Bill has some valid points, but getting on your soapbox via the internet does little good. To me, it sounds like Bill Burke is doing nothing more than throwing a temper tantrum. He knows better, he has been involved too long to think that his little rant will change ANYTHING. Why didn't he explain the problem (cause/effect) with the people who weren't acting responsibly? Did they even know that what they were doing was creating a problem? It is entirely possible that these people were ignorant of the effects of their actions....in which case they need to be educated. Rather than rub them the wrong way (at which time they will continue to do exactly what you don't want them to do, just to spite you----just like a testosterone soaked teenage boy), educate them. If that fails, *then* feed 'em to the sharks.
Having never met Bill Burke, but having read that artical, I have a low opinion of him. He seems the typical passive-aggresive American. It is his way or the hiway. If you don't do exactly what he wants, how he wants, and when he wants, he feels you are a moron who shouldn't be allowed out of the house. Rather than educate someone, Bill Burke would yell at them. How would you react to this if you were on your first off-road trip, and Bill was the first person you ran into? It would probably p!$$ you off, and you would immediately put him into the catagory of "eco-nazi", and would forever disregaurd anything he ever says. Not a very good way to get your message across, if you ask me.
That is my first impression of Bill Burke. He will never get a chance to make another first impression on me, or the thousands upon thousands of people who have read that article.
I love exploring the back roads, rock crawling, hiking, backpacking, kayaking, ad nausium. But like most of us, I despise trash lying around, wildcat trails, oil spills, and the general destruction of our enviroment. I agree with Roseanne, education is key. Many of us have a huge investment in our passtime (monetary as well as our time). We need to protect our ability to access the wide open spaces this country has to offer. Bill Burke's artical does not accomplish this. What it does accomplish is getting people emotions stirred up but fails to offer any examples of good stewerdship. OK, someone did somethign that they shouldn't have....what did Bill Burke do to prevent it from happening again? Did he explain how a group that he is involved in is out educating people on trail manners? Did he tell you how he tried to block off the illegal bypass around Rock Pile in a effort to prevent someone else from going that way? Instead of telling someone they should be swimming with the sharks, he should be offering examples for other people to emulate. (BTW, I have no idea if he is involved with the above activities....they are meerly examples of what I think would be a better response than the juvinile temper tantrum that he had).
In short, Bill Burke needs to check his attitude at the door if he wants to be truely effective at keeping people on the trail. This article is a disservice to him and the rest of the OHV community. Offer solutions, not attitudes.