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May Update

Jamboree
SDORC is having an off-road jamboree this June 24 at Lakeside Rodeo Grounds. So far we have 42 vendors signed up, 8 nonprofits and clubs, several race team vehicles and drivers (including a trophy truck), a top fuel dragster, and RC car racing in the arena (bring your own car!). There will be a large raffle at 5:00 pm (think Lost Lizard raffle) that is chock full of cool off-road stuff. Chris Boyer will be our MC. There will be food trucks and beer from three local breweries: Pacific Island Brewery, BNS Brewery and Three Frogs Beer Company. $20 will get you in the door and $40 will get you in and include a special BBQ dinner. Go to https://sdorc.org/jamboree/ to get details and sign up early. This is a big fundraiser for SDORC so we can hire a top-flight lobbyist to help keep the desert open. The event is designed to be loads of fun, so please save the day for us.

Mojave Trails National Monument (MTNM)
The BLM is forming a management plan for the MTNM. I was appointed to the advisory committee and took several tours of the area. They are starting the management plan with a phase called scoping. At scoping we can tell the BLM how we would like the plan formed and what topics included. We intend to ask for a number of items including: continuing to allow organized events, allowing commercial activities (like movie filming), continuing to allow rock hounding (where people look for interesting minerals), protecting certain WWII areas and artifacts (general Patton had extensive training in this area), and keeping trails open for off-road vehicle use. If you are interested, you can find details here.

BLM Conservation
Our friends at BlueRibbon Coalition told us the BLM is proposing a national rule change that would elevate conservation to be part of “multiple use.” Federal Land Policy and Management Act’s (FLPMA) declaration of policy and definitions of “multiple use” and “sustained yield” reveal that conservation is a use on par with other uses under FLPMA. The BLM would be allowed to sell “conservation leases” on public land. This could allow groups, like the Sierra Club, to buy leases and control public land. The rule change would also make it easier to designate “Areas of Critical Environmental Concern.” Public comments on this are being taken until June 20. Details can be found here.

CARB On-Road Motorcycles
California Air Resources Board (CARB) administers a program for reducing emissions from On-Road Motorcycles (ONMC). I wrote about this last year and they have taken the next step toward implementing updates. Comments from the public are being accepted until June 2, 2023. I haven’t gotten into the document yet, but if you love dual-sport motorcycles, you might want to look here.

Corral Canyon
We were part of a trail trimming day at Corral Canyon on May 6. There were about 80 4X4s and two motorcycles. I took my bike over to the Greenhorn trail and trimmed the whole length. Most of the 4X4 trails were trimmed, but I hear parts of Espinoza Trail still need work. I’d like to thank Tierra Del Sol 4×4 Club for covering the BBQ.

Grants
We look at green sticker grants each year to make sure our money is being spent wisely. Yes, there is a grant program in which about $30M gets allocated each year. We look at grants in the southern half of the state. This year we didn’t find much funny business (like in years past), but we did find some interesting applications. Imperial County Sheriff’s Dept. asked for money for two big ticket vehicles, a V8 buggy ($130,000) and a 1/2 ton 4X4 truck ($110,000). I thought it was odd for them to want a V8 buggy until Audrey told me that they really need one to chase down bad guys out in the sand dunes. That made sense to me. The 4X4 made sense, until I saw the price tag. That’s a lot of money for a truck. When I went to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s grant, I saw they wanted the same truck, but only asked for $50,000. I sent the LA Sheriff’s contact to Imperial County and suggested they talk to them and ask how they can get the same truck for that price. Imperial County actually wrote me back saying they would.

Yamaha
You may remember we put new rice bales around the kids’ training area at Corral Canyon a few months ago. We wrote a grant request to Yamaha to help pay for the bales and we just found out Yamaha approved our request! Thank you, Yamaha, on behalf of SDORC and all the kids riding out there.

Please listen to SDORC Dirt Talk Radio live on 1170 am on Sundays at noon, or later on our website. Come to an SDORC meeting on the first Tuesday of each month at Ranch House Restaurant in Santee (Bill Wells, running for congress, will be coming to speak in June). Join SDORC (we are a membership organization) here, and please come to our Jamboree on June 24.

Ed Stovin