Macboy posted this link in another forum.
http://www.flyozone.com/landkites/en/news/headlines/11274

Seems there is a group out to ban wilderness snowkiting . ( non kiters, no doubt ) They are working on Oregon but it could cause trouble for all of us.

Please check out the link and sign the peteition against this move if you see fit !

done

Blade they are not just working on Oregon they have partially succeeded.

This is on the Bend kite crew home page.

http://www.bendkitecrew.com/

I bet the people working on banning snow kiting in all wilderness areas have never either been kiting, or to a wilderness area.

Note: they only need 11 more sigs to reach their goal of 1000.

added mine....

if I'm not mistaken, the main rule governing wilderness areas is the one against motorized transportation, so horses are fine... But not kites????

done

We are the devils work.

Old news from last winter.

Ya know, when I was following this a bit last year it seemed the deal started when the Bend guys had a business where they shuttled people into the spot on snowmobiles and charged you like a taxi service. I get it, pay for the sleds and stuff. But then the ranger said no instead of just moving on it got all ugly because it threathened their business and has come to this.

We aren't allowed to kite in the Boundry Water Canoe Area. Because of that "mechanical advantage" clause and because they say kites are visual graffitti. We attempted to talk to them about it and you know what we said... OK. We moved on to different spots.

In a case like this, I think raising a stink is worse. Now it will be written as a law "NO KITEBOARDING ALLOWED" Where before it was grey enough that you might have been able to get away with it in certains areas where rangers didn't say no.

This is an access issue just like any other ones I read here about people at parks, or beaches confronting kiters. There are some places kites are not welcome. We can all join a national organization to protect access with membership dues and board meetings, or if you want to keep it casual, just move on. You really have to pick a side. Putting your name on a petition really isn't that effective. If access gets to a point of threating many spots, I hope that kite companies will have enough sense to protect their sales at least and get organized enough to start an Access Fund like climbers have, Surf Riders for surfers, or ACA for paddlers.

But petitions are really just a list of people that disagree, the people on that list should band together , form an organization and actually attempt to challenge the government on their terms... knee high in paperwork.

" kites are visual graffiti"

Ive never heard a kite described like this before!!

Quote:

Originally posted by furbowski added mine.... if I'm not mistaken, the main rule governing wilderness areas is the one against motorized transportation, so horses are fine... But not kites????

7 left to a thousand
It is defined as anything providing mechanical advantage which I understand applies to kites. It is a poor application and I don't think it goes with the spirit of the law only the letter of the law.

Quote:

Originally posted by rudeboysaude We aren't allowed to kite in the Boundry Water Canoe Area. Because of that "mechanical advantage" clause and because they say kites are visual graffitti. We attempted to talk to them about it and you know what we said... OK. We moved on to different spots.

Funny, I have been to boundry waters and I used my paddle to as much mechnical advantage as I could muster. Maybe a white or light blue kite wouldn't be visual grafitti.

Signed it!!!! Seems to me that those who are apposed need to get out of their house and see just what the wilderness is all about. I'd truly imagine that a lot of those who are lobbying to get kiting banned are those who are at a financial gain from selling snowmobiles and giving rides to these areas. I do agree that maybe the kiting community as a whole needs to come up with a group that will see to it that our voices get heard on a more political angle. Right now I would think that the way these groups and governments view us, would be quite similar to how a city would view a group of skaters trying to ride their skateboards in public parking lots. Its sad but society seems to view things like this as if we are out to destroy the beauty of our parks and wilderness. Seems like a bunch of crap to me.

Signed

Brian

Signed.

Bollocks to that - you let the fun police push you around, you'll end up losing everything.

I've been reading a lot about this issue since reading this thread. One thing I noticed was how people have been using hang gliding and paragliding as a comparison to argue that the sport should be banned. Can anyone help explain why hang gliding and paragliding was banned. I can see how people could compare the sports with ours. As the same I cannot understand how either of these sports including ours can have a negative impact on the wilderness. Preserving mother nature is an important thing but how is a hiker walking a trail, setting camp, and then leaving when finished any less impacting than kiting, paragliding, x-country skiing, hang gliding, or any other non-fossil fuel burning sport less impacting on the preservation of mother nature. Seems to me like its a beginning for governments to prevent people from leaving towns and cities so we can "preserve" the beauty of mother nature. Here's a thought: if we can't enjoy it at all then whats the point?

How is riding a board on the ground under a kite the same as flying through the air above the ground? I don't see the similarities until I put on my "Ignorant Halfwit" glasses ...
Tree-hugging climate-changing eco-terrorist green-guilt hippies teaming up with the "I'm old and fat and lazy so you can't have fun either" police ... #@%$#! 'em both.

Quote:

Originally posted by Kamikuza How is riding a board on the ground under a kite the same as flying through the air above the ground? I don't see the similarities until I put on my "Ignorant Halfwit" glasses ... Tree-hugging climate-changing eco-terrorist green-guilt hippies teaming up with the "I'm old and fat and lazy so you can't have fun either" police ... #@%$#! 'em both.

You just answered your own question, any person without any knowledge about our sport could been known to group our sport with paragliding and hang gliding due to the fact that we both use air currents to thrust us around. Paragliding more-so because our kites can look similar to a para-sail. I'm not saying lets lobby our selves with these groups, I'm just wanting to know why those sports have been banned. That way one could use that info to differentiate kiting from sailing or gliding. At the end of the day I agree fully, that it has nothing to do with anything other than as you say "ignorant halfwit" fun nazi tree huggers trying to get their way. The way I see it is that we have as much right to enjoy that environment as they do so they can shove it. I'm glad that where I live we normally don't see these kinda issues. IMO if people can hike,fish,or hunt there we should be able to kite there too!

Well, that was my point - people who are so stupid that they can't tell the difference between a kite and a paraglider and deciding who can do what and where.
Unacceptable.

Agreed