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February Update

WEMO Ruling
I’m sure most of you have heard about the closing of 2,200 miles of trails in the Mojave Desert. WEMO stands for Western Mojave and represents a management plan the BLM developed and completed in 2019. WEMO has around 6,000 miles of green sticker routes. The routes that were closed go from the Randsburg area east to Highway 15. The Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) sued the BLM claiming the plan did not adequately protect the endangered desert tortoise. The CBD has been suing over this plan for decades and will likely continue into the future. The BLM has a little bit of time to decide if they want to appeal this ruling and we hope they do. The area has a lot of great trails and scenery.

Mountain Lions
We saw on the California Fish and Game Commission’s recent agenda an item to consider listing the southern California/central coast evolutionarily significant unit of mountain lion (Puma concolor) as endangered under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA). A few days before the commission meets, commissioners are given a packet with materials on agenda items. If you want to communicate with the commissioners on an item, you can send the agency a letter stating your case ahead of time. We know that mountain lions live in areas where we off-road, so we began to work on a letter opposing the listing. We found that in 1990, proposition 117 was passed and that gave the mountain lion significant protection. We challenged the petition’s reliance on a narrow definition of “Evolutionarily Significant Units” based on genetic isolation in specific sub-populations. We stated that a CESA listing may severely limit the Department’s ability to manage “problem” lions that threaten livestock or public safety. We also noted the data provided in the status review relied on localized tracking and modeling rather than comprehensive, state-wide census data. We got CORVA, Cal4Wheel and AMA D37 to sign the letter and submitted it with a little time to spare.

At the meeting, the commission voted to protect the mountain lion. This is a state listing, so federal land will not be affected. This means BLM and National Forest land. Our big problem with the listing is that a state listing may be leveraged to make a federal listing, and that will make real trouble for us.

Safety Bill
California bill AB1613, an OHV safety bill, has been introduced. We are happy with this development and hope the bill can pass through without trouble. There are a couple of controversial points in the bill that OHV advocates are discussing. One point has to do with who will be required to take training. The bill now requires green sticker vehicle operators in green sticker areas to receive training. Some others are interested in making anyone operating a vehicle in a green sticker area have to receive training. This would mean people driving street legal vehicles like Jeeps, trucks and dual sport motorcycles would need training to operate in green sticker areas. The bill currently requires one-time training. Some others want to require training every five years. The current bill has escalating fines for repeat offenders. Others would like to require certified in-person training for repeat offenders. We would love to hear feedback from the public on these points. Write us at info@sdorc.org.

Another OHV-related bill has been introduced, AB1756, which would allow the city of Needles to have combined use routes longer than 3 miles until 2034. This extends the timeline from a similar bill passed a few years ago and should pass through the legislature without trouble (hopefully!).

Hungry Valley Plan
State Parks has completed the Hungry Valley SVRA General Plan. We wrote comments on the plan and while we discussed many points (and complimented the park a number of times), we had two points we were unhappy about. One was the redesignating of 800 acres from open to on trails only. While they did make that change, they left open all the current trails in the 800-acre area. The other problem was that for special events, they said they would only allow mobile vendors to operate in the Quail Canyon area. They added that the boss could make an exception to that. So we are not unhappy with the plan and expect it to be accepted by the OHV Commission soon.

Carnegie Soil Plan
It is Carnegie’s turn for a soil conservation plan and this is the fifth plan we have looked at. We found lots of positive features in the plan and complimented them. We agree that the use of magnesium chloride is a good thing for dust control and soil stabilization. We appreciate that the four tracks are managed independently and for different use types. They describe some very orderly ways of tracking maintenance and monitoring in the park. We very much like the practice “sediment extracted from the basins is typically removed and stockpiled at Juniper Trail, east of Tyson’s Pond sediment basin and is used for regular maintenance and rehabilitation projects inside the park.”

Not everything was how we would like it though. They talked about areas that could become too eroded and need to be closed and restored.

From page 66 of the draft plan: “To meet the criteria of sustainable long-term use, soil loss must not exceed restorability (i.e., the ability to be restored). PRC 5090.02 (c)(4) requires that when OHV recreation areas or trails or portions thereof cannot be maintained to appropriate established standards for sustained long-term use, they shall be closed to use and be repaired to prevent accelerated erosion. Those areas shall remain closed until they can be managed within the soil loss standard or shall be closed and restored. Restoration of these areas means that upon closure of the unit or any portion thereof, the return of land to the contours, the plant communities, and the plant covers comparable to those on surrounding lands or at least those which existed prior to OHV use, as defined in PRC 5090.11 and 14 CCR 4970.01.”

We would like to argue that soil loss is always restorable at Carnegie SVRA. The question really becomes: How much time, money, and effort can be used to restore missing soil? This paragraph has some irony in it. It says if an area exceeds restorability, it must be closed and restored. “Restoration of these areas means that upon closure of the unit or any portion thereof, the return of land to the contours…” We don’t see how an area can exceed restorability and then be restored.

We notice that this plan, like the other soil conservation plans we have reviewed, fails to show an objective criteria for how much soil must be lost before restoration should take place. The plan must state how much soil would need to be lost before closure for restoration should occur.

San Diego County OHV Feasibility Study

The San Diego County Parks OHV Feasibility Study should be done and published within a month. This was started by County Supervisor Joel Anderson four years ago after SDORC asked him while he was campaigning to help us get an off-road park near town. Once this is released, we will begin trying to get a park established nearby. Stay tuned and if you have any ideas, please let us know at info@sdorc.org.

Tierra Del Sol Desert Safari
One of our favorite four-wheel drive clubs is hosting their big event again this March 19–21. They pushed the date back a few weeks to see if they could get away from the wind and crazy people. Come join the fun. SDORC will be hosting a checkpoint. Click here for details.

SDORC Orange Trailer
We have had our orange trailer for 25 years, and we have decided to part ways with it. In its place, we are buying a new, lighter enclosed trailer. The big benefit will be more people will be able to tow the trailer to events. While we like how sturdy our old trailer is, it is so heavy that only one-ton trucks can pull it. Now I will be able to move it with my ½ ton van. If you would like to be a sponsor of our new trailer and have your name and logo on the side, or if you would like to buy our old trailer, let us know at info@sdorc.org.

Ed Stovin, President
San Diego Off-Road Coalition