Billy,
Wow... I didn't see this post till now... read the whole post before concluding (long answer or response better stated, sorry, no time to edit either!)
Hmmm...???!!! This is quite complex... And I know most people were probably wondering how I was going to approach this... Because I'm sure many of them (you) who have read this were waiting for the show, the Spectacular even, for those of us who stick our necks out for the betterment of our sports. That's unecessary, as it's against my grain to try to manuever or calculate, so I'm doing everything possible to avoid stupid drama over your well-taken comments, at least by me.
However, you may not realize, lately nobody has made a real issue of these things till now! However, the napes of crimson pallet burners have flared up every couple years, and I guess we just finally have accepted that the pallets and couches will burn, and we will clean up... And quite honestly, the Gorge over the last couple years has had HUGE issues to deal with and still will... We live closely enough to the Gorge that I will beg to differ with the opinion that the Gorge isn't our backyard. It's pretty close to that or at least our vacation home backyard. IMHO. And that's one contribution that we've made in 20 years (if I'm not mistaken), and it was probably high time we stepped up to do it?! Also, you probably should be aware that the previous officers were in position when it was made, although I full heartedly voted for it at the annual meeting I attended when it was proposed last year. Fifty or so others present there at the meeting, voted unanimously to do it. (present being the key)
That said, I genuinely appreciate your comments. I've been waiting for a while actually to see somebody step up and voice some genuine concerns about Utah Lake, and for that matter our sailing/kiting sites here in Utah. I don't know of many people who have been more anxious about getting that freaking lake cleaned up than a few of us who are now officers in the UWA. I am actually psyched to hear you're amped on this... And we've been making some noise and no good deed goes unpunished!
A wise man once told me,
There's no offense given if there's none taken. If anybody takes offense to what I'm about to write, you've misunderstood me... I am going to have to say without reserve that most of the money that is in the account and I would guess at least 90% was given by people who were windsurfers at the time. I respect that some are now kiting or doing both. But I think it needs to be with respect to that fact, that we move forward. If the kiting community is becoming more proactive in the UWA as an organization, paying the piper by renewing memberships, great, $12. We used to pay a lot more when we had to pay for the Rocky Point key. It really has been getting better, but I do have to admit that a majority of kiting UWA members haven't needed to renew their memberships with the UWA. Kiting was so new that it really didn't need the organization to propagate. Like windsurfing in its early days. It was really cool at this annual meeting to see it even out a bit.
We don't have a ton of money in the account to work with as far as any legal costs go... Around 4 g's... As the UWA officers we've tried to be more proactive to see if the apathy would subside. Um, its trying to subside somewhat... When I posted on who could be at a clean up party last summer, there were NOT many responses if any... So I simply encouraged small cleanups everytime we're at the lake. There are a few issues at Utah Lake...
Access, for example, I have a call in to a couple officials asking what law is in place to guarantee access to the water on Utah lake. I would like to see a requirement that every 3/4 of a mile or so an easement of some sort that guarantees access to Utah Lake. Some developers have blocked off a road that was a little access point north of Rocky Point. I've never been on that road to access but some have. Also, I know I've been having conversations with Ty Hunter for a few years about the pallet burning red neckedness thats goes on there. They like to say, well, the police forces aren't being paid enough. So that is a complicated issue. But they are working on it.
Anybody, feel free to do the footwork, to find out information that can help. When it comes to something that we can do, the UWA will do everything we can to help. Writing letters has to be many individuals... Not just one representative. When the president of a club writes a letter to an agency or politician, they assume it's one overzealous officer! When a bunch of different individuals write letters they realize it's an issue. So, I would say, find out who the manager of Lindon is, or of south sandy beach, or of whatever other site, and POST it on the site so that we can all work to help with this issue. For the access issue, the boaters association, the fisherman etc. will be part of that and I have some casual dialogue going with those entities.
However, everything is a double edged sword... Once again, No good deed goes unpunished!... Ridiculous but true, (thanks Craig for introducing me to that great saying a couple years ago!
)... If we complain too much to the officials that pallets are being burned and what not, they'll simply chain off those access points. Ya know what I'm sayin'?! In fact, I think SSB was chained off for a spell a couple seasons ago... So, we gotta be smart... There's an awesome book that you should get by Phillip K Howard, it's called "The Death of Common Sense in America: How Law is Suffocating America".
Finally, the way I see it, all of those who are UWA officers didn't aspire to HELP with the UWA, we accepted nominations to give others a break. With that in mind, please don't let this post turn into some unnecessary bunion or other thing that requires Preparation H. We can work on these issues peacefully, here, and if there are issues here, they will always take priority over issues in the Gorge. Cool?!
Thanks again Billy, for the passion on these issues. We need more of it. (while keeping peace)... Also, dialogue like this I hope will help to increase awareness for future officers who would like to step up to the plate next year.
Sincerely,
Rick Heninger, and anyone else I speak for.