Recently I had the good fortune to drive through a Wilderness corridor in the Inyo Mountains of California. Swansea-Cerro Gordo road is a lone track as it traverses several miles of the Inyo Mountains. The views are spectacular and the countryside is remote. The Swansea-Cerro Gordo road is a tiny blip compared to the total area that is designated the Inyo Mountains Wilderness.
While I am categorically opposed to the creation of more Wilderness areas, I can appreciate the compromise of allowing motor vehicle corridors through Wilderness areas. That way, the Wilderness areas are created to satiate the land-hungry Greenies, and the 4X4 enthusiasts still have a way to enjoy the outdoors behind the wheel. Everybody's happy, right?
Wrong. I did some Web searching while writing up my trip to the Inyo's and came across this on Gorp.com:
"Inyo Mountains Wilderness, at 205,000 acres, is one of the largest wilderness areas designated in the California Desert Bill. Although, with a few minor road closures, a wilderness of more than 300,000 acres could be established. An even more ambitious goal is the closure of Saline Valley Road, and the creation of a million-acre-plus desert wilderness stretching from the Inyos to the Last Chance Range in the northern portion of Death Valley National Park."
OK, read that again: "...with a few minor road closures, a Wilderness of more than 300,000 acres could be established. An even more ambitious goal is the CLOSURE OF SALINE VALLEY ROAD..."
The Wilderness advocates want it all, and they won't be happy until they've gotten it all. Even if they do get it all, they'd turn around and figure out some new type of anti-human campaign and attempt to force their new worldview on the rest of the public. I can see it now: "human breath causes environmental degradation. We must all wear catalytic convertors over our mouths..." OK, that's probably a stretch, but not THAT much of a stretch.
The Swansea-Cerro Gordo road is the only access that many people have to the Inyo backcountry. Unless you're an elite backpacker or own horses or pack animals, you cannot enter a Wilderness area. This effectively locks up Wilderness areas against most human entry. Land is set aside FROM the public instead of FOR the public.
At the north end of the Inyo Moutains Wilderness, backcountry roads called the Andrews Mountain Loop offer motorized access to several miles of the Inyo Mountains. This is not an open-travel route. You've got to stay on the two-track. I have to assume that the Gorp.com author would like to have the Andrews Moutain Loop closed and the northern section of the Inyo Mountains re-designated as Wilderness.
As to Saline Valley road, it's almost 100 miles long, and visits areas with scarce to non-existent water sources. Again, this wished-for Wilderness area would be impenetrable to all but the most elite backpackers, and even these would probably run out of water and have to drink their own urine to survive. My opinion is that most Greenies do not aspire to backpacking the length and breadth of Saline Valley. Instead, they want to exert power and grab land for themselves and their world view.
I already knew that the Wilderness advocates want it all, and they want it now. The quote that I stumbled across was only the latest confirmation.