New Plan Adds 40,000 Acres
of Off-Highway Riding at Glamis Dunes
Irvine,CA (9/3/2010) - One of
the country’s most popular off-highway vehicle
(OHV) riding areas could soon see nearly 40,000
acres returned to the OHV ledger, thanks to a
new plan developed by the federal Bureau of Land
Management (BLM).
"This is great news," said Nick Haris,
AMA western states representative. "The groups
that want to restrict off-highway riding have
gone to court in the past claiming that the Peirson's
milk-vetch growing at Glamis is endangered and
needs protection, but the U.S. District Court
for the Southern District of California recently
ruled that the plant is being protected appropriately.”
In April, the BLM released a draft Recreation
Area Management Plan (RAMP) for the 200,000-acre
Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area, popularly
known as Glamis because of its proximity to that
town in the far southeast corner of California.
The Imperial Sand Dunes area ranks as one of
the most important public recreation areas nationwide,
attracting more than 1.2 million visitors each
year. OHV riders, through their purchases of food,
fuel and lodging, contribute significantly to
the local economy.
The public comment period for the RAMP ended
June 23. Federal officials are now reviewing the
comments, and the "Preferred Alternative"—that
is, the plan that the BLM intends to follow that
adds about 40,000 more acres for off-highway riding—is
likely to be adopted unless the public-comment
process points out a legitimate flaw in the BLM’s
planning.
Under the Preferred Alternative of the new RAMP,
179,622 acres would be open to OHVs.
"A lot of credit goes to the BLM for its
work to create a good recreational plan for the
area, and to the various local groups who have
fought the anti-access forces over the years,"
Haris said.
Those groups include the AMA’s District
37 (Southern California), the Off-Road Business
Association, the American Sand Association, the
San Diego Off-Road Coalition and others that have
fought back in court and organized users to submit
comments to the BLM in favor of keeping the dunes
open to OHVs.
Regulations and legal challenges have shut down
major portions of the dunes that were specifically
set aside for motorized recreation, including
about 49,000 acres in recent years, leaving just
140,740 acres available for OHV riding.
The RAMP Preferred Alternative designates 11,670
acres as critical habitat closed to OHV recreation
to protect the Peirson's milk-vetch, which is
a silvery, short-lived plant that can grow to
2.5 feet tall and produces small purple flowers,
generally in March or April.
The federal court ruled the BLM critical habitat
designation is large enough to adequately protect
the plant.
“Under the terms of the California Desert
Conservation Area Plan, which has been in effect
for decades, open motorized recreation was restricted
to less than 2 percent of the California desert,”
Haris said. “And since then, opponents of
motorized recreation have continued to whittle
away at the riding areas that remained, forcing
more OHV users onto smaller areas of land.
“This action by the BLM restores some of
this vitally important recreational land, preserving
responsible riding opportunities for the growing
Southern California population,” he said.
It's unknown when the new BLM plan will go into
effect.
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