake Tribune' editorial stated scientific research clearly indicated that snowmobiles... don't mix well with wildlife and the quiet, pristine air and natural wonders that national parks are created to protect. The 'Denver Post' editors hoped further snowmobile restrictions or a ban can help restore peace at one of America's most special places. Quiet? Pristine? Peace? With 900,000 visitors in one month? It's time to stop the villianization of snowmobiles and snowmobilers. We cannot celebrate huge July attendance for Yellowstone while we decry a micro fraction of that number making highly restricted visits on vehicles that get better fuel mileage than the RV's and SUV's that pack the park in the summer. Yellowstone does not have a snowmobile problem-it has a perception problem, and the mainstream media is perpetuating a myth. I think John stated the reality of the Park very well. Land use questions, don't have anything to do about land, air, or the animals. It is about power. Some groups don't want anyone in the forests for any reason. If you are strong politically, they can't pick on you. If you are weak, look out. Their goal is to return the land to pre-Lewis & Clark days. Montanans can fight this trend, but we must get off our butts and let our voices be heard. Robbie

Jan 21, 2010

I have been asked many times, what is the Montana Snowmobile Associations stand on Senator John Tester's Forest Jobs and Recreation Act. First of all our members are Montanans. They live, work and recreate in Montana all year long. All of our members want to preserve our clean air, water, and natural resources. They are proud of what we have here and what Montana represents. The following are our thoughts: Collaboration: Sen. Tester's wilderness bill has been touted as a collaborative effort of wilderness activists, timber representatives and multi-use advocates. As the state President of the Montana Snowmobile Association, I can tell you that I was not contacted to participate. I have also asked our lobbyist, our public lands chair, and our many board members throughout the state and none of them were invited to participate. In whole heartedly opposing this proposed legislation, the Montana Snowmobile Association would like to be very clear that they did not participate in its creation. Environment: The single greatest threat to our clean air and water is wild fires. These fires kill every living thing in their path, both plants and animals. 1. The plants root systems are no longer able to hold the soil in place and erosion occurs on a large scale. 2. Animal habitat is destroyed and it will take years for the berry bushes, etc. to regenerate them selves. 3. The amount of carbon that is put into the air is huge. An acre fire puts the same amount of carbon in the air as 1200 cars do in one year. Imagine what happens in a 200,000 acre fire. Obviously dead trees can't take carbon out of the air, a normal part of photosynthesis. This becomes a double-edged sword. 4. The number of animals that are killed in one of these fires is seldom, if ever reported. More animals are killed and habitat destroyed in these fires than anything that man has ever done. Economic: There are two main sources of revenue in forest management. These are the revenue generated in the process of taking care of the Forest's health and recreation. Forest Management: 1. Forests can benefit from an active forest management plan. Fires can be reduced both in frequency and severity, if managed in an active fashion. Even, Senator Tester's website touches on these techniques in mitigating the damage from the pine beetle. 2. Revenue can be generated from forest management. This creates jobs and takes care of the forest, with little if any support from the taxpayer. 3. The State of Montana funds a large part of its school systems from the revenue generated by actively managing its forests. Recreation: 1. Tourism in Montana generates millions of dollars of revenue and provides thousands of jobs. For example, over 30,000 people a day visit Yellowstone in the summer. They spend millions of dollars annually in Montana. The towns of West Yellowstone, Gardner, Red Lodge and Cooke City thrive from the revenue from these people. Jobs: A quote from the Senator's website: Our local sawmills are on the brink and families are out of work while our forest turn red from an unprecedented outbreak of pine beetles, waiting for the next big wildfire. It will create timber jobs by requiring the Forest Service to manage a certain number of acres each year for timber harvest- -especially area infected by pine-beetles that pose a serious wildfire threat to Montana communities and their drinking water sources. The bill also requires the Forest Service to put folks to work on projects that help repair our valuable watersheds and improve big game habitat. All of the above are important goals. Don't you think that the professional managers of the Forest Service already know about the hazards of beetle killed trees? Maybe the reason for their inaction can be traced to the NEPA laws and the fact that anyone can protest any Forest Service action, just by filing a formal protest in the court system and paying the filing fees. The loss of timber jobs in the West is nothing new. It has been going on for years. This bill does nothing to modify these laws. All of the projects required by this bill can still be appealed. And, if those appeals can delay the projects for 15 years, the wilderness designations in the bill remain but the logging projects end. (Page 41) Even in a very best case scenario, where the required stewardship acreage is logged each year, this legislation only creates jobs in the timber industry for 10 years. After 70,000 acres of the Beaverhead-Deerlodge Forest and 30,000 acres of the Three Rivers Ranger District are harvested, these jobs terminate and the Forest Service is left without this management tool. It is the Montana Snowmobile Associations view that Senator Jon Tester's Jobs bill is nothing more than a Wilderness bill in disguise. Wilderness Designation: The title of Senator Tester's bill fails to mention that he is proposing that over 600,000 acres of land be designated