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Sports

Liberate The Bump and grind

The hikers of the Coachella Valley will be conducting  a mass demonstration on November 12 to restore the people's rights to access THE most popular trail in the Coachella Valley and take it back from the zealots of the California Fish & Game.

 

WHY IS THIS CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE NECESSARY?

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The zealots at the Fish and Game have:

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1) closed the trail without any scientific examination or support as to the veracity of their claims that hikers' presence on the Bump and Grind hurts the sheep.

2) degraded the environment of the trail with scores of truck trips up the trail to discourage hikers.  They have left debris and eroded the area of the trail.  They have unnecessarily chopped down vegetation including the little "Christmas Bush" at the top of the trail that hikers traditionally decorated at Christmas.

3) refused to provide information as to actual sheep sightings on the specious grounds that such release of information to the public would "endanger the sheep"

4) smeared the gate and barriers they erected  with fecal matter and oil in an effort to discourage hikers (these materials are heavy enough that they could only have been brought to the site by a motor vehicle) and then lied about it, denying any involvement.  When this fecal matter was cleaned up by the members of the hiking community, the F&G  put up barbed wire.

5) harassed hikers who were hiking the lower part of the trail with  specious "regulations" that the area was closed at sunset

6) acted with an arrogance and entitlement that does not befit a public agency, paid for by public funds , and made inflammatory statements such as "It's our land and we will do with it what we like."

 

WHAT CONCERNED CITIZENS MUST DO:

 

If you are angered by this completely unjustified and unnecessary closure please join us.  We will gather on Saturday November 12 at 10:00 AM at the Palm Desert start of the trail and hike en mass to the top, through the gate and the barriers.  Over 200 people showed up for the town-hall meeting to protest the closure.  We hope that similar numbers will attend this demonstration and make an important statement about the rights of hikers and humans who also share this wilderness and just say no to F&G Gestapo tactics.  Tell all your hiking friends.  Bring as many people as you can to the event.

HELP TAKE OUR TRAIL BACK FROM THESE OUTRAGEOUS BUREAUCRATIC DESPOTS!  STAND UP FOR THE RIGHTS OF THE LITTLE PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT ALLOWED TO HIKE WHILE BILLIONAIRES AND THEIR GOLF COURSES AND SNACK BARS SEEM TO PRESENT NO PROBLEMS TO THE ZEALOTS AT THE FISH & GAME!!  SHOW UP!   SPREAD THE WORD!   STAND UP FOR OUR RIGHTS!  IF THEY SUCCEED IN KEEPING THE BUMP AND GRIND CLOSED WHAT TRAILS WILL THEY CHOOSE NEXT?

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