TrailPass is a private company supported solely by its riders, clubs and dealers. The TrailPass folks do all the work with OHV clubs, parks, landowners and local municipalities; your job: enjoy the fine riding available-all on one network. For more information, contact 800/381-2260 or log on to www.trailpass.com.
West Coast: The latest news from the ATVA is the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has finalized a new plan that reopens some land in Southern California that was closed to OHVs. In late March, BLM State Director Mike Pool approved a new Recreation Area Management Plan (RAMP) that will guide management of the 160,000-acre Imperial Sand Dunes (aka Glamis) for the next 15 years.
Pool notes it is one of the most popular recreation sites in the country, with more than 1.2 million visitors each year. The RAMP divides the dunes into eight distinct management areas, which are designed to emphasize varying levels of OHV use or environmental protection. The BLM says these areas range from no vehicle use in the 26,202-acre North Algodones Dunes Wilderness Area to intensive OHV use in the 21,225-acre Gecko Management Area.
In the middle is the 33,329-acre Adaptive Management Area, which will replace most of the temporary closures that covered 49,300 acres at the dunes, Pool says. OHV use will be allowed in the active area but will be restricted to permit holders, who must complete a short environmental-education course on-site, and usage is limited to no more than 525 vehicles a day. No overnight camping-dawn to dusk use only-and it's open only from October 15 to March 31.
The plan balances OHV use with protection of wilderness and threatened plant and wildlife species and emphasizes a family-oriented safety and law-enforcement program. It won't go into effect until at least October 15 to allow pending legal challenges to be heard in federal court.
The BLM closed 49,000 acres of the recreation area to OHVs in late 2000 as part of an out-of-court settlement of a lawsuit filed by anti-access groups. The lawsuit alleged the agency failed to properly consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service concerning the effects of the BLM-administered California Desert Conservation Area Plan on a number of threatened and endangered species. Coupled with an earlier designation of some 26,000 acres as Wilderness where no vehicles are allowed, about half of the recreation area was closed to OHVs.
The Center for Biological Diversity, the Sierra Club and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility filed the lawsuit, claiming an OHV ban was needed to protect the Peirson's milk-vetch plant, a member of the bean and pea family. The plant is listed as "endangered" by the state and as "threatened" by the federal government. The AMA's District 37, the California Off-Highway Vehicle Association, the Off-Road Business Association, the American Sand Association, California Four-Wheel Drive and others fought back in court and by organizing users to submit comments to the BLM on keeping the dunes open to OHVs.
As a result the BLM consulted with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which issued an opinion that states allowing OHV use are not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the threatened Peirson's milk-vetch or the desert tortoise. The F&WS called for monitoring the plant and tortoise populations to ensure they remain healthy. For more information on the plan, go to www.ca.blm.gov/elcentro.