Washington Newsletter

January 2009

Happy New Year!

It's a relief to have 2008 behind us. 2008 seemed like it would never end. We endured a very long but historic election season; a crumbling economy with rising unemployment; and a stock market that hasn't seemed to hit bottom. Yes, I'm ready to move into 2009, though it's impossible to predict what the New Year will bring except to say we will have a new President and a new Congress.

Former Senator William L. Marcy (1787-1857) of New York said in defense of Andrew Jackson, "To the victor belong the spoils." That might still be so today, but the new Congress and the new President will find something else waiting for them when they take office and that is a full plate of critical issues needing their attention. The newly elected sort of remind me of that old cartoon of the dog chasing the car and he finally grabs onto the bumper and thinks, "now what do I do?" Here's hoping they know what to do. Welcome to Washington.

Obama Completes Cabinet Selection

President-elect Obama completed the process of selecting his cabinet just before Christmas by naming his nominees for Secretary of Agriculture and Secretary of the Interior. For Agriculture, it's former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack and for Interior, it's Ken Salazar, currently a U. S. Senator from Colorado.

For the farmers of the nation, Vilsack is good news. Being from Iowa, he knows something about farming. But it's a little too early to know if he has preconceived notions about the management of our National Forests. The last time we looked, there wasn't even one National Forest in the entire State of Iowa so it's not as though we can cite his experience as a Governor working with Federal land managers as an indication of how he might view motorized recreation on Forest Service land.
Ken Salazar, Nominee for Secretary of the InteriorWe will have to wait for the Senate confirmation process to begin before we have a better idea of his views on some of these issues of concern to the motorized recreation community.

Senator Salazar knows public lands extremely well and has the reputation of being a consensus builder. We frankly think he is a good pick to head up the Department of the Interior and we look forward to the opportunity to work with him. He understands and believes in the concept of multiple-use of public lands and as a Senator, was active in supporting the management of these lands in practical and useful ways. We will work closely with the new Secretary to ensure that one of those useful ways includes recreation.

Economic Stimulus Package (and RTP, too!)

The President-elect has indicated that he wants to sign into law a new economic stimulus package soon after he moves into the Oval Office. No doubt, our national economy needs a serious jolt in order to get people back to work. What is included in the economic stimulus package is generating a lot of interest here in Washington especially since the price tag seems to be in the range of $850 billion.

Governors, Senators and Representatives are all submitting economic stimulus ideas to the Obama Transition office. So much urgency has been associated with this effort that there is speculation that Speaker Pelosi won't even bother to send the package to House committees to review before bringing the measure to a vote on the House floor.

Every interest group, including ARRA, has forwarded ideas for consideration. We joined a number of other recreation groups in signing a letter prepared by the Coalition for Recreational Trails urging the President-elect and Hill leaders to include in the economic stimulus package $300 million in funding for local trail projects through the Recreational Trails Program (RTP). We think there is a compelling reason for such funding, but we are also aware that the overall scope of proposed projects coming from every direction is such that the combined cost of the proposals might well slow down the legislative train.

The rate the federal government has spent money these last four months in order to turn the economy around is simply unimaginable. At last count the number stood in the neighborhood of 7 trillion dollars. It's as though the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department have used every available economic tool to stave off a serious recession. Even so, the economy limps along. Therefore, we approach the idea of an $850 billion economic stimulus package as something that is needed and necessary but also with concern that a lot of projects to be funded by the stimulus package would under normal circumstances never pass financial muster. Isn't that how we got into trouble with the mortgage crisis?

Going into 2009

Frankly, we are approaching the New Year with concern about the array of problems facing our nation. We are concerned about those individuals and families suffering due to the loss of jobs and the financial stress that comes with unemployment. We are concerned about the thousands of businesses, both retail and manufacturing, facing closure and in many cases, bankruptcy, due to the state of our economy.

We are hoping the new President and the new Congress will tackle these problems and find solutions by working in a bi-partisan fashion, something we haven't seen much of in the last 20 years. These critical times require our leaders to reach across the partisan aisle and begin working together.

Finally, with all that is happening or about to happen, we remind ourselves that we need to keep our eye on the ball and do what we need to do to facilitate and encourage greater recreational opportunities for all who seek to recreate on public lands. Our issues will not go away. Our greatest danger is that we become distracted by everything else that is happening in the world.

The ARRA resolution for 2009 is to "stay focused" on the management of public lands and how those lands can be made available for recreational use by all Americans. We hope you will continue to join us in this journey.

Happy New Year!

Sincerely,

Larry E. Smith
Executive Director
Americans for Responsible Recreational Access