USAnudist.com

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NATURIST ACTION COMMITTEE
ADVISORY
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http://www.naturistaction.org
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Copyright 2007 by the Naturist Action Committee, which is responsible
for its content. Permission is granted for the posting, forwarding or
redistribution of this message, provided that it is reproduced in its
entirety and without alteration.

DATE : May 24, 2007
SUBJECT: Mazo Beach
TO : All Naturists and other concerned citizens

Dear Naturist,

The Naturist Action Committee (NAC) wishes to advise you of multiple
developing situations at Mazo Beach in Dane County, Wisconsin. This NAC
Advisory has been developed in close cooperation with Friends of Mazo
Beach (FOMB), the local user group for the traditional clothing-optional
site on the Wisconsin River.

DNR’S WELL PUBLICIZED “CRACKDOWN”

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has announced that
its rangers will be at Mazo Beach this coming weekend, targeting lewd
behavior and disorderly conduct. A DNR spokesman has said that rangers
will NOT be making arrests for mere nudity. Dane County authorities have
historically refused to prosecute such arrests.

Naturists have never been proponents of lascivious public behavior, nor
are they advocates for those who would intentionally confuse nudity with
sex. In that context, naturists should welcome narrow enforcement based
on the proper distinctions voiced recently by DNR.

CUTTING THE WILLOWS

A few weeks ago, DNR personnel cut the willows that grow as weeds along
the water’s edge near the clothing-optional area at Mazo Beach. DNR
publicly characterized the cutting as serving two purposes. The first
purpose was to minimize hiding places in which illicit human activity
could occur.

The second reason given by DNR was that the cutting benefited various
species of turtles. The Naturist Action Committee has been unable to find
independent biologists or ecologists who agree with DNR’s claimed benefit
for turtles.

NEARBY WOODS ARE OFF LIMITS

Visitors to Mazo Beach should be aware that DNR has declared the wooded
areas adjacent to the road to be off limits. There are actually a number
of good reasons for that action. Please respect the signs.

RALPH OVADAL AND HIS FOLLOWERS

In past years, Wisconsin religious fundamentalist Ralph Ovadal and
individuals from his dwindling band of followers have protested and
picketed in the parking lot at the end of Conservation Drive and along
the road to the river. As part of their so-called “Gospel Gauntlet,” the
protesters have engaged in activities that are confrontational and
provocative. Many of their specific actions are intended to provoke a
disorderly response among naturists who are headed to the beach.

Tactics have included name calling and feigning physical assault. Ralph
Ovadal himself has been convicted and fined twice for his illegal
activities near Mazo Beach.

Ovadal did not make a single protest trip to Mazo during all of 2006.
Along with his blossoming pseudointellectual fascination for religious
doctrine, issues like immigration and a fanatical bitterness toward the
Catholic Church have caused much of Ovadal’s attention to be directed
elsewhere. Ovadal has become increasingly irrelevant as a factor at the
beach. That fact doesn’t mean he won’t put in an appearance or two at
Mazo this season.

If you should encounter the Ovadalite protesters in the parking lot or as
you walk to the river, NAC and FOMB ask that you ignore them and simply
refuse to respond to their various taunts and provocations. This advice
has worked quite well in past years, and NAC thanks you for avoiding this
sort of artificial confrontation. Since Ovadal’s followers believe the
sight of naked human bodies will leave everlasting blemishes on their
souls, these bigoted zealots will not follow you onto the river bed.

PROPER BEACH ETIQUETTE

Most who are regular visitors to Mazo Beach understand the simple basics
of naturist beach etiquette.

However, a few uninformed (or uncaring) visitors to the clothing-optional
beach may occasionally attempt to use the area for inappropriate
activities. Beach users should know the difference between benign nudity
and overt sexual behavior. This year more than ever, sexual behavior will
result in arrest and prosecution, and it affects the reputation of the
beach.

Please stand up for appropriate clothing-optional beach behavior.

AVOIDING CONFLICTS WITH OTHER USERS

Dane County authorities have historically declined to prosecute those who
are merely nude in the traditional area at Mazo Beach. In fact, in
addressing the matter of nudity, the Dane County District Attorney’s
office has said, “In a place where there’s a tradition of nude sunbathing
like Mazo Beach it is not lewd and lascivious behavior.”

During some parts of the season, it’s easy to walk out to the sand bar in
the river. But the sand bar is not a “traditional” clothing-optional area
for the purpose of deflecting prosecution. Those who move nudity out
toward the main channel of the river and north and south beyond the
traditional area are not only discarding their traditional protection,
they are increasing the chances of conflicts with other user groups, like
the canoeists who use the river’s main channel. User group conflicts are
a major excuse for increased official scrutiny and closure of
clothing-optional areas on public land.

The Naturist Action Committee and Friends of Mazo Beach ask you to reduce
the risk to yourself and the threat to the beach by staying within
traditional clothing-optional areas.

KEEPING THE LEGISLATIVE THREAT AT BAY

Based largely on the complaints of Ralph Ovadal and those who do his
bidding, a handful of Wisconsin lawmakers have occasionally threatened
legislation that targets nudity at Mazo Beach. Such measures often have
statewide impact. In 2003, that legislation assumed a high profile, and
the Naturist Action Committee hired a professional Wisconsin legislative
lobbyist to assist in killing a truly awful bill that would have
established a civil penalty for nudity on public land throughout the
state.

The American Association for Nude Recreation and its regional affiliate,
the Midwest Sunbathing Association (now AANR-Midwest) participated in
helping to fund the lobbyist in 2003. NAC acknowledges their important
role during the relatively brief period of crisis four years ago.

Although it has a lower public profile, the fight goes on. Since 2003,
NAC has retained the same Wisconsin lobbyist, entirely on its own. The
continuous presence of NAC’s lobbyist at the state capitol in Madison has
helped educate Wisconsin lawmakers and has successfully warded off the
introduction of new anti-nudity legislation. This is proactive and
preventive activism at its best. Although it doesn’t come inexpensively,
it’s a smart way to avoid an even more expensive problem later.

MORE LOCAL INFORMATION?

Contact Friends of Mazo Beach by telephone at (608) 798-1954 or by e-mail
at friendsofmazobeach@yahoo.com

PLEASE HELP NAC TO HELP LOCAL NATURISTS

The Naturist Action Committee is committed to advancing and protecting
the rights and interests of naturists. The responsible clothing-optional
use of public land has always be a focus for NAC.

Legislative lobbyists are expensive, and NAC relies entirely on the
voluntary support of involved naturists. Please donate generously. Send
your donation today to:

NAC
PO Box 132
Oshkosh, WI 54903

Or use your credit card to make a direct donation online through NAC’s
web site:

http://www.naturistaction.org/donate/

Thank you for choosing to make a difference.

Naturally,

Kath Rooney
Board Member
Naturist Action Committee

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Naturist Action Committee (NAC) - PO Box 132, Oshkosh, WI 54903
Executive Dir. Bob Morton - execdir@naturistaction.org
Board Member Kath Rooney - nakedvet@gmail.com
Online Rep. Dennis Kirkpatrick - naturist@sunclad.com
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