The November 2001 issue (of MotorHome Magazine) contained an article warning RVers that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), in response to a lawsuit brought by the Sierra Club, was poised to close nearly 26,000 acres of public land to camping ("BLM May Ban Camping on California Desert Area," MH News). People should understand that this is only the tip of the iceberg, and that the Sierra Club and the environmental community in general are no friends of the RVing public.

These organizations are pursuing an agenda designed to remove people from the public lands. One of their favorite tools is the Endangered Species Act, which is so broad in its application that they can always come up with an animal, an insect or even a weed to terminate human use of any area.

The Sierra Club spends much of its $150 million annual budget on litigation and legislative activities targeting recreational diversity on public lands. The massive resources they have available leave no scheme, no matter how hairbrained, outside the realm of reality. A perfect example is their current quest to decommission the Glen Canyon Dam and drain Lake Powell, thereby squandering an investment worth hundreds of billions of dollars and wasting enough electricity to run all of Los Angeles, while annually depriving 3 million people, including many RVers, of an extraordinary recreational experience.

Sadly, major philanthropic organizations, such as the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Ford Foundation, are pouring many millions of dollars each year into these antihuman organizations, further hastening the day when we shall all become trespassers on our public lands.

All RVers should give some serious thought to a future without public-land access for camping and recreation. We might keep this in mind when considering our next contribution to the Sierra Club and other so-called environmental organizations.

Rainer Huck
Salt Lake City, Utah