[Mldxcc] Fwd: KP1-5 Project News Release

[Jeff Stai]

hi - K6LRN tried to post this but it bounced from being too big - I think it 
was just excessive formatting stuff, so I have forwarded the text.

Dick - if something is missing please let me know!

73 - jeff wk6i

>Date: Fri, 22 Apr 2005 09:07:39 -0700
>From: Dick Wilson <k6lrn at arrl.net>
>To: "Rick and Karen Samoian" <samoian at directcon.net>,
>        mldxcc at contesting.com
>Subject: KP1-5 Project News Release
>
> From NA5U..can you put this in 'Nugget'??
>
>DX Organization Leadership:
>
>I am writing to ask for your assistance in an important matter affecting the
>pastime of DXing. It has been over 10 years since Navassa Island (KP1) and
>Desecheo Island (KP5) have been on the air. This is because the islands are
>national wildlife refuges under the control of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
>Service (FWS), which banned Amateur Radio from the islands in the early
>1990s.
>Despite many requests for permits to visit the islands for Amateur Radio
>operations, the FWS has stated unequivocally that Amateur Radio is
>permanently banned from the islands. The FWS asserts that Desecheo is closed
>for safety reasons because of unexploded bombs, illegal aliens and drug
>smugglers on the island; Navassa is closed to protect sensitive habitat.
>Yet, the review of over a thousand pages of internal FWS records and reports
>conducted by Brad Farrell, K4RT reveals that these claims are baseless. FWS
>records reveal that it considers Navassa a healthy and highly pristine
>habitat. Yet, the agency turns a blind eye to the many Haitian fishermen who
>live there and start fires while refusing to issue permits to American
>Amateur Radio operators for lawful use of the islands.  In fact, the FWS
>recently considered encouraging more illegal alien fishermen to go to
>Navassa under a federal permit program!
>Since 1994, the FWS has relied on this charade to deny applications for
>special use permits for Amateur Radio on Desecheo or Navassa no fewer than
>16 times.  To top it off, the FWS has wholly misrepresented the facts to
>several Congressmen who have inquired on behalf of Amateur Radio operators
>whose requests for permits for Desecheo and Navassa were turned down, and
>certainly did not disclose to these Congressmen the information they have
>kept hidden in their internal reports and records.
>This is alarming and just plain wrong, and it is why I am asking for your
>help. The KP1-5 Project <http://www.kp1-5.com/>  was launched to right these
>wrongs and we need your help. As a result of the efforts of hams across the
>nation, H.R. 1183 has been introduced in Congress. H.R. 1183 would require
>the FWS to open Desecheo and Navassa to limited public use.  It is critical
>that legislators hear from their constituents telling them to support and
>cosponsor H.R. 1183.
>The KP1-5 Team met in Washington, DC on April 8th to present information to
>Congressional staff. We had a successful presentation. We learned while we
>were there that this is truly a 'grass-roots' effort. So, it is up to the DX
>community to make this happen.
>        Here is how your organization can help:
>1.      At your next meeting, or as appropriate for your group, please
>review the content of this letter.
>2.      Encourage your membership to individually contact their Congressman
>asking them to support and cosponsor H.R. 1183. The details of on how to do
>this can be found at www.kp1-5.com.
>3.      Utilize your e-mail reflectors to get the word out to DXers.
>4.      As the leadership of your organization, write each Congressman whose
>constituents are members of your club urging them to support H.R. 1183.
>5.      Please consider a donation of any amount to the KP1-5 Project. The
>Lone Star DX Association has agreed to oversee this fund. Details on
>donations can be found on the website <http://www.kp1-5.com/> . Any donation
>will offset direct costs associated with moving this effort forward. None of
>the considerable personal expenses of the KP1-5 Team will be reimbursed by
>these donations. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any
>questions.
>                                73 es DX,
>
>                                Michael L. Thomas, NA5U
>                                KP1-5 Project Director
>

--
Jeff Stai               jds at twistedoak.com
Twisted Oak Winery      http://www.twistedoak.com/