Over 57% of Utah and 86% of Nevada are government owned in some way. Government land is not taxed except for private uses of government land, mining and ranching, etc. The various departments BLM, USFS, EPA, DOD, BIA, ….. are run mostly by graduates of liberal colleges and universities of other states under laws written in Washington DC. Do you see where this is going? The government has no clue about real life issues in the mostly rural west. Nevada has the highest percentage of urban population of any state with well over 90% living in Las Vegas. Most of then could not name 5 other Nevada towns. Rural states get little play in the federal government and rural citizens get little from their states. We know the BLM well. The greatest function of the Federal government is to close huge areas and then erect historical markers that tell today's tourist what Americans used to do there. I hope Bonneville racing can be saved but I don't think it will happen unless some Senator in good standing in DC puts his name on it. Like Dingy Harry. As far a Wendover's survival goes legalized gambling in other states is a bigger threat than the loss of a potash mine. If the answer was easy it wouldn't be a problem. Sorry for the rant. I love Bonneville!
This argument works both ways. Conservatives (and that is most of us) are upset about BLM fencing off range land from grazing so that hikers can enjoy the recreational experience. Something like closing the salt flats to the extraction industry that has been there for around 100 years, for the enjoyment of some rich racers. That's how it gets played in a lot of places. It puts me in bed with a group that I wouldn't normally be with. Sometimes I think we would be better served finding a way to get to the wonderful salt I have heard of, on the other side of Floating Mt. than fighting this battle. Don't know. I do know people will look at a picture with a pretty girl in it. Maybe we can enlist this young woman to support the campaign.
I'll admit I didn't know as much as I thought I did, when I first posted on this thread. I have read that the potash facility has been dumping their "used" brine back onto the flats in recent years. That is good news. Porknbeaner makes good points here. I didn't mean to imply otherwise. I see a solution similar to other strip mining operations. Fed law already requires miners to put the land back in as good (often better) shape than before they take out the minerals. There are federal "superfund" laws that pay to reclaim old mining areas. Seems like some of this applies to Bonneville and somebody should have already looked into it. Maybe there is a way they could re-brine their old ponds, pump that back to the lake, and cover their costs? Everybody gets happy.
That is what they have been doing. But salt has been removed for decades. Millions of tons are piled up behind the salt works. While Intrepid is pumping brine back onto the flats, they are still pumping brine from the salt flats into their facility. And into train cars and trucks. And shipping it to people who need it all over the place. For some reason the salt being returned doesn't seem to be as good for running on as the salt being removed. Maybe Potash has good bite. But we are talking about really large amounts of material here. There is no quick solution.
The problem with the 'good salt' on the other side is access, no roads and the Environmental Impact Report would be for ever. I hear that the salt nearer Floating is also good but also hard to get to because of thin salt you would have to drive over to get to it.. The mud under the salt is not flat, we saw that last year when the course had 2 inches and the pits had 16 inches of water. Keep the Idea coming.
I agree, a person has to actually have been out there to being to understand the massive scope of how much salt it would take to get the flats back to what they once were. JC
I signed a while ago, but have not followed the thread. Read it through just now. I raced there 50 years ago,,,,,,,,and would hope that others may continue to do so. There are obviously many factors involved in a solution of all issues, and hope some common ground (no pun)can be found. The Flats are a wonderful place just to see, and should be protected.
Signing online protests and complaining here won't change anything. If you want change it requires contacting Congressmen, interviews with the news media, protesting the companies involved in the mining etc.... Otherwords, all that crazy stuff "liberal environmentalists" have done in the past to get their point across...Conservatives tend to do nothing other than bitching...Think Proactive about Bonneville....Otherwise come east to race at Ohio and Loring Maine.
I mean no offense here but there is nothing in Ohio or Maine that can remotely compare to Bonneville. I admit most cars can reach top speed in 1.5 miles on pavement but driving across the salt for miles just to reach the pit area which is a mile or so long is worth the trip. Standing at the end of mile 2 hearing powerful engines pulling hard for those two miles and going by at 250 + mph entering mile 3 and continuing to accelerate for 5 more miles is a near religious experience. The variety of cars, the friendliness of the people, the new and the historic sitting side by side, there is no place on earth like Bonneville and that is just from a spectator point of view. The first thing I remember reading that a teacher didn't make me read was a Bonneville article in one of the little car magazines. Actually being there make me hope that the future of LSR is not without The Salt. I do agree that petitions won't save it but it can't hurt. Sadly I don't remember many real success stories that involved government intervention.
Thanks Scrap, I wanted to say that but I didn't know how to spell it. Yes the doppler effect from mile 7 going out the back side, I think that is why God invented it! More sadness. I'll unpack my stuff.
Wait for the USFRA decision. Maybe today. They want to run and Bob will run on a decent 3 mile course. So I am not unloading just yet.
Signed...after having read some thoughtful comments by Rich Fox, etc...I understand the complexity of the problem, and no, a petition alone will not solve it....but if it helps even slightly, it is worth it.
I was at the SCTA Board meeting on Friday. And yes they cancelled World Finals. And two items were discussed at the Save the Salt portion of the meeting. As mentioned, the Finals were cancelled because of terrible surface conditions. The extra rain dumped inches of mountain dirt on the flats, which does happen and in normal years it dries and blows off the salt surface. But this year with the layback program, new salt was layered on the dirt. So now the dirt is buried below the sorta drying top layer, and it remains mud. I questions Russ Ayers about if this winter the salt would dissolve and the dirt move to the clay mud below, he felt it would not and needs to stay on the top layer, dry and blow away. And Item Two: No Save the Salt money as been spent for Hotels, Food, or Travel for the last 18 months. So this year we were hurt by Mother Nature and the mining company trying to be good. And two and a half, the number of new organizations that are trying to save the salt might be causing the possibility of making it so no one will be able to use the Bonneville Speedway.
Thank you for posting that. On point 2 1/2, is that a too many cooks spoil the salt flats thing? How can we best focus on this issue from SCTA and Save the Salt view point?
That is a good question and I hope to be able to help with that. I need to go back and read all of Russ Ayers' salt measuring report, that is going to be important. I myself would love to see that big ugly dike that runs through the middle of the historical oval track be filled in, but that is not going to happen. I think that Interpid is actually hearing the call of the wild, but they are tied to what BLM says to do, they will do no more, no less. I actually have friends in Wendover that actually don't hate SCTA, at the moment.. I will talk with them in the upcoming months, yes months this is not a problem that can be fixed in a week contrary to what some hope for. USFRA decision is coming up this week. If it is cancelled, I might be able to make a drive by on the way or back on a trip to the Mid-West.
From 1995... "Once up to seven feet deep over 96,000 acres, the salt now covers only 19,000 acres, with mud showing through in places. By some estimates, the salt is disappearing at a rate of 1% a year and may be gone in a few decades"...I'd call that a pretty good prediction. More here...http://articles.latimes.com/1995-07-20/news/mn-26066_1_salt-flats and here...http://articles.latimes.com/1991-07-07/news/mn-2947_1_salt-flats
The Jalopy Journal
