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January Update

Chuckwalla National Monument
We first heard about the proposed Chuckwalla National Monument in December 2023 at a BLM Desert Advisory Council Meeting. I don’t really like these monument designations because they upset how the desert was previously designated. In 2016, the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP) was signed. This desert plan took the entire 10.8 million acres of the California BLM Desert District and decided where renewable energy, recreation, transmission and conservation would take place. This was a big, expensive plan and was not litigated against when it was completed. I participated in it and was upset with one facet of the plan, which allowed geothermal energy development in Ocotillo Wells (I petitioned to change that and lost).

The first thing I did when I heard about the proposed monument was check the map. There is an area the BLM has been trying to make into a staging, camping and recreation area for OHVs. I saw that the area was just inside the monument boundary. We know that when an action like this is proposed, everything is amendable. Once it is signed, then it is permanent. This proposal came out of congressman Raul Ruiz’s office. He represents eastern Riverside and all of Imperial County. I contacted his office and asked to speak to the staffer working on the monument. I spoke to the staffer, explained that I was interested in having this area removed from the monument and was given the contact of the working group of environmentalists who brought the monument idea to the congressman. (Don’t believe the press releases stating this monument was brought by native Americans.) I contacted this group, and we had a Zoom meeting last January, where I expressed my concerns about this little area and asked them to exclude it from the proposed monument. They said they would consider that but wanted to see the boundary of the proposed area first. Some of the working group made a field trip to the area and found that it had a lot of tire tracks and was far from pristine. They agreed the area was not what should be protected.

So, I contacted the Palm Springs BLM office and asked for the map of the area. My requests were ignored, so I went to the Desert District office. That request was ignored also so I went to the state office. I found a nice staff who tried to help but wasn’t able. I asked two BLM staff from other areas whom I know, and they tried without luck. I was very disappointed that I was having so much trouble getting a simple digital map, given that I am an appointed member of the BLM Desert Advisory Council and have been very supportive of BLM grants and activities. As a last resort I wrote a freedom of information act request for the map. After two months with no results, I found a freedom of information act lawyer and got him on the phone. He said that it is common for these requests to take a long time. Agencies like the BLM get a lot of FOIA requests from environmental people and they get bogged down.

I personally take FOIA requests seriously and would only use as a last resort. The lawyer gave me some tips on how my request could be improved and said that my previously submitted request could be amended, so I amended it with his recommendations. A few weeks later my request was granted, and I sent the information to the head guy of the monument working group. After numerous follow-ups, I only got the runaround. I got an advocate friend who knows him to help, but no success. In June the BLM hosted a public meeting in Indio about the proposed monument, so I headed out in the heat for the meeting and also made an appointment with one of congressman Ruiz’s staff. The meeting had several hundred people attend and most who spoke supported the proposal. One of the opponents of the proposal was an amateur miner who has a small claim in the area. I spoke with him, and he said that he and a hundred others have small mining claims in the area and if the land becomes a monument, they will have to go through environmental reviews. Each review could cost over $50,000. These mines might yield a few hundred to a few thousand dollars of gold if they work hard, so they strongly opposed the designation. My meeting with Ruiz’s staff went nowhere. She ended it before we really got to the important part.

I was contacted out of the blue by a mediator who had been helping the monument working group. It took us a while, but we got on a call together and she said that they were not going to remove my area from the monument proposal.

After Trump won the election, I decided to make a last-ditch effort to pull this area out. We knew it was likely Biden would designate the monument as a lame duck. I contacted a staff from congressman Darell Issa’s office I know, who works in Washington DC. I asked him to help me get a meeting with one of Ruiz’s staff in DC. Issa and Ruiz’s districts share a border, so I knew that the staff from the offices know each other. It took a little work, but I got a meeting set up with a legislative staffer. It was cancelled and rescheduled. One minute before the rescheduled Zoom, she canceled it again. I finally got a meeting set up, but the person who came on was not the legislative staffer, but an intern. Another advocate I spoke with had said that he thought the monument would not happen, out of respect for the DRECP. We then heard that the president was very likely going to designate Chuckwalla anyway. A few days before the monument was supposed to be made, my friend called me. He is pretty tight with the BLM. At the last Desert Advisory Council meeting I was very supportive of an action they BLM wanted to take. He said that he is pretty sure that “my” area had been removed at the request of the BLM. The proposed monument boasted containing 640,000 acres. In the press release after the monument was designated, it said the monument was 624,270 acres. I found a monument map that was just published and it looks like my area was successfully removed.

The monument designation states that a management plan shall be made within three years. The Mojave Trails National Monument was made nine years ago and has yet to release a draft of a plan. The proclamation states “improving access for recreation, hunting, dispersed camping, wildlife management, scientific research, and the permissible casual collection of rocks”, so it is not going to stop all the activities we enjoy. Also in the proclamation: “motorized vehicle use in the monument may be permitted only on roads and trails documented as existing in BLM route inventories that exist as of the date of this proclamation. Any additional roads or trails designated for motorized vehicle use by the general public must be designated only for public safety needs or if necessary for the protection of the objects identified above.”

While I don’t like this monument made with the Antiquities Act, this is not so bad. Also proposed was an expansion of Joshua Tree National Park. The president was not able to do this under the Antiquities Act, it would need to go through congress and the president. That is not likely in the next four years. What I don’t like is the park has reserved camping and it sells out on winter weekends. This nearby BLM land allows rough camping along routes and people who want to recreate (like rock climb) in Joshua Tree can camp on the BLM land and then go in to do their thing. Adding this BLM land to the park will eliminate this type of camping.

Safety Bill
It looks like a bill to require safety training for green sticker vehicle users is going to be introduced soon. SDORC and CORVA hosted a meeting recently with OHV leaders to finalize the language. Some people wanted the operator of any vehicle in a green sticker area to be required to have training. While we appreciate that desire, we prefer to cast the net a little less broadly. I personally wanted only side-by-sides to have required training, but was talked into including other vehicles. Motorcycle and ATV riders are far more likely to be victims of a collision and could use training specifically to help there. We have found a legislative member to carry the bill and we feel pretty good that it will move through the process without too much trouble.

SB.5583 Recreational Trails Program
The RTP Full Funding Act of 2024 seeks to ensure federal taxes collected from off-highway recreation are appropriately returned to the states for the Recreational Trails Program. This money will provide grants for qualified agencies and nonprofits to promote and protect OHV opportunity in California. We will be supporting this bill.

Explore Act
From the American Motorcycle Association: President Joe Biden signed the Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences Act into law, creating additional opportunities for motorized access on federal lands. This piece of legislation also aims to improve access to public lands for outdoor recreation, create new long-distance bike trails and restore campgrounds and modernize infrastructure, among other aspects.

The EXPLORE Act also seeks to enhance opportunities for motorized and non-motorized recreation, expanding outdoor activities for enthusiasts on public lands. The law also allows for organized group recreation activities with motorized vehicles.

Wheels and Water X
On February 11 SDORC is hosting a planning meeting for our outdoor show. We plan to feature off-road vehicles and equipment as well as water sports equipment and other outdoor gear. If you are interested in helping plan or having a vendor space, let us know at [email protected].

Ed Stovin, President
San Diego Off-Road Coalition