Your reporting on the upcoming SLO CAL/South County Chambers of Commerce economic study of the “indirect and induced” profits the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area (ODSVRA) “brings to neighboring communities” mentioned the previous survey commissioned by State Parks, once brandished everywhere as proof that off-road activity at the Oceano Dunes is vital to the local economy (“Visit SLO CAL still plans to conduct Oceano Dunes economic impact study,” March 25). In writing that “conservationists have criticized the report as biased and mathematically flawed,” you maintain the both-sides-ism frame of different studies “criticized by one side and applauded by the other.”
But the State Parks study has been criticized by conservationists because it has been debunked by economists, including Dr. Phil King, economics professor at San Francisco State University. Among multiple reasons why that State Parks report should not be taken seriously by anybody, Dr. King’s review found that it “incorrectly assumes that should OHV recreation cease in the area, participants and spectators will not be replaced by other visitors, and therefore the report does not consider the potential impact of that substitution. It is my professional opinion that this key assumption is completely erroneous.”
Memo to Visit SLO CAL: Don’t make that mistake.
Andrew Christie
San Luis Obispo
This article appears in Apr 8-18, 2021.
Access to or uses of a public state park should not be based on the economic benefits to privately owned businesses outside of the parks boundaries.
Do we decide whether to keep Yosemite national park open or who gets to use the park or activities allowed within the park based on the financial fortunes of businesses in adjacent communities? The answer is no and should remain no.
Public recreation on public land is of value by itself, regardless of its economic impacts. Operation of a state park like the one adjacent to Oceano should be based on proper care and respect for the land, both flora and fauna, and the well-being of those who use the park. Lets use those factors to make our decisions, not on who is most likely to profit financially.
Take all the economic studies, pro and con, and throw them in the trash and start focusing on whats really important.
Yes, throw all of OHV’s economic studies, not only irrelevant but spurious, into the trash. Also toss most, if not all, of it’s other studies. OHV’s outrageous insults to science need to be investigated. The California legislature investigated the state fuel tax allotment to OHV study and found it overestimated by 50%. Tip of iceberg.
Have never been to the dunes off-roading, but am going to go now. Will gather 30 to 40 other families, buy new quads and camp and ride as much as my work schedule allows. Plan on visiting local businesses and spending money, letting them know I am there to ride in the dunes. Screw your studies and SCREW you, but I bet you would have FUN riding with us “rightword”. Of course you would have to dislodge the proverbial “stick” you have up your backside. Liberals are free to ride with me anytime, they can also hunt with me, target shoot with me, work on cars with me, listen to loud music with me, enjoy the GOD GIVEN FREEDOMS we all enjoy until killjoys with agendas for people they don’t know or understand force their will upon us through legislation or by scaring low information voters with crap. Save the studies for those who care folks. Ride ALL YOU WANT!!!!
I have enjoyed motoring in the dunes and would have liked to see a portion of the dunes reserved for off-highway vehicles. Unfortunately bad attitudes and wanton environmental destruction and disrespect by some OHV users combined with poor park management created a situation that many people have found untenable. Some of that bad attitude and disrespect can be seen reflected in the comments on this website. They ruin things for everyone.
My attitude and whether it is “good” or “bad” is your OPINION, until you seek to restrict EVERYONES freedom with laws that limit them. Remember, I do not tell you what to do when I “motor” in the dunes. Ha!. I don’t think I can decide for YOU whether YOU can “motor” anywhere or if YOUR opinion is “good” or “bad”. “rightword” seeks to legislate YOUR ability to do what you want away from you using platitudes that YOU are bad and disrespectful for enjoying recreation of YOUR choice. Power mad liberalism is often coated in mild sounding language meant to make you feel “extreme” because you seek self direction and INDEPENDENCE in your thought and actions. This is the scariest thing to a liberal, a world of free, independent people. Not supplicant, desperate, uneducated pawns that do what they are told by the elites, hoping to someday be accepted or be PART OF their world. Success is grabbed, not given. Freedom is God-given, not legislated. Independence isn’t allowed or approved by government. Government’s only role is to PROTECT it, whether people like “rightword” think you should “motor” or not.
No one in the United States has an inherent right to damage public property. Nor does any individual have the unilateral right to proscribe the scope of government authority in the United States.
In the United States no one has an inherent right to destroy or damage public property. Also, in the United States no individual has an inherent right to unilaterally proscribe the scope or duties of our government.
The government is limited in the United States. I do not destroy the environment, nor do I damage public property. Homeless folks destroy the environment by defecating wantonly throughout our community and leaving their used syringes in public places such as parks and school playgrounds. BLM rallies destroy public property in various cities around America. Why don’t you comment on THAT stuff? Doesn’t bother you as much as off-roaders in the dunes, or people that pay for goods shipped or packaged in STYROFOAM containers. I guess not. Those people are less RELIANT on government and less PLIABLE come election time. How inconvenient.
People need to be able to defecate to live and have a healthy life. No one’s life that I know of depends on being able to injest polystyrene, spew non-biodegradable and potentially toxic trash, and drive on the beach or in the middle of a State Park.
As far as homeless people littering, we have laws against that. I see no problem in enforcing those laws in a compassionate and reasonable manner. But we do need to allow people to poop and pee within a reasonable distance of wherever they are. If more public bathrooms are required, then so be it.
It’s all a matter of priorities and respect and compassion for others… and common sense.
