Dominic - Florence, Or

Gentlemen / Ladies:

My earliest memories growing up were riding with my dad in his Jeep on the dunes. My first vehicle was a Honda 200X that I saved money commercial fishing with my dad to buy during the 80's. In college I worked for Sand Dunes Frontier as a patrolman and on my weekends went riding on the dunes on my dirt bike. The dunes have been an integral part of my life. Throughout the years I have experienced many new laws and regulations. Creating a noise buffer, after the noise buffer the dunes closing at ten then getting to pay to be able to park. Now I understand that there is an effort to close down many of the trails and dunes that I have ridden for years. Now I have two boys of my own and there isn't anything my two and one year old look forward to more than going riding with their papa in our '53 Willy's. The most notable change in our dunes over the years is how much less area there is now to ride. The dunes have grown considerably smaller and restricting any riding is going to continue the choking of our unique and majestic National Recreation Area. If the trails and more dunes are closed you will be able to change the name of the dunes from National Recreation Area to National Forest. Our Dunes are a disappearing resource, if anything, there needs to be an effort to open more areas to take back dunes that the non-native Scotchbroom and European beach grass have overtaken. Any stretch of dunes that is not ridden on will be swallowed up by these invasive species. Our dunes are dependent on the people who not only pay to enjoy these resources, but care and keep these invasive species from taking over more dunes, our dunes NEED riders. Our dunes are dependent on people riding on them, closing dunes is killing dunes. WE CANNOT ALLOW OUR DUNES TO DISAPPEAR!!! I want my family to be able to enjoy the dunes as I did growing up, the more dunes that close the less dunes there will be. Closed Dunes = No Dunes.

Sincerely,
Dominic De Piero Flo since '76