Some want a quiet creek to fish in, others want creeks to cross.
Some want to climb a mountain for the views, others merely want to just get to the top.
Some want to do all these in there life, others all in one weekend- and why not??
One thing that we all want, is places to go, without onerous permits and permissions.
But is this access really a birthright?
 | |
| Tread Lightly have many resources like this one. See link below. |
You should understand that I support the recent activities and efforts of Unlock Australia - It is firmly my belief that the members of that organisation will agree at least with my sentiments, if not with all of my words.
The term birthright implies that there should be an unhindered, unregulated and unsupervised access to whatever you believe that you are entitled to. I guess that that is a nice, utopian, view of open and equitable access for all. The reality is, however that many events, days out, or even 'magazine' shoots are occuring on land that is not actually gazetted as public access, or in some cases is actually privately owned - their is no 'birthright' that lets you go onto someone else's land.
Likewise, many areas of public land are tenured as resource reserves, or scientific areas. These two land uses are very, very different but each one needs to be respected - noone wants to come around a corner and find heavy machinery working an active quarry and noone should find themselves in a quarantined, protected scientific area - the significance of which is likely unapparent to the casual observer. The harm which can be done by one group of bike riders or 4wders entering and traversing a quarantined area is significant.
You must always know the tenure of the land you are on - the lack of a "Do Not Enter" sign is not an invitation.
Likewise, many areas of public land are tenured as resource reserves, or scientific areas. These two land uses are very, very different but each one needs to be respected - noone wants to come around a corner and find heavy machinery working an active quarry and noone should find themselves in a quarantined, protected scientific area - the significance of which is likely unapparent to the casual observer. The harm which can be done by one group of bike riders or 4wders entering and traversing a quarantined area is significant.
You must always know the tenure of the land you are on - the lack of a "Do Not Enter" sign is not an invitation.
I suggest to you, the reader, the 4wder, the enthusiast, that, rather than looking upon our natural places as some kind of entitlement or inheritance, or as you as the 'end user', we should see our roles as ones of caretaker, educator and defender.
Locking things up does not protect our natural places, nor does allowing unregulated access.
We, the offroad community need to stand up for our access (Joining Unlock Australia is one way to do this), participating in beach clean up events, or other community sponsored activities is another...
BUT we must stop the small minded in our midst, who see their access as a right rather than an equally weighted responsibility..
We must stand up to those people who act dangerously, or unsustainably on public land, we must not sit by while rubbish bins are allowed to overflow, while careless campers just throw sand or dirt over smouldering fires, while doughnuts are dug into wet ground.
These actions are deliberate and they cost us all, in real terms with limited public money bring spent on repairs rather than improved amenities but they also cost us actions and freedoms.
We have a responsibility to get our kids and grandkids outdoors, and to demonstrate best practice and behaviour to them when we do. These kids need to learn, more than any previous generation, to love but equally to respect our land, water and sky.
Actions:
Join or follow Unlock Australia
Join or follow Tread Lightly
Join or follow Tarangoa Blue
If you see a picture or post on social media, or people behaving irresponsibly, ask them to take it down. ( I remember a post a few years back when I confronted a member and asked them to remove an image of their 4wd on dune vegetation - what ensued immediately was lost of chest beating but it turned into a great discussion, with lots of involvement about why we simply must be better at portraying our recreation, and why we simply must be more thoughtful of our media - plenty of other similar events have only resulted in chest beating and name calling unfortunately, but there is always hope).
Keep your convoys small and manageable (if you are the organiser of even a casually arranged convoy you have a duty of care to the people who will follow you.)
Actions:
Join or follow Unlock Australia
Join or follow Tread Lightly
Join or follow Tarangoa Blue
If you see a picture or post on social media, or people behaving irresponsibly, ask them to take it down. ( I remember a post a few years back when I confronted a member and asked them to remove an image of their 4wd on dune vegetation - what ensued immediately was lost of chest beating but it turned into a great discussion, with lots of involvement about why we simply must be better at portraying our recreation, and why we simply must be more thoughtful of our media - plenty of other similar events have only resulted in chest beating and name calling unfortunately, but there is always hope).
Keep your convoys small and manageable (if you are the organiser of even a casually arranged convoy you have a duty of care to the people who will follow you.)
No comments:
Post a Comment