Segregating skiers from snowmobilers may not be the
most appropriate answer to the increased popularity of the
backcountry in winter (HCN, 1/19/04: A moment of truth for user
fees). That more and more people are enthusiastically enjoying
these wonderful backcountry locations should be celebrated, not
feared. Public lands are one of the things in which we all share,
and they can bring people together in their shared love, respect
and enjoyment of special places.
Restricting and
partitioning the public estate should be an option of last resort.
Separating different user groups from one another, and setting them
up in competition to one another, is unlikely to lessen conflict.
And the question of allocating scarce opportunities will rightly
raise questions of equal treatment, fairness, equity and need.
These will be highly contentious issues, and could see the
abdication of management responsibilities into the political arena.
Be careful what you wish for!
Bill
Borrie
Missoula,
Montana
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Everybody get together.
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