Wilderness. This designation strips the power of the Forest Service in its forest management goals. It is illegal for the Forest Service to treat any of the beetle-killed trees that happen to be in this area. The fire threat will remain. The threat to air and water quality will remain. In fact the Wilderness designation strips the Forest Service of many tools that they need to fight fires adequately. Nothing mechanized is allowed to be used in the Wilderness. If the Forest Service thought that it is most efficient to fight fires with airplanes, axes, shovels, and man power only, they have the power to do that now. True, under extreme circumstances some of the restrictions can be lessened. However, the projects that he has in mind to repair our valuable watersheds is really road removal. In other words, he will be forcing the Forest Service to use its limited resources to remove the infrastructure that they will need in case of a fire. Wilderness designation hinders recreation in the Forest. Once again all mechanized forms of transportation become illegal. Hiking and horse-back travel is allowed. Most hikers only venture about 5 miles away from their vehicles on any one trip. Only about 1% of the people who use the resources in the Flathead Forest chose the Flathead's Wilderness areas. (In contrast to that number, over 12% of Montana households choose snowmobiling as a form of winter recreation.) The Bob Marshall Wilderness has been around for over 60 years. There isn,t one city or town that has benefited significantly from this designation. Recreation Area Designation: I would like to begin by sharing with you a little bit of data about snowmobiling in Montana. We have not done a comprehensive survey since 1998 so the figures I am citing are a bit outdated and most assuredly, low. 12% of Montana households snowmobile. It is generally a family sport and, assuming the state average of 2.5 people per household, over 95,000 Montanans enjoy the winter outdoors on a snowmobile. These Montanans generated a $35 million dollar industry in 1998, with over $1 million of that going to the state highway trust fund in taxes. However, Montanans are not the big spenders. Out of state residents spend an average of $200 per day while snowmobiling in Montana. In 1998 they contributed over $44 million to Montana's economy. Combined, snowmobiling in Montana created $11 million in labor income and generated about 800 full and part time jobs. Snowmobiling in Montana is confined to very few locations. The communities that are located in these areas depend heavily on these visitors in order to keep their businesses profitable. Closing trails in Montana closes Montana businesses. On an environmental note, please remember that we do not begin our grooming programs until there is adequate snow on the ground. Our sleds ride on top of the snow, leaving behind no visible trace that they were ever there. We ride in areas of heavy snow coverage. Areas where game animals have generally left for the winter season. Snowmobilers share their groomed trails with cross-country skiers and snowshoe enthusiasts; we have never asked that they leave where we ride. The communities of Wise River, Dewey, Divide, Wisdom, Jackson, Polaris, Melrose, Seeley and Swan Lake, Libby and Lincoln, as well as Butte, Dillon and Anaconda rely heavily on the snowmobile economy to keep their businesses viable in the winter months. This proposed legislation appears to close many of the existing trails in these areas. Although the proposed legislation purports to create Recreational Areas, all off trail riding is prohibited and creation of any new motorized trails is specifically banned. The legislation does not guarantee that existing trails will remain, but instead allows for motorized travel only on approved routes that are currently in existence. This seems to indicate that some of the existing trails may not be approved. The legislation also allows for closure of these trails at any time. (Pages 62 - 74). Summary: There are virtually thousands of acres of standing timber that is dying on Montana's public lands. By allowing the use of the legal system to stop reasonable and sustainable timber harvests we create fire hazards that endanger our communities and cost taxpayers millions of dollars to fight. A true jobs bill for Montana's logging families would instead encourage responsible and sustainable timber harvest on the majority of our public lands. It would not apply only to a one time harvest of a very small number of acres. Over 76,000 acres of this proposed wilderness in the East Pioneers includes a large, highly mineralized area that has produced gold, silver, lead, zing, tungsten and other varied mineral that our society depends upon. There is absolutely no discussion or attempt to evaluate the mineral potential on any of these acres. Mining is prohibited in virtually all of the designations. It seems irresponsible as a society to lock up our mineral potential and then rely solely on other countries to provide these necessities. The title of the bill is Forest Job and Recreation Act. However, when you read the text of the bill, it does neither. The forest jobs are one time only harvests. There is no sustainable management of our timber resources. The mills get one harvest and then are required to close roads - locking out their neighbors, employees and families from future access to the area. The areas designated as Recreation allow virtually no timber management and have no guarantee that they will remain accessible to motorized use. And, as mentioned before, there is nothing in the bill to preclude environmental activist groups from filing lawsuits to stop every timber harvest. More closures of public land are not the solution to any problem. We should be able to negotiate a responsible way to harvest the timber without the need to close out the remainder of the public. In short the Montana Snowmobile Association believes that Senator Jon Tester's Wilderness bill is bad for the environment, recreation, and economy of Montana and we are opposed to it. Sincerely, Robbie Holman President Montana Snowmobile Association P.O. Box 56 Black Eagle, MT 59414 www.m.s.a.org

