Keep Our County Lands Gate Free

We are against the proposed request by the "Habitat for Wildlife" to erect gates on access roads owned by Northumberland County. Though we understand and agree with Habitat for Wildlife that there is a problem with illegal dumping in these areas, we disagree that erecting gates and denying access to public land will solve the problem.

There are many issues surrounding the possible impact of gates to close county owned roads. The main argument to gate the roads is to deter illegal dumping in the area, but this will only deny access to law abiding citizens who enjoy utilizing these county owned roads for recreation, and allow the dumpers to go unchecked.

Another issue is that the gate will lead to unequal access for the disabled Americans who frequent this area thus violating their rights as established under the Americans with Disability Act of 1990.

Therefore, we, the undersigned, are eager to work with Northumberland County, Coal Township Solicitor, Habitat for Wildlife, or any other responsible agencies to address the illegal dumping issue short of a gated road closure.