Steven - Wichita, Ks

SAVE THE RIDERS DUNES

By

Steven Ranney

Wichita, Ks

I want to start by introducing myself, my name is Steven Ranney and I am a resident of Wichita Kansas. This is far from Oregon but I felt it necessary to paint a picture of how far reaching these upcoming decisions will impact people from all over the country.

Members of my family have lived in Oregon for several years and during that time period I unfortunately have only had the chance to make a handful of trips to visit. My Sister and her Husband became duners shortly after they moved to the Oregon area and since then we have become closer in our relationship than we had ever been. The reason for this is because of the subject of duning is common between us. Even though we are 2000 miles apart we stay in touch almost on a daily basis not only to visit about Duning but just to stay in touch but duning is what started the trend.

As I have recently heard rumors of the possibility of dune closures it pains me to hear of such actions brought to the table. Duning is not just about idiot motor heads tearing through the dunes as sometimes is portrayed of us. Duning is a tight nit family and friends oriented activity. As you can see from all of the forum pages that have been created to follow this sport you would find that there are more people interested in having a good time with friends and family than ruining our environment by the use of off road vehicles.

Being from Kansas I can say the Oregon Dunes are the nicest place to Dune in the country. I have been to Glamis, Little Sahara in Waynoka, Oklahoma, I have seen St Anthony's Idaho but Oregon is the most picturesque and beautiful place to Dune period. To lose the Access to the Dunes for us Duning enthusiasts would be totally unacceptable and if approved to close these areas can have a lasting effect on Families and friends. Some people raise their children to play sports to keep them out of trouble but others bring them to the dunes for the fun activities and also to enjoy the outdoors as their parents did with them. Only difference is now we have the sand toys, as we call them, to enjoy as well.

My wife and I traveled to the Florence and Winchester Bay area in 2008 for a family Reunion and all we could talk about on the long 2000 mile drive home was “when can we go back”. Not just for the duning but for the enjoyment of such a beautifully rich environment that we could just sit in the dunes and take in the abundance of peace and tranquility of the Forests and lakes on one side and the open ocean on the other and all of this why we enjoy the sport that we love so much.

We enjoy the nights sitting by the fire visiting about the activities from the day or just catching up with friends and family about our lives and busy schedules that we need a break from. Never is the idea on our minds of how we want to purposely disturb the beautiful nature of the dunes or any wildlife that may reside in the area.

Both my wife and I love animals, and on breaks while duning we will stop to enjoy the wild life and scenery around. We duners understand the concerns of environmentalists and we agree that sections of our environment need preserved for generations to come but to close everything off to the duning off road enthusiast is the wrong thing to do.

Everyone in this great country deserves to be able to enjoy the natural beauty in whatever activity we choose. We don’t want everything to be our way we only ask for the same respect about our sport as some demand of us and their views.

So in closing I hope and I pray that my information can in some way help explain why closing the dune areas in Oregon would be a detrimental thing to do. I am positive that all parties involved on both sides can come to an agreement that is acceptable to everyone.

If there is anything that I may be able to do please contact me even though I am 2000 miles away I still want to help in any way possible.

Thanks for listening and reading my letter and I hope to see my Oregon Duning family soon.

Sincerely,

Steven Ranney

Oregon duning Enthusiast

Wichita, Kansas