Jan 14, 2010

By Ron Ewart, President National Association of Rural Landowners and nationally recognized author on freedom and property rights issues © Copyright November 24, 2009 - All Rights Reserved What a snow job some corrupt scientists, the arrogant elite, radical environmentalists, the United Nations and their co-conspirators in the United States, have perpetrated on the people of this planet in order to convince a gullible public into believing in the Alice-in-Wonderland fairy tale of man-caused global warming! In the process they have sullied true science and corrupted the scientific method, maybe beyond repair. Their specious arguments stretch credulity and are what we call MAI science, or Made-As-Instructed. In other words, you manipulate the data to arrive at the desired outcome. What has transpired in this debate is nothing less than the trashing of all of the science greats since Copernicus, Galileo and Newton. But to see anything clearly, you must have a sufficiently broad perspective, accompanied by hard data, repeatable long-term observations and verifiable facts. If you are standing and looking at the ground, your perspective and your field of view are quite limited. If however, you are standing on the top of a mountain, your perspective broadens exponentially. And thus it is with the subject of global warming. Without a broader view, it is almost impossible to know whom or what to believe. So, a short history of the Earth is in order. The history we present here is reasonably accurate, based on the collected scientific data over the last 500 years, with not much argument within the honorable scientific community. Human civilization is but a bare 5,000 years old. If you took the entire life of Planet Earth, some 4.5 billion years and divided that life span into a 24-hour clock, our puny 5,000 years represents the last tenth of a second, of the last second of the 86,400 seconds that occur in one 24-hour period. If you took the age of enlightenment, commonly known as the Renaissance (14th to the 17th Centuries) when true science was born, it represents less than the last 100th of a second of the last second in our 24-hour clock. During the last 5,000 years the Earth has been relatively quiet, with a few burps in climate variables, but it hasn't always been that way. The Earth has endured the effect of massive sunspots, reversing poles, shifting magnetic fields, drifting continents, asteroid and comet collisions and ice ages, in its 4.5 billion-year history. It has experienced the wondrous 165 million-year dinosaur experiment. Approximately six hundred million years ago, the "Cambrian explosion" occurred, when life almost magically erupted, emerged and evolved at a pace never before seen. Some scientists have contributed this explosion of life to a sudden increase in atmospheric oxygen. Over its lifetime the Earth spun, tilted, heaved, shifted its orbit, drastically changed, expelled poison gases, ash and molten lava, grew hot and then cold. Continents, floating on an underground sea of molten magma, drifted first toward each other (Pangea) and then away. Polar ice caps and glaciers melted and sea levels rose and then lowered. New evidence has come to light that the entire Earth was one big ball of ice at one time in its long and violent history. A little more recently, about 12,000 years ago, one-third of the Earth's surface was covered in a layer of ice more than one mile thick. During that ice age, which lasted longer than civilized man has lived on Earth, there were no animals, plants or insects that could survive in this harsh, frozen environment. But life on Earth still survived in other places less-hostile. The ultimate thaw and the rushing torrent carved deep gouges and massive channels in the Earth's surface. It created riverbeds and dry falls and lakes and inland seas and other features in the Earth's crust, not there before. Now that was global warming on a grand scale and humans hadn't even come out of their caves yet. Whole forests grew and then died out. Mountains rose out of the bowels of the Earth, pushed up by continents in collision and then flattened back into the crust. Rivers changed direction. Monster lakes were formed. Giant meteors struck the Earth at galactic speeds, carving massive holes in the crust and sending continent-size clouds of sunlight-dimming dust into the atmosphere. The atmosphere became opaque and cut off the life-giving sunlight, rendering lifeless enormous parts of the planet. Millions of species of plants and animals evolved, survived, reproduced and then died out, to be replaced by entirely different species of plants and animals. Had the dinosaurs not gone extinct, it has been posited that mammals would have never evolved in their current form, including humans. However, major changes seldom occurred in cataclysmic events. They almost always took place agonizingly slowly, over eons of time, through the tedious, grinding, random, chaotic, disorganized process of natural evolution and natural selection. The variables were almost infinite and still are. And today, those same agonizingly slow processes are at work. We (humans) are an integral part of those processes but we will have little or no effect on any final outcome. Those who tell you so are lying. We will but only tickle the grander elements such as the sun, the moon and the Earth itself, none of which is predictable, much less measurable to the degree necessary for accurate predictions over long periods of time. Our only avenue for survival is to get out of the way, if we can. The whole idea that man-generated CO2 is causing run-away global warming, when atmospheric CO2 represents a small fraction of so-called greenhouse gases and man's contribution to atmospheric CO2 is a miniscule fraction of naturally occurring CO2, would be laughable, if it wasn't that evil men were exploiting it for evil purposes. A few spewing volcanoes or an episode of sunspots can totally invalidate any computer models. Just look at weather predictions. Any prediction is good for about two hours and that is why the environmentalists' models were predicting an ice age 20 years ago and now they are predicting global warming. Any credible scientist will tell you that the greater the number of variables in a non-linear dynamic system (such as the weather) render long-range predictions virtually meaningless the moment they are spit out of the computer. What has been done in the name of man-caused global warming, is an insult to true science. It is fueled by dirty, agenda-driven money, a corrupt ideology and the lust for global power. The universe, our solar system and even our Earth are violent, dangerous places to humans and other life forms and always have been. Just ask the dinosaurs. So far, we have just been lucky. A close-by (in galactic terms) supernova in the spiral arm of the Milky Way, in which our solar system resides, could flood the sun and planets with massive amounts of deadly radiation and render Earth lifeless and barren in a virtual geologic instant. If the sun changed its energy output by a significant fraction, all life on Earth as we know it, could cease. An errant asteroid or comet could cross the Earth's orbit and the resulting collision could dramatically change the pattern of life, or terminate it altogether. Environmentalists cry "wolf" on very little data and way-too-short time periods to come up with so-called accurate predictions, as they have with man-caused global warming. Unfortunately, environmentalism has become a cult of mindless followers with a distorted vision of how humans and the Earth should relate to each other. Earth gets the highest priorities  over people  in spite of true science. In reality, humans are but a part of the evolutionary and natural processes of Earth and those processes, not environmentalists or governments, will determine whether we, as an intelligent species, will survive or die out. This is why their man-caused, global-warming theory is an unmitigated farce and this is why that any very expensive attempts to control man-generated CO2 is an unprecedented fraud, with dire consequences for the global economy. We must always be vigilant against the never-ending threat of governments and special-interest groups peddling crises with propaganda, hype, distortions and lies, because behind each crisis is a hidden agenda and in the end their hidden agenda has more to do with control of the masses and the transfer of wealth. They only use pseudo science as a means to an evil end. Shall it ever be thus. Ron Ewart, President NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF RURAL LANDOWNERS P. O. Box 1031, Issaquah, WA 98027 www.narlo.org

