I don't like any bill that removes more public land from motorized use, even one that recognizes five OHV areas and some other trails. There's a lot of remaining open desert being closed.
This is from the Off-Road Business Association and the AMA (very good organizations). They've been working hard to save SOMETHING for motorized recreationists.
THE OFF-ROAD BUSINESS ASSOCIATION (ORBA) AND THE AMERICAN MOTORCYCLIST ASSOCIATION, DISTRICT 37 (AMA D37) ANNOUNCE THEIR SUPPORT FOR S.2921. THIS PIECE OF LEGISLATION PERMANENTLY PROTECTS OHV USE ON DESIGNATED TRAILS IN OVER 1 MILLION ACRES OF BLM LIMTED USE AREA AND HAS CONGRESS OFFICIALLY DESIGNATE FIVE OPEN AREAS IN SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, CA AS OFF-HIGHWAY VEHICLE (OHV) AREAS.
On December 21, 2009 U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein introduced S.2921 the California Desert Protection Act of 2010. After careful analysis of all aspects of this bill both ORBA and AMA D37 are going on record as supporting the bill in its current form. This legislation creates two new National Monuments, new Wilderness areas, sets siting guidelines for renewable energy projects and gives five BLM open areas in San Bernardino County, CA official Congressional designations as OHV areas.
Both organizations worked closely with the Senator’s staff to ensure that casual OHV use, as well as organized events would continue within both of the proposed National Monuments. In the proposed Wilderness areas the Senator’s staff worked with many individuals and OHV organizations to come to a compromise on excluding some of the high value trails. This was done to save them for future access.
Rasor OHV Area, Stoddard Wells OHV Area, El Mirage OHV Area, Spangler Hills OHV Area and a portion of the Johnson Valley OHV Area are all slated to receive a congressional designation as OHV areas. These proposed designations signify that the senator respects the rights of California families to recreate responsibly on public lands and that she is aware of the significant impact that OHV recreation has on the California economy.
The monuments proposed in this bill are the Sand and Snow, which is located in northern Riverside County and the Mojave Trails National Monument, which follows segments of Historic Route 66 and also covers portions of the Central and Eastern Mojave desert, will remain under the management of the BLM.
We sincerely appreciate Senator Feinstein and her staff for taking a collaborative approach on this piece of legislation. A variety of stakeholders including off-roaders, environmentalists and local residents were consulted early on in the process. This bill protects long standing recreation areas, sensitive desert lands and allows for responsible renewable energy development.