There are only a few days left to get our comments about the Marines’ proposed expansion of the Twentynine Palms Marine Base.
In case this is the first you’ve heard about it, the U.S. Marines are considering expanding their base in Twentynine Palms, California. The western border of the Marine base abuts the eastern side of the Johnson Valley OHV area. The Johnson Valley OHV area is home to the famous Hammer trails, as well as Means dry lake, Soggy dry lake, Anderson dry lake, and the area off of Camp Rock road. Cougar Buttes is included in the Johnson Valley OHV area as well.
If the Marines acquire the Johnson Valley OHV area, it won’t just be rock crawlers who lose valuable trails. Dirt bike and ATV riders, side-by-side UTV drivers, and the desert racing and prerunner crowd will all be affected by this action. As a collective community of off-road enthusiasts, we’ve got a lot to lose.
It’s not Johnson Valley or nothing for the Marines. The USMC is considering other options including lands to the east of the Twentynine Palms Marine base. We need to tell the Marines just how valuable the Johnson Valley OHV area is to us.
Part of the land acquisition process is a public comment period. The public comment period ends shortly on January 31.
Here are two ways to let your voice be heard:
The link to the online petition above asks the Marines to expand to the east of their base, and it further requests that the Sheephole Wilderness and the Cadiz Dunes Wilderness be de-designated as Federal Wilderness, and re-designated as part of the Marine base.
This link goes directly to the USMC website that has been set up for the proposed expansion of the Twentynine Palms Marine base.
Once on the main page, find “Scoping Displays/Handouts” on the menu on the left side of the page. Under “Scoping Displays/Handouts,” go to comment sheet. Print it out, fill it out, and mail it in before January 31. As this is being typed, it’s January 27, so the time is coming up quickly.
What should you say? During an open house held at the Ontario Conference Center in Ontario, California, the USMC’s Dr. Jim Cassidy told us “We need to know how many people go to the Johnson Valley OHV area, but that’s not all. We also need to know how long they’ve been going there, and how much money they’ve invested in their equipment. We need to know how the possible loss of the Johnson Valley OHV area would affect them. Yes, we need the anecdotal evidence, but we need hard numbers, too.”
I’ve got to admit that I still need to fill out my comment sheet and send it in. I’ve thought about what I might say. When I was first brainstorming about it, my intention was to prepare an extensive report that included dollar amounts relating not only to myself, but to a number of off-road businesses I come in contact with through 4WD and Sport Utility Magazine. In the end, there wasn’t enough time to gather all the information on behalf of other parties, so I’m just going to speak for myself.
My letter won’t be full of statistics, other than the statistics that relate personally to me. You should do the same. Write from the heart and tell the USMC what the possible loss of the Johnson Valley OHV area would personally mean to you.
My next blog will show what I came up with for my letter. Until then, follow the links posted above, and let your voice be heard. Write now.