Jan 14, 2010

January 13, 2010 BRP launched the Ski-Doo Summit Drop contest yesterday, giving talented and passionate riders the dream opportunity to be part of a new sled introduction, in a way never seen before. The contest takes freeriding to the limit with a trip to one of the most spectacular ride areas in North America, on a new Summit snowmobile, where the winner and his best riding buddy will get to be two of the first consumers to ride the new machines. This will be the perfect ride, on the perfect machine, for the ultimate rider. Four finalists also experience the excitement of the 2011 Club Ski-Doo dealer meeting in Orlando, FL. Here they'll see the sheets pulled off all the 2011 Ski-Doo snowmobiles, check out the latest gear, learn what's new and the grand prize winner will be chosen. Some of the world's best and most enthusiastic snowmobilers may not be known to all, but this contest is their opportunity to show what they have, and answer the question; are you the ultimate rider? Here,s the skinny on what happens: " Riders from now until Feb. 8 visit ski-doo.com to create a profile of themselves and convince the Ski-Doo jury they should be chosen. " Then they link it to their riding photos and videos on YouTube or Flickr. The Ski-Doo staff will choose four finalists to be invited to Club Ski-Doo Feb. 23, where their profiles and videos will be reviewed again and BRP names the grand prize winner. In addition to the grand prize and finalist's trip, 20 lucky contestants receive a Ski-Doo riding jacket in random draws. The contest opened Jan. 12 and closes Feb. 8 so move fast and enter now. Grand Prize: Trip for two to an undisclosed location for a day of riding with the Ski-Doo Mountain staff on March 5-7, 2010. Four Finalists Prize: All expense paid trip for one to Club Ski-Doo in Orlando, FL, Feb. 23-26, 2010. Random Draw: 20 Ski-Doo riding jackets to be given away randomly to contestants. Visit www.ski-doo.com for contest details and to register.

Jan 13, 2010

Meeting was held at Jesco Boat Center. Devonna Benware won a pair of goggles donated by Jesco. Jim Walter won a Sno Bunge Handle Bar Bad donated by Jesco. Bill Yunck won a $75 gift certificate from Kurt's Polaris. And Joanne Kizer won the other $75 gift certificate from the last meeting for Kurt's Polaris. Jake Harrel won a 1 day rental from Winter Wonderland Sports.