Why does someone who rejects civilized community life get more bathrooms free of charge (except to taxpaying citizens who foot the bill) because they are too drunk or high to find work or are so unclean that no establishment will allow them to use the facilities for fear of scaring away paying customers who are patronizing their establishment. (also the usual used syringes tend to curb a customer from future shopping) Compassion comes when I put a couple of bucks in the plate at church, that offers food and clothing to the homeless at NO taxpayer expense. If people refuse to respect themselves or the community they defecate all over, then they sure as hell can’t expect some from me or any other member of the community. Better yet, since you are so compassionate, respectful and reasonable. Make it YOUR priority to allow them to utilize the bathroom in your home. What an example you could be to all of us heartless, disrespectful, uncompassionate bastards who just work for a living, follow the law and comport ourselves civilly in public. We could tear down a monument to some slave-owning founding father and erect one to you since you UNDERSTAND the direction that WE should all follow to a new level of happiness…blah, blah, blah.
Because they are we. Because the opportunity to selflessly serve others is a blessing from God.
Because sooner than we think or want, we will be dead and we don’t want to have wasted our time in this life. Because treating others as we would want to be treated keeps us humble, controls our ego and purifies our mind so that we may discover our true selves.
Because we have gratitude for every nanosecond of existence and opportunity to live and grow and learn what is real and what is illusion.
Because we don’t want to keep making the same mistakes lifetime after sorrowful lifetime.
Because we want to live in a world brimming with love and happiness on our way to self-realization.
Put away the weed my friend. That is all well and good stuff. REAL WORLD is they are not we. They are them I am me. I am not my brothers keeper, he is his own. If I love you and respect you truly, I do not stand in the way of your self-determination. Sink or swim. I may suggest with true compassion a wise course, but the choice is your own. Do not restrict my freedom because you think you know better for me. Allow me the dignity of being self-determined, believing that I have been informed enough to do so throughout my life, or at least had the opportunity to take or leave the education along the way. We cannot save everything or everyone from life, the universe or themselves. We can only be a beacon they can see if they wish to.
Its our opportunity and it is your opportunity. If you miss it, thats your choice. You can let your mind and selfish desire control you or you can follow your heart. The reality, scientifically proven and spiritually professed, is that we are all connected. We are all of one. You will reap what you sow. If you think you can get out of it by throwing a couple bucks on the plate at church, thats your mind leading you away way from your heart and soul and your purpose in life. Lucky for you, you probably have a few more years to figure it out. May God give you the grace to do so and have mercy on your soul.
The very fact that you turned this thread into a diatribe against the homeless and your duty in life suggests your soul is struggling and is not at rest despite what your ego tells you. Times a wasting. Channel that passion into something worthwhile. I know you can do it.
P.S: Public bathrooms are not just for the homeless. They are a mark of civilization that respects health and human dignity. They are a good thing.
Sure. You live in platitudes and “fairy” thinking my friend. My soul is fine and my purpose in life is not to accommodate stupidity and self destructive tendencies in my fellow humans. It is to live and thrive freely without the encumbrance of governmental nanny state crap that buys votes through the oppressive taxation (financial and spiritual) upon productive people to finance bad behavior within our society. Not a diatribe, a voice in the abyss of liberalism talking reason. Scientifically proven? By who? For whose purpose? Science is bought and paid for since the late 40’s at least. (See Eisenhour’s presidential farewell speech 1962). Spiritually professed? By whom and to who? For what purpose? You speak in generalizations and platitudes, which may work for the intellectually lazy or the liberal mobs that are attracted to loose “feel good” language. But the sharp tools in the shed require statistical fact and reason based ideas proven over time and practice. Thank you for your good wishes, I assure you they are reciprocated.
Facts and reasoning will not satisfy your soul. The truth lies beyond facts and reasoning. No mortal will ever fully understand God. The mind is a limited tool. It doesn’t even know how to keep your heart beating. A heart does not need a mind to help it pump blood. If you think you’re going to think or reason your way out of it, you’re mistaken. Love is what is holding the world together. Without it, everything disintegrates. Love is what is holding you together, whether you believe it, understand it, appreciate it or not. It’s just a fact of life. It is the truth.
It is a shame that a significant portion of the OHV community were not able to control themselves and show respect and care for the park and the surrounding community. They showed little or no respect for the people who wanted to protect the flora and fauna of the park and keep dust down. This is not all of the OH V Community, but too many sat on their hands and did nothing to make sure the park was being managed in a healthier more nurturing manner. Too many OHV enthusiast saw the park is nothing more than a pile of sand to be torn up and shredded, ignoring that there was an entire ecosystem thriving in nooks and crannies of that great landscape.
And what did they ever give back to the people of Oceano, other than using the main thorough fare as their own private driveway. They simply do not bring much love to the community in their eagerness to get out to their sandbox.
I did not want to see vehicles completely banned from the park. But I can certainly understand why others do not share my opinion. The whole vehicles in the doom thing simply got out of hand over the course of a few decades So let’s try it the new way for a few years, and if it doesn’t work out, we can always unleash vehicles out there in the future if we really feel that’s a good thing.
We have a serious problem in America when we have a cold-hearted, bigoted segment of our population trying to limit availability of public bathrooms to those who need them. To make matters worse, the same segment of our population wants to throw people in jail when the lack of access to bathrooms forces them to relieve themselves elsewhere. That is nothing less than passive/aggressive torture and oppression of the homeless and should not be tolerated in a civilized, healthy society. The homeless should not be denied the right to poop and pee without harassment simply because they do not own indoor plumbing. If we are not willing to provide the homeless basic shelter, we should at least allow them a safe and healthy place to poop without requiring them to pay for that right.